Avi Beker ( he, אבי בקר; May 3, 1951 – June 4, 2015) was an Israeli writer, statesman, and academic. Beker served as secretary-general of the

World Jewish Congress The World Jewish Congress (WJC) was founded in Geneva, Switzerland in August 1936 as an international federation of Jewish communities and organizations. According to its mission statement, the World Jewish Congress' main purpose is to act as ...

from 4 October 2001 to 14 October 2003. Born in Tel Aviv in 1951, Avi Beker served in the Israel Defense Forces and rose to the rank of captain. He graduated from

Tel Aviv University Tel Aviv University (TAU) ( he, אוּנִיבֶרְסִיטַת תֵּל אָבִיב, ''Universitat Tel Aviv'') is a public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Locate ...

and obtained a Ph.D. in political science from

City University of New York The City University of New York ( CUNY; , ) is the public university system of New York City. It is the largest urban university system in the United States, comprising 25 campuses: eleven senior colleges, seven community colleges and seven pro ...

. He was a member of the Permanent Mission of Israel to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoni ...

(1977–1982) and a delegate to five United Nations General Assemblies and two special sessions of the General Assembly on disarmament, in 1978 and 1982 respectively.

World Jewish Congress

Beker served as secretary-general of the

from 2001 to 2003, following stints as the organization's international relations director (from 1998 to 2001) and as executive director of the WJC Israel office (from 1985 to 2001). He worked with several governments on ownership of property confiscated during the Nazi period. He served on the Claims Conference of Material Claims against Germany, the Norwegian Foundation for Jewish Heritage, the Dutch Jewish Fund, the Government Foundation for Restitution in the Czech Republic, and the Slovak Fund on Jewish Property. After retiring from the WJC in 2003, Beker headed the Jewish Public Policy Project and the UN–Israel Institute at the Hartog School of Government and Policy. He also taught courses on diplomacy and international law at

and at

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private research university in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll in 1789 as Georgetown College, the university has grown to comprise eleven undergraduate and graduate ...

. He also served as regular columnist for the Israeli newspapers

Haaretz ''Haaretz'' ( , originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , ) is an Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel, and is now published in both Hebrew and English in the Berliner ...

and

Times of Israel ''The Times of Israel'' is an Israeli multi-language online newspaper that was launched in 2012. It was co-founded by Israeli journalist David Horovitz, who is also the founding editor, and American billionaire investor Seth Klarman.

. Beker also was a member of the Board of Directors of the Jewish Diaspora Museum Beit Hatfutsnot in Tel Aviv, of

Yad Vashem Yad Vashem ( he, יָד וַשֵׁם; literally, "a memorial and a name") is Israel's official memorial to the victims of the Holocaust. It is dedicated to preserving the memory of the Jews who were murdered; honoring Jews who fought against th ...

in Jerusalem, of the Board of Trustees of

Bar-Ilan University Bar-Ilan University (BIU, he, אוניברסיטת בר-אילן, ''Universitat Bar-Ilan'') is a public research university in the Tel Aviv District city of Ramat Gan, Israel. Established in 1955, Bar Ilan is Israel's second-largest academi ...

, of the WIZO College of Design and Management, and of the Africa Israel Hotels Corporation. He died on 4 June 2015 after a long illness.Former WJC Secretary-General Dr. Avi Beker Passes Away - Arutz Sheva 4 June 2015
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Books

* ''The Chosen: The History of An Idea, and the Anatomy of an Obsession'' * ''Disarmament Without Order – The Politics of Disarmament in the United Nations'' (Westport, CT: Greenwood Press 1985). * ''The United Nations and Israel – From Recognition to Reprehension'' (Lexington, MA: Lexington Books, 1988). * Chief Editor, ''Jewish Communities of the World'' (Minnesota Lerner Publications, 1999). * Editor, ''The Plunder of Jewish Property During the Holocaust – Confronting European History'' (England: Palgrave and New York: New York University Press, 2001). Contributing two essays. * Co-editor with Yaacov Ro'i – ''Jewish Culture and Identity in the Soviet Union'' (New York: New York University Press 1989). In this book he contributed the essay "Superpower relations and Jewish Identity in the Soviet Union". * Editor, ''Arms Control Without Glasnost – Building Security in the Middle East'' (Jerusalem: Israel Council On Foreign Relations, 1993), including his article "Denuclearization Without Glasnost". * Co-editor, pictorial album, ''World Jewish Congress Jubilee 1936–1986'' (Jerusalem, World Jewish Congress, 1986). * Editor (proceedings) ''International Law and Foreign Policy'' (Jerusalem, Israel Council on Foreign Relations, 1991). * Co-editor (reader) ''German Unification: A Jewish-Israeli Perspective'' (Jerusalem, Israel Council on Foreign Relations, 1991).

References

External links

* * *https://web.archive.org/web/20070818121402/http://spirit.tau.ac.il/government/AviB.asp {{DEFAULTSORT:Beker, Avi People from Tel Aviv Tel Aviv University alumni Israeli political scientists 1951 births 2015 deaths Israeli diplomats Israeli Jews Ono Academic College faculty Burials at Kiryat Shaul Cemetery