Chaim Yahil ( he, חיים יחיל, 1905–1974) was an Israeli diplomat.

Biography

Chaim Hoffmann (later Yahil) was born in the town of Wallachisch Meseritsch in

Moravia Moravia ( , also , ; cs, Morava ; german: link=yes, Mähren ; pl, Morawy ; szl, Morawa; la, Moravia) is a historical region in the east of the Czech Republic and one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The me ...

, then part of the

Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

(today:

Valašské Meziříčí Valašské Meziříčí (; german: Wallachisch Meseritsch) is a town in Vsetín District in the Zlín Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 22,000 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban mon ...

, in the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

). In post-World War I

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

he was active in the

Zionist youth movement A Zionist youth movement ( he, תנועות הנוער היהודיות הציוניות ''tnuot hanoar hayehudiot hatsioniot'') is an organization formed for Jewish children and adolescents for educational, social, and ideological development, in ...

Blau-Weiss, founding a local branch in his hometown and later serving on the movement's national council. Yahil

immigrated Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...

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 ...

in 1929 and joined Kibbutz Giv'at Hayim.

Nur Masalha Nur-eldeen (Nur) Masalha ( ar, نور مصالحة ''Nūr Maṣālḥa''; born 4 January 1957) is a Palestinian writer and academic. He is a historian of Palestine and formerly professor of religion and politics and director of the Centre for R ...

(2000). ''Imperial Israel and the Palestinians: The Politics of Expansion''. Sterling, Va.: Pluto Press (). 32. After a short stay he returned to Europe, completing his Ph.D. in political science in Vienna. He worked for the Zionist movement in Prague and published his first book (under the name Chajim Hoffmann), a history of the Zionist labor movement in Palestine
''Träger der Verwirklichung: die zionistische Arbeiterschaft im Aufbau''
in 1937/1938. In 1943 Yahil married Leni Westphal, who had immigrated to Palestine from Germany in 1934, and, as

Leni Yahil Leni Yahil (1912–2007), née Leni Westphal, was a German-born Israeli historian, specializing in the Holocaust and Danish Jewry. Early life Leni was born in Düsseldorf, Germany, in 1912, and was raised in Potsdam, Germany. She was a sixth-g ...

, went on to become a historian specializing in the Holocaust and Danish Jewry. They had two sons, Amos (b. 1943) and Jonathan (b. 1945-d. 1967).Tikva Fatal-Kna'ani.
Leni Yahil, 1912-2007
" ''Jewish Women: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia''. Jewish Women's Archive. Retrieved 12 June 2014.

Public and diplomatic career

On his return to Palestine in 1939 Yahil served as

Histadrut Histadrut, or the General Organization of Workers in Israel, originally ( he, ההסתדרות הכללית של העובדים בארץ ישראל, ''HaHistadrut HaKlalit shel HaOvdim B'Eretz Yisrael''), is Israel's national trade union center ...

Director of Education

Haifa Haifa ( he, חֵיפָה ' ; ar, حَيْفَا ') is the third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropol ...

until 1942. From 1942 to 1945 was a member of the Histadrut Executive committee. In 1945 Yahil was the

Jewish Agency The Jewish Agency for Israel ( he, הסוכנות היהודית לארץ ישראל, translit=HaSochnut HaYehudit L'Eretz Yisra'el) formerly known as The Jewish Agency for Palestine, is the largest Jewish non-profit organization in the world. ...

representative in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

Germany. After the Israeli

Declaration of Independence A declaration of independence or declaration of statehood or proclamation of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the ...

Yahil became the Israeli Consul in Munich until 1949. In 1949 Yahil returned to

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

joining the Jewish Agency Department of Absorption as director in

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

. In 1951 Yahil was appointed as head of Information Department in the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs until 1953. In 1956 Yahil became the minister to Scandinavian countries later serving as the Israeli Ambassador to Sweden and minister to

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

and

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

. In 1960 Yahil took the post of Director General of Ministry of Foreign Affairs. From 1965 until 1972 Yahil was Chairman of the Israeli Broadcasting Authority and until his death in 1974 was the leader of the "Whole land of Israel" movement.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yahil, Chaim Zionist activists Jews in Mandatory Palestine 1905 births 1974 deaths Ambassadors of Israel to Sweden Ambassadors of Israel to Norway Ambassadors of Israel to Iceland Czechoslovak emigrants to Mandatory Palestine