Zvi Mazel (; born 4 March 1939) is an Israeli diplomat. He has served as the Israeli
ambassador
An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...
to
Egypt
Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...
,
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
, and
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
.
Education and work experience
Mazel was born in
Bnei Brak
Bnei Brak ( ) or Bene Beraq, is a city located on the central Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean Israeli coastal plain, coastal plain in Israel, just east of Tel Aviv. A center of Haredi Judaism, Bnei Brak covers an area of 709 hectares (1,752 acre ...
, and served in the
IDF from 1956 to 1958. After initial studies in Israel, Mazel studied political science in
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 ...
, at the
Institut d'Études Politiques de Paris
Sciences Po () or Sciences Po Paris, also known as the Paris Institute of Political Studies (), is a public research university located in Paris, France, that holds the status of ''grande école'' and the legal status of . The university's unde ...
(The Parisian Institute for Political Studies). There he met his wife, Michelle, a political scientist and writer. He graduated in 1963, and joined the diplomatic corps of the Israeli Foreign Ministry in 1966, where he served as a researcher at the Foreign Ministry's Institute of Political Research.
From 1969 to 1973, he served as First Secretary of the Israeli Embassy in
Antananarivo
Antananarivo (Malagasy language, Malagasy: ; French language, French: ''Tananarive'', ), also known by its colonial shorthand form Tana (), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Madagascar. The administrative area of the city, known ...
,
Madagascar
Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...
, and then served as an attache at the Israeli Embassy in
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
until 1977, when he returned to Israel to again serve as a researcher in the Institute of Political Research.
From 1980 to 1982, he served at the Israeli Embassy in
Cairo
Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...
, during the thaw period between Israel and
Egypt
Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...
that ended with the
1982 Lebanon War
The 1982 Lebanon War, also called the Second Israeli invasion of Lebanon, began on 6 June 1982, when Israel invaded southern Lebanon. The invasion followed a series of attacks and counter-attacks between the Palestine Liberation Organization ...
. During this period, he also held the post as director of Eastern European division and head of the Egyptian and North African department at the Foreign Ministry.
In 1989 he was posted as ambassador to
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
, where he witnessed the
Romanian Revolution
The Romanian revolution () was a period of violent Civil disorder, civil unrest in Socialist Republic of Romania, Romania during December 1989 as a part of the revolutions of 1989 that occurred in several countries around the world, primarily ...
.
In 1992 he was appointed Deputy Director of the Foreign Ministry in charge of African affairs and was instrumental in reestablishing diplomatic relations between Israel and 19 African countries. In 1996 he returned to Egypt as an ambassador, and remained five years in that country.
["Grapevine: It’s in the genes"](_blank)
''Jerusalem Post''["Porträttet: Zvi Mazel har sett värre saker"](_blank)
''Dagens Nyheter''
In 2002, he was appointed ambassador to
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
, and served in this position until 2004. He retired from the foreign service in April 2004 at age 65.
Mazel has written extensively on Israeli-Turkish and Israeli-Egyptian relations, commenting that Erdogan's attempts to reverse Atatürk's secular policies have put him and Turkey at odds with Israel and the Western world. He sees pragmatic elements in the leaders of post-revolution Egypt, but dismisses the Muslim Brotherhood's potential for moderation. He is a fellow of the
Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs
The Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs (JCFA), formerly the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs (JCPA), is an Israeli think tank specializing in public diplomacy and foreign policy founded in 1976. JCPA publishes the biennial jo ...
.
Ambassadorship to Sweden
While serving as ambassador to Sweden, Mazel became a controversial figure in the country.
["Anti-Semitism, in Sweden? Depends who you're asking "](_blank)
Haaretz Once, in reaction to a call to highlight that products from Israeli settlements sometimes had been labeled to fit into the EU-Israel tax-free trade agreement, Mazel stated that the Swedish Archbishop
K. G. Hammar
Karl Gustav Hilding Hammar, commonly referred to as K. G. Hammar, (born 18 February 1943) is a Swedish clergyman. He was Archbishop of Uppsala, primate of the Church of Sweden, from 1997 to 2006. During his tenure as archbishop he was a highly di ...
"probably is an
anti-semite
Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...
."
He has also been quoted as saying that Swedish Foreign Minister
Anna Lindh
Ylva Anna Maria Lindh (19 June 1957 – 11 September 2003) was a Swedish politician and lawyer. A member of the Swedish Social Democratic Party, she served as Minister for Foreign Affairs from 1998 until her death. She was also a Member of the ...
