Chaim Yahil (; 1905–1974) was an Israeli diplomat.

Biography

Chaim Hoffmann (later Yahil) was born in the town of Wallachisch Meseritsch in

Moravia Moravia ( ; ) is a historical region in the eastern Czech Republic, roughly encompassing its territory within the Danube River's drainage basin. It is one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The medieval and early ...

, then part of the

Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...

(today:

Valašské Meziříčí Valašské Meziříčí (; ) is a town in Vsetín District in the Zlín Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 23,000 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an Cultural monument (Czech Republic)#Monum ...

, in the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

). In post-World War I

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

he was active in the

Zionist youth movement A Zionist youth movement () is an organization formed for Jewish children and adolescents for educational, social, and ideology, ideological development, including a belief in Zionism, Jewish nationalism as represented in the State of Israel. Yout ...

Blau-Weiss, founding a local branch in his hometown and later serving on the movement's national council. Yahil

immigrated Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as permanent residents. Commuters, tourists, and other short- ...

Mandatory Palestine Mandatory Palestine was a British Empire, British geopolitical entity that existed between 1920 and 1948 in the Palestine (region), region of Palestine, and after 1922, under the terms of the League of Nations's Mandate for Palestine. After ...

in 1929 and joined Kibbutz Giv'at Hayim.

Nur Masalha Nur ad-Din Masalha (, ; born 4 January 1957) is a Palestinian writer, historian, and academic. His work focuses on the history, politics, and theology of Palestine, including themes such as the Palestinian Nakba, Zionism, and liberation theolog ...

(2000). ''Imperial Israel and the Palestinians: The Politics of Expansion''. Sterling, Va.: Pluto Press (). 32. After a short stay he returned to Europe, completing his Ph.D. in political science in Vienna. He worked for the Zionist movement in Prague and published his first book (under the name Chajim Hoffmann), a history of the Zionist labor movement in Palestine
''Träger der Verwirklichung: die zionistische Arbeiterschaft im Aufbau''
in 1937/1938. In 1943 Yahil married Leni Westphal, who had immigrated to Palestine from Germany in 1934, and, as

Leni Yahil Leni Yahil (; 1912–2007), née Leni Westphal, was a German-born Israeli historian, specializing in the Holocaust and Danish Jewry. Early life Leni was born in Düsseldorf, Germany, in 1912, and was raised in Potsdam, Germany. She was a sixth ...

, went on to become a historian specializing in the Holocaust and Danish Jewry. They had two sons, Amos (b. 1943) and Jonathan (b. 1945-d. 1967).Tikva Fatal-Kna'ani.
Leni Yahil, 1912-2007
" ''Jewish Women: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia''. Jewish Women's Archive. Retrieved 12 June 2014.

Public and diplomatic career

On his return to Palestine in 1939 Yahil served as

Histadrut Histadrut, fully the New General Workers' Federation () and until 1994 the General Federation of Labour in the Land of Israel (, ''HaHistadrut HaKlalit shel HaOvdim B'Eretz Yisrael''), is Israel's national trade union center and represents the m ...

Director of Education

Haifa Haifa ( ; , ; ) is the List of cities in Israel, third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropolitan area i ...

until 1942. From 1942 to 1945 was a member of the Histadrut Executive committee. In 1945 Yahil was the

Jewish Agency The Jewish Agency for Israel (), formerly known as the Jewish Agency for Palestine, is the largest Jewish non-profit organization in the world. It was established in 1929 as the operative branch of the World Zionist Organization (WZO). As an ...

representative in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

Germany. After the Israeli

Declaration of Independence A declaration of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the territory of another state or failed state, or are breaka ...

Yahil became the Israeli Consul in Munich until 1949. In 1949 Yahil returned to

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

joining the Jewish Agency Department of Absorption as director in

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

. In 1951 Yahil was appointed as head of Information Department in the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs until 1953. In 1956 Yahil became the minister to Scandinavian countries later serving as the Israeli Ambassador to Sweden and minister to

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

and

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

. In 1960 Yahil took the post of Director General of Ministry of Foreign Affairs. From 1965 until 1972 Yahil was Chairman of the Israeli Broadcasting Authority and until his death in 1974 was the leader of the "Whole land of Israel" movement.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yahil, Chaim 1905 births 1974 deaths Ambassadors of Israel to Sweden Ambassadors of Israel to Norway Ambassadors of Israel to Iceland Writers on Zionism Zionist activists Jews from Mandatory Palestine Czechoslovak emigrants to Mandatory Palestine Czech Zionists People from Valašské Meziříčí Burials at Har HaMenuchot