Katriel Katz (; October 16, 1908 – October 14, 1988) 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 ...

who served as ambassador to the Soviet Union between 1965 and 1967 and

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

between 1956 and 1958.

Ambassador to the Soviet Union

Katz was the Israeli ambassador to the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

in the run up to 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 ...

. He served in that position for 21 months from September 6, 1965, to June 10, 1967. Katz was expelled from the Soviet Union by

Andrei Gromyko Andrei Andreyevich Gromyko ( – 2 July 1989) was a Soviet politician and diplomat during the Cold War. He served as Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Soviet Union), Minister of Foreign Affairs (1957–1985) and as List of heads of state of the So ...

on the last day of the

. Gromyko is said to have told Katz not to let his emotions get the better of him.

Air disaster

In 1968, Katz was involved in an emergency landing and runway fire at

London Heathrow Airport Heathrow Airport , also colloquially known as London Heathrow Airport and named ''London Airport'' until 1966, is the primary and largest international airport serving London, the capital and most populous city of England and the United Kingd ...

. During the evacuation from the aircraft, Katz was the only passenger to escape through the forward port door, despite the efforts of crew to stop him using that door. The two flight crew were almost carried out through the door by Katz, who was a large man. Katz was seriously injured jumping from the doorway.

Death

Katz died in 1988 at the age of 79.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Katz, Katriel 1908 births 1988 deaths Ambassadors of Israel to the Soviet Union Ambassadors of Israel to Poland 20th-century Israeli Jews 20th-century Polish Jews Survivors of aviation accidents or incidents Polish emigrants to Israel Burials at Har HaMenuchot