's criticism of Israel's alleged human rights violations could not be tolerated.
Mazel also called former
foreign minister
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 ...
Sten Andersson
Sten Sture Andersson (20 April 1923 – 16 September 2006) was a Swedish Social Democratic politician. He served as Minister for Social Affairs from 1982 to 1985 and as Minister for Foreign Affairs from 1985 to 1991. He was also President o ...
and Sweden's
UN ambassador
Pierre Schori "professional anti-Israelis."
At the same time Mazel embraced personalities seen as controversial in Sweden as "Israel-friendly". Most noted was in 2003, when Mazel appeared in a well known picture with
Helge Fossmo
Helge Arnold Fossmo (born 27 July 1971) is a Swedish Pentecostal pastor sentenced to life imprisonment for solicitation of the Knutby murder in Sweden in 2004.
Life before Knutby
Helge Fossmo was born to Norwegian parents in the village of Bj ...
, at that time only known as leader of an ultra-conservative religious group, later imprisoned as the person behind one of the most highly publicized murder cases in Sweden's modern history, the
Knutby murder.
In January 2004, Mazel vandalized the
art installation
Installation art is an artistic genre of three-dimensional works that are often site-specific and designed to transform the perception of a space. Generally, the term is applied to interior spaces, whereas exterior interventions are often cal ...
''
Snow White and The Madness of Truth'' by Israeli-born Swedish artist
Dror Feiler
Dror Elimelech Feiler (; born 31 August 1951) is a Swedish musician, artist and left-wing activist. He is married to the artist Gunilla Sköld-Feiler.
Early life and career
Feiler was born in Tel Aviv in 1951 to Eliezer and Pnina Feiler, and m ...
and his wife
Gunilla Sköld Feiler. The installation took advantage of the
reflecting pool
A reflecting pool, also called a reflection pool, is a water feature found in gardens, parks and memorial sites. It usually consists of a shallow pool of water with a reflective surface, undisturbed by fountain jets.
Design
Reflecting pools are o ...
in the courtyard of the
Swedish History Museum
The Swedish History Museum () is a museum located in Stockholm, Sweden, that covers Swedish archaeology and cultural history from the Mesolithic period to present day. Founded in 1866, it operates as a government agency and is tasked with preservi ...
, that was highlighted and filled with red liquid signifying blood. The work further consisted of plaques with poetry on the surrounding walls and music by
J.S. Bach. Well-lit on the surface of a basin: a styrofoam boat, displaying a portrait of the
Palestinian
Palestinians () are an Arab ethnonational group native to the Levantine region of Palestine.
*: "Palestine was part of the first wave of conquest following Muhammad's death in 632 CE; Jerusalem fell to the Caliph Umar in 638. The indigenous p ...
suicide bomber
A suicide attack (also known by a wide variety of other names, see below) is a deliberate attack in which the perpetrators knowingly sacrifice their own lives as part of the attack. These attacks are a form of murder–suicide that is ofte ...
Hanadi Jaradat
Hanadi Tayseer Abdul Malek Jaradat () (22 September 1975 – 4 October 2003) was a Palestinian terrorist from Jenin, who blew herself up on Saturday, 4 October 2003 in a suicide attack on Maxim restaurant, a Haifa restaurant co-owned by the sa ...
, who had perpetrated the
Maxim restaurant suicide bombing
The Maxim restaurant bombing was a Palestinian suicide bombing which occurred on October 4, 2003, in the beachfront restaurant Maxim in Haifa, Israel. Twenty-one civilians were killed and 60 were injured. Among the victims were two families an ...
a few months earlier, on one side and the word "Snövit" ("Snow White" in Swedish) written on the backside. Mazel pushed some lightstands into the pool, causing a short-circuit and disabling the light, and then told Feiler that: "This is not a work of art. This is an expression of hatred for the Israeli people. This has glorified suicide bombers". Further he said to the press that the piece constituted a "complete legitimization of genocide, the murder of innocent people, innocent civilians, under the guise of culture". Feiler rejected charges that their intention was to glorify suicide bombers and accused Mazel of "practicing censorship".
["Sharon backs envoy's art attack"]
''CNN'' 19 January 2004["Israelisk attack mot konstverk"](_blank)
''Svenska Dagbladet'' Feiler, who would play at the opening ceremony, refused to begin until Mazel left. Despite trying to explain himself, Mazel was asked to leave and escorted off the premises by museum security. The Swedish Foreign Ministry summoned him to ask for clarifications over the incident.
