Katriel Katz (1908–1988) was an Israeli diplomat who served as ambassador to the Soviet Union between 1965 and 1967 and

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

between 1956 and 1958.

Ambassador to the Soviet Union

Katz was the Israeli ambassador to the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

in the run up to the

Six-Day War The Six-Day War (, ; ar, النكسة, , or ) or June War, also known as the 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab states (primarily Egypt, Syria, and Jordan) from 5 to 10 Ju ...

. He served in that position for 21 months from September 6, 1965, to June 10, 1967. Katz was expelled from the Soviet Union by

Andrei Gromyko Andrei Andreyevich Gromyko (russian: Андрей Андреевич Громыко; be, Андрэй Андрэевіч Грамыка; – 2 July 1989) was a Soviet communist politician and diplomat during the Cold War. He served as ...

on the last day of the

. Gromyko is said to have told Katz not to let his emotions get the better of him.

Air disaster

In 1968, Katz was involved in an emergency landing and runway fire at

London Heathrow Airport Heathrow Airport (), called ''London Airport'' until 1966 and now known as London Heathrow , is a major international airport in London, England. It is the largest of the six international airports in the London airport system (the others be ...

. During the evacuation from the aircraft, Katz was the only passenger to escape through the forward port door, despite the efforts of crew to stop him using that door. The two flight crew were almost carried out through the door by Katz, who was a large man. Katz was seriously injured jumping from the doorway.

Death

Katz died in 1988 at the age of 80.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Katz, Katriel 1908 births 1988 deaths Ambassadors of Israel to the Soviet Union Ambassadors of Israel to Poland 20th-century Israeli Jews 20th-century Polish Jews Survivors of aviation accidents or incidents Polish emigrants to Israel Burials at Har HaMenuchot