“If he were from another country, he wouldn’t last a minute—we’d throw him out,” wrote senior Emirati officials in a sharp message to Israel, expressing repeated frustration with the conduct of Israeli Ambassador to Abu Dhabi Yossi Shelley.
The message accused him of inappropriate behavior and crossing personal and business boundaries. While the UAE is reportedly isolating Shelley from official meetings, the Israeli leadership has so far ignored the demands. His return to Israel now appears imminent.
Roughly a month ago, the UAE’s highest-ranking trio—President Mohammed bin Zayed, Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed, and Strategic Affairs Minister Tahnoun bin Zayed—sent a stern message to Jerusalem: Israel must replace Shelley “for personal and economic reasons.”
When Israel did not respond, similar messages were relayed to three senior Israeli businesspeople and one academic. The concern: Shelley's conduct could soon render him persona non grata and even lead to his expulsion from Abu Dhabi.
According to reports sent by Shelley’s local security team to the ruling family’s offices, the ambassador “acted in a manner inappropriate for local customs” at a public venue—a restaurant in Abu Dhabi. The UAE leadership also accused him of violating business and commercial codes, emphasizing that as an ambassador, he should not be involved in any business dealings.
When Jerusalem failed to respond, a detailed breakdown of complaints against Shelley was sent via intermediaries. Senior Emirati officials encouraged the Israeli businesspeople to convey the message directly to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar.
“If it had been a different ambassador caught breaching personal and financial boundaries, they wouldn’t last a minute—we’d remove them immediately,” emphasized the Emiratis. They noted that it is well known Shelley is “very close to Prime Minister Netanyahu and his wife, Sara.”
Despite this, Netanyahu insisted on keeping Shelley in his post. Sa’ar declined to comment, reportedly because Shelley is not officially part of the Foreign Ministry’s diplomatic corps.
In response, senior Emirati officials monitoring Israeli media reports have begun actively excluding Shelley from meetings with high-level officials. He is now barred from entering government ministries, as Abu Dhabi-led Emirates, including Dubai, reportedly observe a clear “lack of agreement with Israel.”
Amid rising tensions between Jerusalem and Abu Dhabi, Netanyahu has not been invited for an official visit to the UAE. In contrast, opposition leader Yair Lapid and former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett have both visited and held meetings with President Sheikh Mohammed and Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah.
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According to a report on Israel’s Kan Bet radio, one of the incidents that sparked Emirati outrage involved Shelley lashing out at local security guards who had asked him to limit his evening movements, reportedly shouting: “What is this, a prison?” In another incident, Shelley allegedly allowed unidentified passengers to enter his diplomatic vehicle without prior clearance. He also introduced himself as the Israeli ambassador in contexts where doing so was unnecessary, disregarding security sensitivities and the risk of terror threats.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry commented: “The ambassador’s recall has not been discussed and is not on the agenda.”