Brooklyn Borough President

BROOKLYN CABBIE HONORED FOR RETURNING DIAMONDS

Photographs by Andy Kadin

In photo: Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz (left) presented a Proclamation to cab driver Hossam Abdalla. Abdalla’s brother, Karim (right), joined him.

Borough President Markowitz salutes Hossam Abdalla for his honesty

On Monday, August 15, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz honored Brooklyn cab driver Hossam Abdalla at Borough Hall for returning a suitcase filled with hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of sparkling bridal jewelry. Canadian jeweler Thierry Belisha and his business partner Haimy Mann, both orthodox Jews, accidentally left the bag of diamonds in the trunk of Abdalla’s cab on August 4 after a trip to LaGuardia Airport . When Belisha realized he lost the diamonds, he called all the rabbis he knew in Israel to pray for him — because with no receipt, he could not track down the cab. Luckily, Abdalla, a devout Muslim born in Egypt , found their business card in his trunk and tracked down the jewelers in Montreal . Balisha had remained in New York to search for the jewels and retrieved them from Abdalla.

“Hossam Abdalla’s gesture of honesty proves once again that Brooklynites set the standard for honor and selflessness,” said Borough President Markowitz. “That Mr. Abdalla, a Muslim, returned the diamonds to a Jewish-owned business in Montreal makes this only in Brooklyn story even more heartwarming. His act is the kind of sparkling jewel the County of Kings is proud to have in its crown!”

“From where I stand right now, I feel like I represent every responsible New Yorker,” Abdalla said. “This is a message from God. All that’s happened was a message from God. It just goes to show that in Brooklyn , there are good people that this city can count on. In the hardest time, in the good time, the good people are the people who are going to lift this city up and are going to keep this culture in the best shape.”

Balisha and Mann sent a letter of thanks to Abdalla. “We believe that this story holds a greater message in which being honest and doing good to others is rewarding and should not depend on race, religion or color,” it read. “We are so happy that this proclamation was made in your honor because you represent honesty, fraternity, peace and good citizenship. Hossam, from the bottom of our hearts, our families join us in thanking you.”