Eliahu Eilat

Eliahu Elath (Hebrew: אליהו אילת), born Epstein (1903–June 21, 1990)[1] was an Israeli diplomat and Orientalist. In 1948 he became the first Israeli ambassador to the United States, and between 1950 and 1959, he was Israel's ambassador to the United Kingdom. He was the President of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem from 1962 to 1968.

Eliahu Elath
אליהו אילת
Elath in 1958 as Israeli Ambassador to the UK
2nd Israeli Ambassador to the United Kingdom
In office 1950–1959
President	Chaim Weizmann Yitzhak Ben-Zvi
Prime Minister	David Ben-Gurion Moshe Sharett
Preceded by	Mordechai Ali'ash
Succeeded by	Arthur Lurie
1st Israeli Ambassador to the United States
In office 1948–1950
President	Chaim Weizmann
Prime Minister	David Ben-Gurion
Succeeded by	Abba Eban
Personal details
Born	July 16, 1903 Snovsk, Russian Empire
Died	June 21, 1990 (aged 86) Jerusalem, Israel
Nationality	Israeli
Alma mater	University of Kiev
Occupation	President of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Biography

Epstein informed Harry S. Truman of the Israeli Declaration of Independence, which he wrote had been proclaimed "within the frontiers approved by the General Assembly of the United Nations in its Resolution of November 29, 1947". Epstein requested US recognition of the new state.

Eliahu Eilat immigrated from Russia to Palestine in 1924, and spent a decade in Beirut as a student and journalist.[2]

Diplomatic career

From 1934 to 1945 he worked for the Jewish Agency, which evolved into the government of Israel (as described by V. Jacobson in 1934 in “Report on my trip to Eretz Israel and Syria”, 12 May 1933).[1] That same year he came to the United States as the agency's representative in Washington, D.C., and from 1948 to 1950 he served as the first Israeli ambassador to the United States.[3] Following that appointment he served as the Israeli ambassador to the United Kingdom from 1950 to 1959. He was the president of Hebrew University from 1962 to 1968, following Giulio Racah and succeeded by Avraham Harman.[1][4]

During WWII, Elath visited Burma to meet with allied military leaders, including Major-General Orde Wingate. Elath was unaware that Wingate was a nudist and was said to have been "scarred for life by his experience of discussing Zionism for an hour and a half with a completely naked man".[5]

References

1. "Eliahu Elath" (in Hebrew). Retrieved 2008-12-20.
2. Lyons, Richard D. (1990-06-22). "Eliahu Elath, a Founder of Israel And an Ardent Zionist, 86, Dies". New York Times obituary, 22 June 1990. Retrieved 2009-09-01.
3. "Former Ambassadors to the U.S." Embassy of Israel, Washington D.C. Retrieved 2008-12-20.
4. "Office of the President | האוניברסיטה העברית בירושלים | The Hebrew University of Jerusalem". New.huji.ac.il. 2017-09-01. Retrieved 2020-02-18.
5. Donaldson, p. 652.

Further reading

• Donaldson, W. (2002) Brewer's Rogues, Villains & Eccentrics, Cassell: London. ISBN 0 304 35728 6.