Yosef Tekoah


Yosef Tekoah was a senior Israeli diplomat and the President of the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. He was instrumental in the Israeli settlement in disputed DMZ territories with Syria, serving as one of David Ben-Gurion's favorite diplomats.

Biography

Tekoah was born in Lyakhavichy, Poland as Yosef Tukaczynski. At the age of five he emigrated with his family to Harbin, due to the rise of fascism in his homeland. Some time after the Fall of Harbin to the Imperial Japanese Army, Tekoah's family moved to Shanghai for financial purposes. He had a Doctorate in international relations from Harvard University, where he also taught and Master's degree in Natural and legal rights from Aurora University.
In 1948 he made Aliyah, changed his name to Tekoah and started working for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where he met his wife, Ruth Tekoah.
During his work in the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Tekoah appointed for several positions:
He was the President of the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev from 1975 to 1981, following Moshe Prywes and succeeded by Shlomo Gazit.
Historian Avi Shlaim stated that he "could always be relied on to produce legal arguments to justify even the most outrageous Israeli actions," and that "in his view the basic function of Israeli diplomacy was to service the country's security needs."
Tekoah died in 1991 in New York City after a heart attack.
Tekoah knew fluent Hebrew, English, Russian, French, Portuguese, and Chinese.