Rehavam Amir
Encyclopedia
Rehavam Amir, Israel, Born 1 January 1916, Eretz – Israeli Parachutist, Ambassador, Chief of Protocol, Senior Staff – Israeli Ministry for Foreign Affairs.
under British Mandate. He arrived in Jerusalem and stayed with his relatives in the neighborhood of Beit Hakerem. There he completed his studies in the local Teachers' College under the directorship of Prof. Ben-Zion Dinnaburg – Dinur. Upon graduating, Rehavam went to teach in Yavneel (then a frontier settlement) in Galilee, where in time he was to meet his wife to be Avital Brandstatter. In 1939, requested by the Hagannah, he moved to Tel Aviv
and taught at the Gretz Elementary School.
Ayelet Hashachar in Upper Galilee
. While teaching in Yavneel, Amir served as the contact between Yavneel and Hagannah headquarters.
In 1941, Amir was requested to head a Hagannah communication course that was held in the 'Oriental Bazaar' in Tel Aviv for members of the 'Moshe Dayan Network'.
The participants in the course were taught professional wireless operations by experts such as Peretz Rosenberg and others. Upon the completion of the course, Amir was invited to the home of Eliahu Golomb, Head of the Hagannah. From him Amir first learned of the possibility to be sent beyond enemy lines in Europe. He was asked whether he would be willing to go on a lone Hagannah mission, as a British soldier, in an attempt to reach one of the Jewish communities in occupied Europe. Fully understanding the dangers involved and not knowing any of the details of his intended lone assignment – Amir gave his immediate consent.
In the winter of 1941 he was sent to British HQ in Cairo
where he established a school for wireless operators whose trainees were Yugoslav volunteers from Slovenia
who had been captured by the British in the Western Desert. Amir's Hagannah commanders, Eliahu Golomb and Reuven Zaslani (Shiloah), supported the venture. Thus Amir returned to Cairo in February 1942 to command the course and in addition to undergo himself further training in preparation for his lone mission: he completed a parachutist course designated for agents who had volunteered to jump behind enemy lines and which was conducted by the British ISLD.
During the following months there were various delays and postponements in carrying out the plans for his mission. Only in October 1943, about a month after his marriage to Avital, did his orders for the mission come through. Amir boarded a boat from Alexandria
to Bari
in Italy
. Once there, he made contacts with other units from Eretz-Israel already stationed in Salerno. He transferred to them money from the Jewish Agency. Once back in Bari, in late December, he boarded an MTB
(motor torpedo boat) that took him to the isle of Vis in the Adriatic Sea
. This was the only island in the Adriatic to be under the control of Tito's Partisans or Allied forces. Once in Vis, he joined another ISLD representative and they set up direct radio contact with HQ in Bari. During Amir's three months stay on the island he made contact with various forces that passed through; amongst them other volunteers from Eretz-Israel, commandoes, as well as a group of two hundred Jewish refugees from Yugoslavia
who had been assisted by the Partisans to reach Vis. Amir told them about the soldiers from Eretz-Israel and the refugee camps that had been established in the liberated area in southern Italy. In fact, he assisted in having them transferred to Bari and to the camps.
In the spring 1944, Amir returned to Bari in preparation for his original mission. He was promoted to Lieutenant. During the night between May 12 to 13, 1944 Lieut. Allan, as Amir was known by his code name, parachuted into the 'Fourth Zone', south-east of Lubliana in Slovenia, in an area under the Partisans' control but surrounded by the German enemy. Amir's official assignment was to find a lost British mission that had previously parachuted into the area, had gone astray and had not been contacted. He was also assigned to improve the radio communications systems amongst the Partisans' headquarters and to further train them in communications and encoding. He was also instructed to establish independent wireless contact with the HQ in Bari and, unofficially of course, to find the tracks of fleeing Jews in order to assist them in their escape to safety and freedom. Amir spent the summer months amongst the Partisans, marching with them from camp to camp. In September 1944 he left for Bari but returned to Slovenia with further technical equipment and supplies. At the end of 1944, having been three times behind enemy lines, Amir returned to Eretz-Israel.
