Gideon Rafael (; March 5, 1913 – February 10, 1999) was an Israeli

diplomat A diplomat (from ; romanization, romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state (polity), state, International organization, intergovernmental, or Non-governmental organization, nongovernmental institution to conduct diplomacy with one ...

and one of the founders of the

Israeli Foreign Ministry The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs (; ) is one of the most important ministries in the Israeli government. The ministry's role is to implement Israel's foreign policy, and promote economic, cultural, and scientific relations with other c ...

Biography

Gideon Ruffer (later Rafael) was born as Georg Ruffer in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, to a Jewish family, the son of a prosperous furrier. He studied law at the

University of Berlin The Humboldt University of Berlin (, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin, Germany. The university was established by Frederick William III on the initiative of Wilhelm von Humbol ...

. In 1933, when the Nazis rose to power in Germany, he escaped to

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, where he studied at an agricultural school in

Toulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...

, and in 1934, he made

aliyah ''Aliyah'' (, ; ''ʿălīyyā'', ) is the immigration of Jews from Jewish diaspora, the diaspora to, historically, the geographical Land of Israel or the Palestine (region), Palestine region, which is today chiefly represented by the Israel ...

to Palestine, where he was one of the founders of kibbutz HaZore'a. Rafael joined the

Haganah Haganah ( , ) was the main Zionist political violence, Zionist paramilitary organization that operated for the Yishuv in the Mandatory Palestine, British Mandate for Palestine. It was founded in 1920 to defend the Yishuv's presence in the reg ...

, and was a commander during the 1936–39 Arab revolt in Palestine. He was later sent to Europe on missions to help illegally smuggle European Jews into Palestine, in defiance of British immigration restrictions. In 1940, he was sent to

Rhodes Rhodes (; ) is the largest of the Dodecanese islands of Greece and is their historical capital; it is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, ninth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Administratively, the island forms a separ ...

by the Haganah to negotiate with a representative of

Adolf Eichmann Otto Adolf Eichmann ( ;"Eichmann"
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. ; 19 March 1906 – 1 Ju ...

for the transfer of German Jews to Palestine. He discussed a plan to have 40,000 German Jews sent to Palestine via Rhodes, but the plan fell apart after

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, which then ruled Rhodes, entered World War II. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he enlisted in the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

, and fought in the Syria-Lebanon Campaign. After he was discharged in 1943, he began working for 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 ...

. He worked in intelligence, as a liaison with Allied forces and Jewish populations in Europe. In 1945, he assisted in preparing the Jewish case for the

Nuremberg Trials #REDIRECT Nuremberg trials {{redirect category shell, {{R from other capitalisation{{R from move ...

. He also directed efforts to recover lost Jewish property in Europe.Three Appointments to the Foreign Office of the Government of Israel
/ref> Israel UN delegation 1950

In 1947, he became a member of the Jewish Agency's delegation to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

. Rafael married Nurit Weissberg, and the couple had a son, Amnon, and two daughters, Michal and Ruth. Rafael died in 1999 at the age of 85. As he had willed that his body be donated to science after his death, there was no funeral. At the time of his death, he had seven grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

Diplomatic career

Upon Israeli independence in 1948, he was one of three founding members of the

, along with

Moshe Sharett Moshe Sharett (; born Moshe Chertok (); 15 October 1894 – 7 July 1965) was the second prime minister of Israel and the country’s first foreign minister. He signed the Israeli Declaration of Independence and was a principal negotiator in th ...

, Israel's first Foreign Minister, and a secretary. Rafael served as an aide to Sharett. In May 1948, he was assigned to draw up a list of world capitals to be officially informed of Israel's establishment. He was then sent to New York as an aide to Abba Eban, Israel's first representative and spokesman at the United Nations.The Telegraph Clerk Held Up Announcement of Israel's Birth
/ref> In 1953, he returned to Israel, and was in charge of United Nations and Middle Eastern affairs at the Israeli Foreign Ministry until 1957. He conducted secret negotiations with Arab officials, and maintained these secret contacts into the 1970s. In 1957, he was appointed Israel's ambassador to

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

and

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

, and permanent observer in European and UN institutions in

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

. He served in these positions until 1960. In 1967, he became Israeli ambassador to the UN, and was serving in this position during the

Six-Day War The Six-Day War, also known as the June War, 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states, primarily United Arab Republic, Egypt, Syria, and Jordan from 5 to 10June ...

. In 1968, he returned to Israel, and was Director-General of the Foreign Ministry until 1972. In 1973, he was appointed Israel's ambassador to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, and served in this position until 1977, when he returned to Israel and retired. He subsequently published a book about his career.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rafael, Gideon 1913 births 1999 deaths Ambassadors of Israel to the United Kingdom Ambassadors of Israel to Belgium German emigrants to Mandatory Palestine Diplomats from Berlin Israeli people of German-Jewish descent British military personnel of World War II Ambassadors of Israel to Luxembourg Permanent representatives of Israel to the United Nations Humboldt University of Berlin alumni Burials at Har HaMenuchot