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Ali Yahya ( ar, علی یحیی, he, עלי יחיא; – 11 September 2014) was an
Israeli Arab The Arab citizens of Israel are the largest ethnic minority in the country. They comprise a hybrid community of Israeli citizens with a heritage of Palestinian citizenship, mixed religions (Muslim, Christian or Druze), bilingual in Arabic an ...
diplomat. He became the first Israeli ambassador of
Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
descent in 1995 when he was appointed Ambassador to Finland, a post in which he served until 1999. Yahya served as Israeli Ambassador to Greece from 2006 to 2014.


Biography

Yahya was born in 1947 and raised in
Kafr Qara Kafr Qara ( ar, كفر قرع, he, כַּפְר קַרִע; also spelled ''Kafr Qari'') is an Arab town in Israel southeast of Haifa. In its population was . Kafr Qara holds the record for doctors relative to population size in the country with ...
,
Mandatory Palestine Mandatory Palestine ( ar, فلسطين الانتدابية '; he, פָּלֶשְׂתִּינָה (א״י) ', where "E.Y." indicates ''’Eretz Yiśrā’ēl'', the Land of Israel) was a geopolitical entity established between 1920 and 1948 ...
. He completed his BA degree in history and
Arabic literature Arabic literature ( ar, الأدب العربي / ALA-LC: ''al-Adab al-‘Arabī'') is the writing, both as prose and poetry, produced by writers in the Arabic language. The Arabic word used for literature is '' Adab'', which is derived from ...
at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 1970. Yahya lived with his wife and five children. Yahya was Israel's first Arab ambassador, first to
Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
, later to
Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...
. Yahya was awarded the Israeli title of ‘Ambassador For Life', an award provided by the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs. As of 2020, only five diplomats held this title.


Diplomatic and media career

Prior to becoming an ambassador, Yahya was the coordinator of the
Israeli Foreign Ministry The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs ( he, מִשְׂרַד הַחוּץ, translit. ''Misrad HaHutz''; ar, وزارة الخارجية الإسرائيلية) is one of the most important ministries in the Israeli government. The ministry's ...
's Special Projects Division for the
Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...
and the Peace Process. From 1972 to 1995, Yahya was director-general and taught
Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...
language and
Arab culture Arab culture is the culture of the Arabs, from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Arabian Sea in the east, and from the Mediterranean Sea in the north to the Horn of Africa and the Indian Ocean in the southeast. The various religions the Arab ...
at the Akiva Language Institute (Ulpan Akiva) language seminary in Netanya. He was a lecturer at the
Tel Aviv University Tel Aviv University (TAU) ( he, אוּנִיבֶרְסִיטַת תֵּל אָבִיב, ''Universitat Tel Aviv'') is a public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Locate ...
, the Israeli Senior Police College, and the Israel Foreign Ministry Cadet Training Program."New Initiative for Middle East Peace present Ali Yayha: The First Israeli-Arab Ambassador," Tufts Global Leadership, cited in "Israel's Leaders: Religious and Ethnic Diversity in Action", In 1995, Yahya became a member of the board of directors of the
Israel Broadcasting Authority The Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA; ) was Israel's public broadcaster from 1948 to 2017. History The Israel Broadcasting Authority was an outgrowth of the radio station ''Kol Yisrael'', which made its first broadcast as an independent st ...
(IBA), where he was in charge of Arabic and radio programs. That year he also joined the Lapid Movement for Learning the Lessons of the
Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ...
. Later in 1995 he was appointed the Israeli ambassador to Finland. Joined by his wife and children, he served until 1999. In 1999, he served as coordinator and advisor for special projects (P.T.P.), at the department for the Middle East Peace Process and was directly responsible for the Aqaba Eilat peace talks. In 2000, he became chairman of the Board of The Arab Institute, at Central Galilee College; chairman of the board at The Abraham Fund dedicated to advancing coexistence, equality and cooperation between Israel's Jewish and Arab citizens; member of the board of trustees at The Harry S. Truman Research Institute for the Advancement of Peace and member of the board of trustees at The Max Stern Academic College of Emek Yezreel. In 2006, Yahya was appointed the Israeli ambassador to Greece. On a visit to
Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...
in 2006, Yahya called for direct ties between Israel and Indonesia. In an interview to Jakarta post he said,
I misunderstand why the relationship between the majorities of Muslims in Asia is hostile to Israel. If it is because of Israel and Palestine, then (how can it be reconciled that) we have peace with Jordan, Egypt, Morocco, but not with eastern Asia? We protect the holy places in Israel, respect the Arabic language, and bring imams and rabbis together to have discussions. I am posing a question if the Muslim countries in Asia can open the gate to their country for us, so that we can open up relations with them. There are so many opportunities in Israel and by stressing the need for cooperation we would like to get these countries to also have a share of these opportunities. But to do that, we need to have the opportunity to talk directly to these countries, which I hope, will come up soon.
Yahya was the first Israeli–Arab to light the ceremonial torch at the
Israeli Independence Day Independence Day ( he, יום העצמאות ''Yom Ha'atzmaut'', lit. "Day of Independence") is the national day of Israel, commemorating the Israeli Declaration of Independence in 1948. The day is marked by official and unofficial ceremonies ...
celebration, and was the delegate of the Israeli – Arab Community at the
Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...
Ceremony in 1995. Yahya died on 11 September 2014 in
Kafr Qara Kafr Qara ( ar, كفر قرع, he, כַּפְר קַרִע; also spelled ''Kafr Qari'') is an Arab town in Israel southeast of Haifa. In its population was . Kafr Qara holds the record for doctors relative to population size in the country with ...
.


Awards and recognition

Yahya received a number of awards in recognition of his work. *
Knesset The Knesset ( he, הַכְּנֶסֶת ; "gathering" or "assembly") is the unicameral legislature of Israel. As the supreme state body, the Knesset is sovereign and thus has complete control of the entirety of the Israeli government (with ...
Speaker's Prize (1983) for quality of the environment. * In 1986, was representative of Ulpan Akiva, recipient of the Israel Prize. * Histadrut (Israeli Labor Union) Prize for Coexistence (1993). * In 1994, he received recognition from the
U.S. Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...
for "Promotion of Peace through Language and Culture."


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yahya, Ali Ambassadors of Israel to Finland Ambassadors of Israel to Greece Arab citizens of Israel Language teachers Israeli Muslims 1947 births 2014 deaths People from Kafr Qara Hebrew University of Jerusalem alumni Academic staff of Tel Aviv University