Looking back upon the tasks Rehavam Amir said: 'We were all of a generation that had been educated to fulfill the missions that were thrust upon us. I do not remember one of our fellow emissaries who looked for publicity or craved a battle. Most of us were young regular guys . . . . . each and every one of us regarded [the mission] as a great privilege and unhesitatingly answered – Yes!'
In August 1953, Amir was appointed Israel's Consul-General to Great Britain
. Together with his wife Avital and daughters Shulamit and Dalia, the family moved to London
for the next five years.
In late 1958, Amir was appointed Head of Israel's Legation to Poland
. It was during this period that evidence of the Holocaust was being uncovered and the sites of the extermination camps were as yet hardly known. Amir and his diplomatic staff were amongst the first Jewish visitors to the camps after World War II. At this time, Poland's PM Wladislav Gomulka enabled Jews to leave Poland.
Having completed another three years tour of duty in Poland, Amir returned home to Israel and held several posts in the Foreign Ministry. In 1963, he transferred to the Prime Minister's Office upon his appointment as David Ben-Gurion's Advisor for Arab Affairs. Upon BG's resignation he continued to work with PM Levi Eshkol. In 1964, Amir coordinated the visit of Pope Paul VI to Megiddo and Nazareth.
From 1965 to 1968 Amir served in the Jewish Agency as Director of Jewish Education in the Diaspora. In 1968 he returned to the Foreign Ministry and served as Israel's Consul-General in New York
until 1971.
From 1971 to 1975 Amir served as Israel's Ambassador to Thailand
. In December 1972, Amir's talents and competency were once again put to the test when the PLO's Black September
attacked the Israeli embassy in Bangkok and took all the occupants as hostages. Rehavam and Avital were attending a ceremony at the Royal Palace thus they were not among the hostages and could therefore conduct the negotiations with the kidnappers. Following the intense negotiations, including the King of Thailand's personal insistence that no blood be shed, and with the rare and courageous cooperation of the Egyptian Ambassador, (and it must be remembered that at the time Israel had not relations with Egypt), the hostages were finally released without use of force or anyone being hurt.
In 1975, returning to Israel once again, Amir was appointed Chief of Protocol responsible for official visits of foreign dignitaries: US President Jimmy Carter
and Egypt's President Anwar Sadat
's historic visit to Jerusalem in 1977.
From 1979 to 1982 Amir served as Israel's Ambassador to Finland.
It must be stressed that Amir carried out all his missions always accompanied by his wife Avital.
Upon his retirement from the Foreign Ministry, Amir continued to be active for many years, voluntarily contributing from his experience and expertise amongst others with Teddy Kollek, Mayor of Jerusalem, serving on the Board of the David Yellin Teachers' College, ERA"N and the Board of Governors of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.
The First Years
Rehavam Amir was born on January 1, 1916 in Vilnius, Lithuania (then under Polish rule), as Rehavam Zabludovsky. His parents were Malka (née Silman) and Yitzhak-Eliezer Zabludovsky. From an early age Rehavam received a Zionist education. He studied in the 'Tarbut' High School and continued to Teachers' College in Vilnius. In 1935, having received an Aliya certificate, sponsored by his uncle the poet Kadish-Yehuda Silman, Rehavam came to Eretz-Israel then PalestinePalestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
under British Mandate. He arrived in Jerusalem and stayed with his relatives in the neighborhood of Beit Hakerem. There he completed his studies in the local Teachers' College under the directorship of Prof. Ben-Zion Dinnaburg – Dinur. Upon graduating, Rehavam went to teach in Yavneel (then a frontier settlement) in Galilee, where in time he was to meet his wife to be Avital Brandstatter. In 1939, requested by the Hagannah, he moved to Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
and taught at the Gretz Elementary School.
In the Service of the Hagannah
Rehavam joined the Hagannah in late 1936. He participated in one of the Hagannah's first wireless operators' courses that was conducted clandestinely in KibbutzKibbutz
A kibbutz is a collective community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. Today, farming has been partly supplanted by other economic branches, including industrial plants and high-tech enterprises. Kibbutzim began as utopian communities, a combination of socialism and Zionism...
