Asher Naim

Asher Naim (December 28, 1929 – November 11, 2016) is an Israeli diplomat who has served in Israeli missions to the United States, Finland, Ethiopia, United Nations, and South Korea.[1] Naim was Israel's ambassador to Ethiopia from 1990 to 1991[1] and played a crucial role in the 1991 Operation Solomon which airlifted around 14,200 Ethiopian Jews to Israel in a single day.[2]

Early life and education

Naim was born in Tripoli, Libya, and he moved to Israel with his family in 1944.[2] He graduated from Hebrew University of Jerusalem and held a master's degree in Jurisprudence.

Career

Naim has served in Israel's Foreign Ministry from 1956 until his retirement in 1999. He started his career as a cultural and press Attaché in Tokyo (1956 - 1960), where he had also taught Hebrew at Tokyo University.[1] In 1960, he was sent to Kenya, which was then a British colony but in the process of gaining independence, in the hope of building diplomatic relations with Kenya once it became an independent state. While in Kenya, Naim worked closely with Kenyan leader Jomo Kenyatta, who later became the first president of Kenya, and paved the way to fruitful relations between Kenya and Israel.[3] Naim later served in Washington D.C. from 1968 to 1973 as an assistant to Ambassador Yitzhak Rabin and then as the consul general of Israel in Philadelphia from 1976 to 1981. Later, Naim served as an Ambassador in Finland from 1988 to 1990, and then in Ethiopia from 1990 to 1991. After a brief stint at the United Nations, he completed his career as Ambassador to South Korea from 1992 to 1995.[1]

Operation Solomon

In 1990, Ethiopia's long-lasting civil war came to an end, and the Mengistu government was about to be toppled. Israel was concerned for an ancient community of Jews (Beta Israel) who have been living in Ethiopia for three thousand years. which was the main reason that Naim was sent to Ethiopia.[4][5] Naim was instrumental in the process of negotiating with Ethiopia's then President Mengistu Haile Mariam. Operation Solomon was launched on May 21, 1991. It involved 41 flights, 37 airplanes, lasted for 25 hours, and 14,200 Ethiopian Jews were taken to Israel.[6] Because of Naim's crucial role in Operation Solomon, he was awarded the highest recognition by Israel's President Chaim Herzog.[7]

Legacy

After evacuating thousands of Ethiopian Jews to Israel, absorbing the immigrants to the mainstream Israeli society became the greatest challenge. Although officially retired in 1999, Naim continued to draw support for Ethiopian Jews, the group of people that he had helped save.[8] Naim, along with other mainly American philanthropists, founded a scholarship fund (Keren Hanan Aynor Foundation) to support young Ethiopians who lived in Israel and wished to attend college and graduate schools.[9]

Death

Asher Naim passed at his home in Jerusalem after a long illness on November 11, 2016. He is survived by his wife Hilda, his children Ronit Zohar, Ari Naim and Gideon Naim, as well as 7 grandchildren, and many siblings and extended family.

Books
  • Saving the Lost Tribe: The Rescue and Redemption of the Ethiopian Jews, by Asher Naim, 2003
  • Jaekob, the Dreamer, by Sylvia Rouss and Asher Naim, 2015
  • Yosef's Dream, by Sylvia Rouss and Asher Naim, 2015

See also

References
  1. Blas, Howard (January 21, 2004). "Conversation with Asher Naim". Archived from the original on February 25, 2018. Retrieved February 10, 2018.
  2. "Ambassador Naim to discuss Operation Solomon, Israel". Cornell College News Center. Cornell College. Retrieved February 10, 2018.
  3. "Political Review: Perspectives - Jomo Kenyatta and Israel by Asher Naim". 2005. Retrieved February 10, 2018.
  4. "Operation Solomon: Airlifting 14,000 Jews out of Ethiopia". BBC. May 25, 2016. Retrieved February 10, 2018.
  5. Naim, Asher (January 2003). Saving the Lost Tribe: The Rescue and Redemption of the Ethiopian Jews (1st ed.). United States: Ballantine Books. pp. 8–11. ISBN 978-0345450814. Retrieved February 10, 2018.
  6. Bahloul, Marla; Arellanes, Stephanie. "Naim highlights Ethiopian Jews". Campus Times. University of La Verne. Retrieved February 10, 2018.
  7. "The Behind the Scenes Story of Operation Solomon: The Exodus of Ethiopian Jews to Israel — Then and Now". Institute for Judaic Studies. Retrieved February 10, 2018.
  8. Pine, Dan (February 14, 2003). "Ex-ambassador coming here on mission to aid Ethiopians". The Jewish News of Northern California. Retrieved February 10, 2018.
  9. "Scholarship Fund for Ethiopian Jews" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on February 25, 2018. Retrieved February 10, 2018.
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