Aviezer "Avi" Pazner (born 9 June 1937) is a retired Israeli diplomat and former World Chairman of Keren Hayesod - United Israel Appeal.

Biography

Avi Pazner was born in the Free City of Danzig (now Gdańsk). His father was Chaim Pazner, 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 Geneva, Switzerland during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, who rescued

Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

from

Nazi-occupied Europe German-occupied Europe refers to the sovereign countries of Europe which were wholly or partly occupied and civil-occupied (including puppet governments) by the military forces and the government of Nazi Germany at various times between 1939 an ...

and Regina (Gini) née Erlanger from Lucerne, Switzerland. He

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 ...

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 ...

with his family at the age of 16. Pazner attended

Gymnasia Rehavia Rehavia Gymnasium or the Jerusalem Rehavia Gymnasium, by its Hebrew name Gymnasia Rehavia ( he, גמנסיה רחביה, Gimnazya Rehavya), is a high school in the Rehavia neighborhood in West Jerusalem. History The high school's initial name wa ...

high school 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 the Israel Defense Forces, he served in the Armored Corps as a combat soldier. Pazner graduated from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem with a degree in political science and economics. Pazner is married to Marta née Kemper from

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

, has three children and eight grandchildren.

Diplomatic career

Pazner joined the Israeli foreign service in 1965. He is fluent in six languages: Hebrew, French, English, Spanish, Italian, and German. His first posts were in the

Central African Republic The Central African Republic (CAR; ; , RCA; , or , ) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to the north, Sudan to the northeast, South Sudan to the southeast, the DR Congo to the south, the Republic of th ...

and in

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi ...

. Upon his return to Israel in 1971, he was appointed Deputy Spokesman for the Foreign Ministry and served as spokesman for the Israeli delegation at the Geneva Peace Conference in 1973. From September 1974, he served as counselor at the

Embassy of Israel in Washington, D.C. The Embassy of Israel in Washington, D.C. is the diplomatic mission of the State of Israel to the United States. It is located at 3514 International Drive, Washington, DC, in the North Cleveland Park neighborhood. History The Ambassador is Mi ...

and during the Camp David Peace Talks between Israel and

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

in 1978. Upon his return to Jerusalem in 1981, he was named Spokesman for the Foreign Ministry and headed its Press Division. in 1982-1983 he was the spokesman of the Israeli delegation to the Peace Talks between Israel and

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...

. In 1986 he was appointed media advisor to Prime Minister

Yitzhak Shamir Yitzhak Shamir ( he, יצחק שמיר, ; born Yitzhak Yezernitsky; October 22, 1915 – June 30, 2012) was an Israeli politician and the seventh Prime Minister of Israel, serving two terms, 1983–1984 and 1986–1992. Before the establishment ...

and served in this position during the First Gulf War. ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' columnist

William Safire William Lewis Safire (; Safir; December 17, 1929 – September 27, 2009Safire, William (1986). ''Take My Word for It: More on Language.'' Times Books. . p. 185.) was an American author, columnist, journalist, and presidential speechwriter. He w ...

described him as the best spokesman during the war. In 1991, he was appointed Israel's Ambassador to

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

and was the architect of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum The Holy See * The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...

and Israel, he met

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

five times during the negotiations. While serving in Rome, Pazner was also Non-Resident Ambassador to

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

and

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

. In 1995-1998 he served as Israel's Ambassador to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

and was decorated by President Chirac as

Commandeur Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

of the French

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

.Europe: Choosing Between Israel and The Arabs: An Interview with Avi Pazner
/ref> In September 1998, Pazner was elected World Chairman of Keren Hayesod, a position in which he served until October 2010, during this time he helped raise over 2 billion Dollars for Israel. From 2010 until 2016, he was the representative in Israel of the French conglomerate energy company AREVA. Since 2013 he is the political and diplomatic commentator for the TV chain i24 News broadcasting from Jaffa Port in French, English and Arabic.

Published works

Pazner is the author of
The Secrets of a Diplomat
'','' published in French (Editions du Rocher, 2005) and
From Paris to Rome
', published in Hebrew (Contento Now, 2017)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pazner, Avi Ambassadors of Israel to France Ambassadors of Israel to Italy Living people People from the Free City of Danzig 1937 births Ambassadors of Israel to Albania Ambassadors of Israel to Malta