Israel Police Set to Get First Hijab-Wearing Muslim Lieutenant
Karys Rhea
Sabreen Saadi. Photo: Twitter screenshot.
Sabreen Saadi is set become the first hijab-wearing Muslim woman to attain the rank of lieutenant in the Israel Police.
“I always love to share stories about Arab Israelis since their stories are seldom heard in int’l media,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Arab media spokesperson, Ofir Gendelman, tweeted on Monday. “Congrats to Master Sgt. Sabreen Saadi, a Hijab wearing muslim police officer, who will soon become a lieutenant with the Israeli police!
Ofir Gendelman @ofirgendelman
I always love to share stories about Arab Israelis since their stories are seldom heard in int’l media.
Congrats to Master Sgt. Sabreen Saadi, a Hijab wearing muslim police officer, who will soon become a lieutenant with the Israeli police!
Saadi comes from a traditional Muslim family in a Bedouin town in northern Israel. She told Yediot Ahronot she had received some threats from others in her community over her choice of career path, but said she was not deterred, stating, “I fear only God.”
Since 2016, when the Israeli government established a special unit aimed at improving policing and security in the country’s Arab communities, more than 600 Arab men and 55 Arab women have enlisted in the Israel Police. Eight new police stations have been established in the Arab sector, with the intention of adding ten more.