Mazel stated that "Sweden is among the most severely anti-Semitic places" with "daily agitations in the media to kill Jews."
Israeli Prime Minister
The prime minister of Israel (, Hebrew abbreviation: ; , ''Ra'īs al-Ḥukūma'') is the head of government and chief executive of the State of Israel.
Israel is a parliamentary republic with a president as the head of state. The presiden ...
Ariel Sharon
Ariel Sharon ( ; also known by his diminutive Arik, ; 26 February 192811 January 2014) was an Israeli general and politician who served as the prime minister of Israel from March 2001 until April 2006.
Born in Kfar Malal in Mandatory Palestin ...
later thanked Mazel "for his stand against the growing wave of anti-Semitism" in Sweden.
In August 2009, the now-retired Mazel responded to the Swedish government's refusal to reprimand the tabloid ''
Aftonbladet
(, lit. "The evening paper") is a Swedish language, Swedish daily tabloid newspaper published in Stockholm, Sweden. It is one of the largest daily newspapers in the Nordic countries.
History and profile
The newspaper was founded by Lar ...
'' for publishing
allegations that Israel harvested organs from dead Palestinians.
["Sweden condemned in Israeli press"]
''Sydsvenska Dagbladet'' He said that there is no
freedom of press
Freedom of the press or freedom of the media is the fundamental principle that communication and expression through various media, including printed and electronic media, especially published materials, should be considered a right to be exerc ...
in Sweden (
Reporters Without Borders
Reporters Without Borders (RWB; ; RSF) is an international non-profit and non-governmental organisation, non-governmental organization headquartered in Paris, which focuses on safeguarding the right to freedom of information. It describes its a ...
, in its 2009
press freedom index rankings showed that Sweden shared the top position with four other countries.) Mazel also said that the Social Democrats control the news with about 80% of Swedish newspapers connected to the Social Democrat movement, including the "four national papers". The newspaper ''
Sydsvenska Dagbladet
''Sydsvenska Dagbladet Snällposten'', generally known simply as ''Sydsvenskan'' (, ), is a daily newspaper published in Scania in Sweden.
History and profile
''Sydsvenskan'' was founded in 1870. In 1871 the paper merged with ''Snällposten'' ...
'' commented that Mazel perhaps was alluding to the national papers ''
Dagens Nyheter
(, ), abbreviated ''DN'', is a daily newspaper in Sweden. It is published in Stockholm and aspires to full national and international coverage, and is widely considered Sweden's newspaper of record
A newspaper of record is a major nationa ...
'', ''
Svenska Dagbladet
(, "The Swedish Daily News"), abbreviated SvD, is a daily List of Swedish newspapers, newspaper published in Stockholm, Sweden.
History and profile
The first issue of appeared on 18 December 1884. During the beginning of the 1900s the pap ...
'', ''
Aftonbladet
(, lit. "The evening paper") is a Swedish language, Swedish daily tabloid newspaper published in Stockholm, Sweden. It is one of the largest daily newspapers in the Nordic countries.
History and profile
The newspaper was founded by Lar ...
'' and ''
Expressen
(''The Express'') is one of two nationwide evening newspapers in Sweden. Describing itself as independent liberal, was founded in 1944; its symbol is a wasp and its slogans are "it stings" or " to your rescue".
The newspaper awards the cultu ...
'', and noted that of these four, ''Aftonbladet'' was the only one with a possible Social Democrat connection, as the trade unions have a 9% share in the newspaper.
According to Helle Klein, Mazel's ideas about Sweden may be from people like
Helge Fossmo
Helge Arnold Fossmo (born 27 July 1971) is a Swedish Pentecostal pastor sentenced to life imprisonment for solicitation of the Knutby murder in Sweden in 2004.
Life before Knutby
Helge Fossmo was born to Norwegian parents in the village of Bj ...
and other Christian extremists.
"Israels ambassadör tackar Knutby-pastorn"
''Aftonbladet''
References
External links
Zvi Mazel
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mazel, Zvi
1939 births
Living people
Ambassadors of Israel to Egypt
Ambassadors of Israel to Romania
Ambassadors of Israel to Sweden
Place of birth missing (living people)
People from Bnei Brak
Sciences Po alumni