Gideon Meir
גדעון מאיר
Israeli Ambassador to Italy
In office
2006–2011
Preceded byEhud Gol
Succeeded byNaor Gilon
Personal details
Born1947
Jerusalem, Mandatory Palestine
Died (aged 74)
Mevaseret Zion, Jerusalem District, Israel

Gideon Meir (Hebrew: גדעון מאיר‎; 1947 – 15 February 2021) was an Israeli diplomat. He served as its ambassador to Italy from 2006 until 2012. He was noted for being part of the negotiating team that drafted the Egypt–Israel peace treaty in 1979.

Early life and career

Meir was born in Jerusalem in 1947.[1] His paternal ancestors came from Fulda, Hesse-Nassau, Prussia, Germany.[2] Meir served in the Israel Defense Forces from 1965 to 1967, and fought in the Six-Day War.[3] He went on to study at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and was recruited by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as a cadet around the same time.[2] One of Meir's first postings was as Consul and Administration Officer at the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C.[4] He was a member of the negotiating team that drafted the Egypt–Israel peace treaty in 1979,[3] one year after the Camp David Accords were signed.[5] As Director of the Training Division in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, his responsibilities included training of diplomats.[4]

Diplomatic career

Meir served as Deputy Director-General for media and public affairs in the Israeli Foreign Ministry until November 2006.[6] Previously he was Minister Plenipotentiary (Deputy Chief of Mission) at the Israeli embassy in London.[7]

Meir was appointed Israel's ambassador to Italy in July 2006,[7] succeeding Ehud Gol.[6] He was also given responsibility for the embassy in Malta.[8] He was noted for sustaining strong bilateral relations between Italy and its Jewish community throughout his tenure.[9] He posthumously bestowed the Righteous Among the Nations on Martino Michelone, a priest in Moransengo who sheltered a Jewish family during World War II, in May 2011.[10] Meir served as ambassador until July 2011, when he was appointed head of the Foreign Ministry's public affairs directorate.[11] He was succeeded by Naor Gilon.[12][13]

On 24 November 2019, Meir wrote on Twitter that the Nazi camps in Poland could not have been built without the cooperation of the Polish people.[14] He earlier criticized the Amendment to the Act on the Institute of National Remembrance in 2018, stating that Israel had a duty to Holocaust survivors to stand up for remembrance of the Holocaust, and not be seen as permitting Poland to negate its history.[15] He added that "there is an element of Holocaust denial in what is taking place in Poland, and we cannot give up there. Israel cannot travel that route, even at the price of pragmatic relations with Poland".[15]

Meir died on 15 February 2021, at his home in Mevaseret Zion. He was 74, and suffered from cancer in the two years leading up to his death.[1][2]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Berman, Lazar (15 February 2021). "Veteran diplomat Gideon Meir dies at 74". The Times of Israel. Jerusalem. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 Cashman, Greer Fay (16 February 2021). "Veteran Israeli diplomat Gideon Meir dies aged 74". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 17 February 2021.
  3. 1 2 Glassman, Marvin (30 March 2015). "Meir: Israel winning military battle, failing in public relations". Sun-Sentinel. Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  4. 1 2 "On the Move with Gideon Meir". Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta. January–February 2004. Archived from the original on 19 February 2014. Retrieved 1 February 2014.
  5. ↑ "Through a Diplomat's Eyes: Five Minutes on Israeli Public Diplomacy with Former Ambassador Gideon Mei". Georgetown Journal of International Affairs. 24 November 2014. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  6. 1 2 Herb Keinon (7 July 2006). "Gideon Meir named ambassador to Italy". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 15 December 2019.
  7. 1 2 Benn, Aluf (6 July 2006). "Gideon Meir Appointed New Ambassador to Italy". Haaretz. Tel Aviv. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  8. ↑ "Malta". Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
  9. ↑ "Former Israeli ambassador Meir to Rome dies". Agenzia Nazionale Stampa Associata. 16 February 2021. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  10. ↑ "Italian priest posthumously named Righteous Gentile". J. The Jewish News of Northern California. 13 May 2011. Retrieved 17 February 2021.
  11. ↑ "Foreign Ministry has internal reshuffle". The Jerusalem Post. 29 July 2011. Retrieved 15 December 2019.
  12. ↑ Ahren, Raphael (21 January 2016). "5 months on, PM's pick for ambassador to Italy still unconfirmed". The Times of Israel. Jerusalem. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  13. ↑ "Malta". Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Government of Israel. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  14. ↑ "Poles cooperated with Germans to build death camps: former Israeli ambassador". Remix News. 28 November 2019. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  15. 1 2 Keinon, Herb (3 February 2018). "Poland's Holocaust legislation: Have we crossed a diplomatic line?". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
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