Moshe Arad

{{Short description|Israeli diplomat (1934–2019)}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2020}}

{{Infobox person

| image = Moshe Arad, 1992 Dan Hadani Archive.jpg

| birth_date = {{birth date|1934|08|15|df=y}}

| birth_place = Cetate, Kingdom of Romania

| death_date = {{death date and age|2019|10|25|1934|08|15|df=y}}

| death_place = Tel Aviv, Israel

| education = Hebrew University of Jerusalem

| occupation = Diplomat

| children = Michael Arad

}}

Moshe Arad (15 August 1934 – October 25, 2019) was a former ambassador from Israel to Mexico (1983–1987) and an ambassador from Israel to the United States (1987–1990).{{cite magazine | url = http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/people/person.asp?personId=11383079&ticker=FIBI:IT&previousCapId=883168&previousTitle=BARAN%20GROUP%20LTD | title = Moshe Arad: Executive Profile & Biography - Businessweek | magazine = BusinessWeek | accessdate=2015-09-21}}{{dead link|date=April 2023|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} He emigrated to Israel in 1950.

While Israel's Ambassador to the United States, he accused the group Al-Haq of being a front for Yasser Arafat’s PLO and stated that "most of its members are supporters of Fatah and other members of the PLO terrorist organization."{{cite journal|last=Rabbani|first=Mouin|title=Palestinian human rights activism under Israeli occupation: the case of al-Haq.|journal=Arab Studies Quarterly|date=March 1994|volume=6|issue=2|url=https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Palestinian+human+rights+activism+under+Israeli+occupation%3a+the+case...-a016502937}}

Arad served on the board of the Israel Council on Foreign Relations.{{cite web | title = Israel Council on Foreign Relations September 2010 – May 2011 | url = http://www.worldjewishcongress.org/uploads/materials/95fb71e18db5d0ecd89d4555bb807114309eb19b.pdf | accessdate = December 16, 2013 | url-status = dead | archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20111211055734/http://www.worldjewishcongress.org/uploads/materials/95fb71e18db5d0ecd89d4555bb807114309eb19b.pdf | archivedate = December 11, 2011 }} He was the father of Michael Arad, the designer of the World Trade Center Memorial, and Odelia Sidi.

Personal life

Arad was born on 15 August 1934 in Cetate, Dolj County, Kingdom of Romania.{{cite web|url=http://www.afhu.org/AmbassadorMosheArad|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131216231353/http://www.afhu.org/AmbassadorMosheArad |archive-date=2013-12-16 |url-status=dead|title=Ambassador Moshe Arad {{!}} American Friends of Hebrew University|accessdate=2015-09-21}} He died on 25 October 2019 in Tel Aviv, Israel.

Eulogy

Ambassador Colette Avital described Arad as "soft-spoken and modest, yet strong-willed, determined, and energetic".{{Cite journal|url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/23739770.2019.1710807|doi = 10.1080/23739770.2019.1710807|title = Moshe Arad (1934–2019)|year = 2019|last1 = Avital|first1 = Colette|journal = Israel Journal of Foreign Affairs|volume = 13|issue = 3|pages = 405–407| s2cid=212866095 }} Endearingly called "Puiu" by his colleagues, Arad she noted, was "open minded and receptive to new ideas". When thinking of Israel's image abroad, for example, he helped support a "Jerusalem unit", designed to educate the public about the Jewish connection to the city. After serving as the ambassador to Mexico and to the United States, Arad was named Director-General of the Ministry of Communications, and after retiring Vice President of Hebrew University for International Relations, and founder of the Israel Council on Foreign Relations, among being on the board of many other companies. Arad's "affability, easy temperament, and unfettered accessibility also made him one of the most popular figures in the Jewish world" she said.{{Cite journal|url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/23739770.2019.1710807|doi = 10.1080/23739770.2019.1710807|title = Moshe Arad (1934–2019)|year = 2019|last1 = Avital|first1 = Colette|journal = Israel Journal of Foreign Affairs|volume = 13|issue = 3|pages = 405–407| s2cid=212866095 }}

References