Ayelet Hashachar in Upper Galilee
Galilee
Galilee , is a large region in northern Israel which overlaps with much of the administrative North District of the country. Traditionally divided into Upper Galilee , Lower Galilee , and Western Galilee , extending from Dan to the north, at the base of Mount Hermon, along Mount Lebanon to the...
. While teaching in Yavneel, Amir served as the contact between Yavneel and Hagannah headquarters.
In 1941, Amir was requested to head a Hagannah communication course that was held in the 'Oriental Bazaar' in Tel Aviv for members of the 'Moshe Dayan Network'.
The participants in the course were taught professional wireless operations by experts such as Peretz Rosenberg and others. Upon the completion of the course, Amir was invited to the home of Eliahu Golomb, Head of the Hagannah. From him Amir first learned of the possibility to be sent beyond enemy lines in Europe. He was asked whether he would be willing to go on a lone Hagannah mission, as a British soldier, in an attempt to reach one of the Jewish communities in occupied Europe. Fully understanding the dangers involved and not knowing any of the details of his intended lone assignment – Amir gave his immediate consent.
In the winter of 1941 he was sent to British HQ in Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
where he established a school for wireless operators whose trainees were Yugoslav volunteers from Slovenia
Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
who had been captured by the British in the Western Desert. Amir's Hagannah commanders, Eliahu Golomb and Reuven Zaslani (Shiloah), supported the venture. Thus Amir returned to Cairo in February 1942 to command the course and in addition to undergo himself further training in preparation for his lone mission: he completed a parachutist course designated for agents who had volunteered to jump behind enemy lines and which was conducted by the British ISLD.
During the following months there were various delays and postponements in carrying out the plans for his mission. Only in October 1943, about a month after his marriage to Avital, did his orders for the mission come through. Amir boarded a boat from Alexandria
Alexandria
Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
to Bari
Bari
Bari is the capital city of the province of Bari and of the Apulia region, on the Adriatic Sea, in Italy. It is the second most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy after Naples, and is well known as a port and university city, as well as the city of Saint Nicholas...
in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. Once there, he made contacts with other units from Eretz-Israel already stationed in Salerno. He transferred to them money from the Jewish Agency. Once back in Bari, in late December, he boarded an MTB
MTB
MTB may refer to:* Mike Thomas Brown, Professional Mixed Martial Artist & WEC Featherweight Champion* Matlock Bath railway station, England; National Rail station code MTB* Motor Torpedo Boat* Mountain bike or Mountain biking* Mycobacterium tuberculosis...
(motor torpedo boat) that took him to the isle of Vis in the Adriatic Sea
Adriatic Sea
The Adriatic Sea is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan peninsula, and the system of the Apennine Mountains from that of the Dinaric Alps and adjacent ranges...
. This was the only island in the Adriatic to be under the control of Tito's Partisans or Allied forces. Once in Vis, he joined another ISLD representative and they set up direct radio contact with HQ in Bari. During Amir's three months stay on the island he made contact with various forces that passed through; amongst them other volunteers from Eretz-Israel, commandoes, as well as a group of two hundred Jewish refugees from Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
who had been assisted by the Partisans to reach Vis. Amir told them about the soldiers from Eretz-Israel and the refugee camps that had been established in the liberated area in southern Italy. In fact, he assisted in having them transferred to Bari and to the camps.
In the spring 1944, Amir returned to Bari in preparation for his original mission. He was promoted to Lieutenant. During the night between May 12 to 13, 1944 Lieut. Allan, as Amir was known by his code name, parachuted into the 'Fourth Zone', south-east of Lubliana in Slovenia, in an area under the Partisans' control but surrounded by the German enemy. Amir's official assignment was to find a lost British mission that had previously parachuted into the area, had gone astray and had not been contacted. He was also assigned to improve the radio communications systems amongst the Partisans' headquarters and to further train them in communications and encoding. He was also instructed to establish independent wireless contact with the HQ in Bari and, unofficially of course, to find the tracks of fleeing Jews in order to assist them in their escape to safety and freedom. Amir spent the summer months amongst the Partisans, marching with them from camp to camp. In September 1944 he left for Bari but returned to Slovenia with further technical equipment and supplies. At the end of 1944, having been three times behind enemy lines, Amir returned to Eretz-Israel.
