Moshe Yegar (; born 30 October 1930,

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

) is an Israeli retired diplomat, historian, and scholar. He is known for his expertise on

Islam in Southeast Asia Islam is the most widely practised religion in Southeast Asia with approximately 242 million adherents in the region (about 42% of its population), with majorities in Brunei, Indonesia and Malaysia as well as parts of southern Thailand and ...

and the history of Israel’s diplomatic service. Throughout his career, Yegar held various diplomatic positions worldwide and authored numerous works on related topics.

Early life and education

Moshe Yegar was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 1930 to Jacob and Chava Yegar. His father, Jacob Yegar, was an educator and one of the founders of the first Hebrew school in Buenos Aires, named after poet

Hayim Nahman Bialik Hayim Nahman Bialik (; January 9, 1873 – July 4, 1934) was a Jewish poet who wrote primarily in Hebrew language, Hebrew and Yiddish. Bialik is considered a pioneer of modern Hebrew poetry, part of the vanguard of Jewish thinkers who gave voice ...

. The Yegar family immigrated to Eretz-Israel in 1935, settling in

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 ...

, where Moshe attended the

Hebrew Reali School The Hebrew Reali School of Haifa (), located in Haifa, Israel, is one of the country's oldest private schools.Hebrew University of Jerusalem The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; ) is an Israeli public university, public research university based in Jerusalem. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Chaim Weizmann in July 1918, the public university officially opened on 1 April 1925. ...

, obtaining his B.A., M.A., and Ph.D.

Military service

From 1946 to 1948, Yegar was involved in the

Hagana Haganah ( , ) was the main Zionist paramilitary organization that operated for the Yishuv in the British Mandate for Palestine. It was founded in 1920 to defend the Yishuv's presence in the region, and was formally disbanded in 1948, when it ...

, a Jewish paramilitary organization under the British Mandate. After Israel's establishment, he served as an officer in the

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...

from 1949 to 1955, reaching the rank of Major.

Diplomatic career

Yegar joined Israel’s

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

in 1956, serving in various roles until his retirement in 1995. His diplomatic postings included assignments in

Rangoon Yangon, formerly romanized as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar. Yangon was the List of capitals of Myanmar, capital of Myanmar until 2005 and served as such until 2006, when the State Peace and Dev ...

(now

Yangon Yangon, formerly romanized as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar. Yangon was the List of capitals of Myanmar, capital of Myanmar until 2005 and served as such until 2006, when the State Peace and Dev ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

, and

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

. In 1965, he was assigned to open a semi-diplomatic presence in

Kuala Lumpur Kuala Lumpur (KL), officially the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, is the capital city and a Federal Territories of Malaysia, federal territory of Malaysia. It is the largest city in the country, covering an area of with a census population ...

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

, though it closed within a year due to the lack of formal diplomatic relations. In Jerusalem, he held senior positions within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, including Head of the Information Department (1975–1978), Deputy Director General and Head of the Division for Information and Communication (1980–1985), and later Deputy Director General overseeing Asia, Africa, and Oceania (1990–1993).

India-Israel relations

Yegar contributed to the establishment of full diplomatic relations between India and Israel. He documented this process and the negotiations in the *Indian Defence Review*, a journal on foreign policy and national security.

Academic career and research

As an expert on Southeast Asian Islam, Yegar taught a course on the political history of Southeast Asia at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem for nine years. He has authored numerous books and articles on Islam in Southeast Asia and Israel's foreign policy, published in Hebrew and English. His research primarily covers the Muslim communities of Myanmar, the Southern Philippines, and Southern Thailand.

Awards and recognitions

In 1994, Moshe Yegar was honored with the Palacky Gold Medal by the Czech National Academy of Science in recognition of his extensive research on Islam in Southeast Asia, with a particular focus on the Rohingya community in Burma. This award highlighted his contributions to understanding the region's complex religious and ethnic dynamics. In 2013, Yegar's efforts in diplomacy were acknowledged when he received the M.L. Sondhi Prize for International Politics from the Institute for Asia and the Pacific for his instrumental role in facilitating diplomatic relations between India and Israel. In 2019, he was awarded the prestigious Jabotinsky Prize for Literature and Research, further solidifying his reputation as a scholar and a diplomat who has significantly contributed to both academic inquiry and practical diplomacy.

Public roles

In addition to his diplomatic and academic work, Yegar has held public roles as chairman of Beit Agnon in Jerusalem, the

Jerusalem Baroque Orchestra 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 ...

, and The Institute for the Translation of Hebrew Literature in Jerusalem.

Personal life

Yegar is married to Dr. Dvorah Barzilay-Yegar, a historian who specializes in the life of Dr.

Chaim Weizmann Chaim Azriel Weizmann ( ; 27 November 1874 – 9 November 1952) was a Russian-born Israeli statesman, biochemist, and Zionist leader who served as president of the World Zionist Organization, Zionist Organization and later as the first pre ...

, the first President of Israel. The couple has one son and one daughter.

References

Selected publications

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External links

*
Published books by Moshe Yegar
in the Stanford University library catalog. {{DEFAULTSORT:Yegar, Moshe 1930 births Haganah members Argentine emigrants Immigrants to Mandatory Palestine Israeli historians Hebrew University of Jerusalem alumni Living people Ambassadors of Israel to Sweden Ambassadors of Israel to the Czech Republic