Official: Israeli envoy to UAE ‘crossed a huge red line' in Abu Dhabi bar

Yemen Online

30-07-2025

New details emerged on Wednesday about the conduct of Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates Yossi Shelley, after Israeli television reported that the political appointee would be replaced.
Shelley crossed 'a huge red line in a place like Abu Dhabi,' an official with knowledge of the details told The Times of Israel.
Channel 12 news reported last week that Shelley had been out on a Friday night in Abu Dhabi with several friends and acted in an 'undignified' manner. The Emirati government heard about the alleged incident and communicated its anger to Israel through unofficial channels.
'Shelley's behavior was not acceptable and even harms our honor,' the Gulf state reportedly told Israel through an intermediary.
Shelley's bodyguards witnessed the incident and reported it to their superiors, according to Channel 12.
An official who worked in the Gulf told The Times of Israel that the Emiratis did not want Shelley as ambassador. Since their priority is defense technology, they wanted a former senior defense official, such as Avi Dichter or a retired general.
'He's a lame duck now,' said the official. 'No one will meet with him.'
The Foreign Ministry declined to comment or make Shelley available.
The Kan public broadcaster first reported last week on the tension between the ambassador and the Emirati government. A subsequent Channel 12 report quoted three sources familiar with the incident as saying that Shelley 'crossed the boundaries of personal space.'
Kan reported Wednesday that Shelley, former chief of staff to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, fumed at members of his security detail when they insisted that he give them two hours' notice before leaving his residence in the evening, saying, 'What am I, in prison?'
He also loaded guests into his car without them being identified by his security detail, the report said, and compromised his security by announcing that he was Israel's envoy in situations where it was unnecessary to do so.
The Foreign Ministry and Emiratis both talked to Shelley about his behavior, which his hosts saw as disrespectful, Kan reported.
According to the Wednesday report, Netanyahu associates are already looking for a new role to give Shelley once he is stripped of his ambassadorship.
The Prime Minister's Office denied this, however, saying in a statement: 'Contrary to reports, Prime Minister Netanyahu has not decided to return the Israeli ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, Yossi Shelley, to Israel.'
Last week, an Emirati source described as close to the government and familiar with the details, told Channel 12: 'This incident did not showcase the behavior expected of someone who is supposed to symbolize the tightening bonds between the two countries, and certainly not someone who is supposed to represent their shared interests.'
Were it not for Shelley's position, the UAE would have ordered him to leave the country, the source said.
In a statement last week, Shelley said he had been made aware of conduct that the Emiratis interpreted as disrespectful. He stressed that it took place at a private event and was not related to his work as ambassador. In light of the concern raised, he said he has considered the matter.
In a previous, unrelated incident last September, on a flight to New York, Shelley suddenly hugged one of the female flight attendants on Netanyahu's Wing of Zion plane while she was moving through the journalists' section.
'Shelley is a friendly and sympathetic person, but more than once he has crossed lines and this is not legitimate, especially when it comes to touching,' said a journalist in the delegation. 'I have seen him touch women inappropriately more than once, whether it is a flight attendant on Wing of Zion or a journalist whose shoulders he hugs and pulls her to him. This is inappropriate and can definitely be disturbing.'
Shelley, 65, is a Netanyahu confidant and Likud activist. He served as ambassador to Brazil from 2017 to 2021, and was also director general of the Beersheba Municipality.
Shelley was ridiculed in 2019 during his stint in Brazil for attempting to conceal the fact that lobster — one of the foods forbidden by Jewish dietary laws — was served during a meeting with the country's then-president Jair Bolsonaro, by photoshopping an image of the meal.
He was barred from public office for three years, from 2012 to 2015, after admitting he had not declared his political affiliation despite being a Likud member while he acted as chairman of the Israel Postal Company's board of directors and director general of the Beersheba municipality.