Looking back upon the tasks Rehavam Amir said: 'We were all of a generation that had been educated to fulfill the missions that were thrust upon us. I do not remember one of our fellow emissaries who looked for publicity or craved a battle. Most of us were young regular guys . . . . . each and every one of us regarded [the mission] as a great privilege and unhesitatingly answered – Yes!'
The Years Following World War II
Upon Amir's return to Eretz-Israel it was decided by his superiors that Rehavam would remain in the SHA"I (the Hagannah Intelligence Service), at first in Tel-Aviv and later in Haifa. While in Haifa he was also Headmaster of the 'Reali' elementary school. Upon the establishment of the State of Israel in May 1948, he was appointed Military Governor of Acre and the Western Galilee.Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Prime Minister's Office
Rehavam Amir joined the senior ranks of the Foreign Ministry as Head of Personnel/Administration. In that capacity he was in charge and responsible for the logistically complex operation of transferring the ministry from Tel-Aviv to Jerusalem in the summer of 1953. This was carried out in one night and everything with all the offices and departments functioning the following day.In August 1953, Amir was appointed Israel's Consul-General to Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
. Together with his wife Avital and daughters Shulamit and Dalia, the family moved to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
for the next five years.
In late 1958, Amir was appointed Head of Israel's Legation to Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
. It was during this period that evidence of the Holocaust was being uncovered and the sites of the extermination camps were as yet hardly known. Amir and his diplomatic staff were amongst the first Jewish visitors to the camps after World War II. At this time, Poland's PM Wladislav Gomulka enabled Jews to leave Poland.
Having completed another three years tour of duty in Poland, Amir returned home to Israel and held several posts in the Foreign Ministry. In 1963, he transferred to the Prime Minister's Office upon his appointment as David Ben-Gurion's Advisor for Arab Affairs. Upon BG's resignation he continued to work with PM Levi Eshkol. In 1964, Amir coordinated the visit of Pope Paul VI to Megiddo and Nazareth.
From 1965 to 1968 Amir served in the Jewish Agency as Director of Jewish Education in the Diaspora. In 1968 he returned to the Foreign Ministry and served as Israel's Consul-General in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
until 1971.
From 1971 to 1975 Amir served as Israel's Ambassador to Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
. In December 1972, Amir's talents and competency were once again put to the test when the PLO's Black September
Black September
The expression Black September may refer to:* Black September in Jordan, the conflict between Palestinian guerrilla organizations and King Hussein of Jordan that began in September 1970 and ended in July 1971 with the expulsion of the PLO to Lebanon....
attacked the Israeli embassy in Bangkok and took all the occupants as hostages. Rehavam and Avital were attending a ceremony at the Royal Palace thus they were not among the hostages and could therefore conduct the negotiations with the kidnappers. Following the intense negotiations, including the King of Thailand's personal insistence that no blood be shed, and with the rare and courageous cooperation of the Egyptian Ambassador, (and it must be remembered that at the time Israel had not relations with Egypt), the hostages were finally released without use of force or anyone being hurt.
In 1975, returning to Israel once again, Amir was appointed Chief of Protocol responsible for official visits of foreign dignitaries: US President Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
and Egypt's President Anwar Sadat
Anwar Sadat
Muhammad Anwar al-Sadat was the third President of Egypt, serving from 15 October 1970 until his assassination by fundamentalist army officers on 6 October 1981...
's historic visit to Jerusalem in 1977.
From 1979 to 1982 Amir served as Israel's Ambassador to Finland.
It must be stressed that Amir carried out all his missions always accompanied by his wife Avital.
Upon his retirement from the Foreign Ministry, Amir continued to be active for many years, voluntarily contributing from his experience and expertise amongst others with Teddy Kollek, Mayor of Jerusalem, serving on the Board of the David Yellin Teachers' College, ERA"N and the Board of Governors of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.
Sources
- Interviews with Avital and Rehavam Amir
- Mission of Hope (Book in Hebrew), Ministry of Defence, 1995, p. 19-28.