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Asher Ben-Natan

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Asher Ben-Natan
אשר בן נתן
Director General of the Ministry of Defense
In office
1959–1965
Appointed byDavid Ben-Gurion
Preceded byShimon Peres
Succeeded byMoshe Kasti
Israeli Ambassador to Germany
In office
1965–1970
Appointed byGolda Meir
Preceded byPost established
Succeeded byEliashiv Ben-Horin
Israeli Ambassador to France
In office
1970–1974
Appointed byAbba Eban
Preceded byWalter Eytan
Succeeded byMordechai Gazit
Personal details
Born
Arthur Piernikartz

February 15, 1921
Austria
DiedJune 17, 2014
SpouseErika
ParentNatan Piernikartz

Asher Ben-Natan (Hebrew: אשר בן נתן; February 15, 1921 – June 17, 2014) was an Israeli diplomat and a key figure in the country's defense and diplomacy fields. Ben-Natan led the search for Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann, who was captured in 1960.[1] He became the Director General of the Israeli Ministry of Defense from 1959 until 1965.[1] Ben-Natan then served as the first Israeli Ambassador to Germany (then West Germany) from August 1965 until 1970.[2][1] Ben-Natan was then appointed as Israel's Ambassador to France from 1970 until his retirement in 1974.[1]

Asher Ben-Natan was born Arthur Piernikartz in Vienna, Austria, on February 15, 1921.[1] His father, Natan Piernikartz, operated a clothing business in the Austrian capital.[1] He attended a Hebrew High School and was a member of the Young Macabbi.[1] His father bought five-acres of land in Mandatory Palestine in 1934 in response to the emergence of Nazi Germany and the growth of Antisemitism.[1] The family drew up plans to flee to Palestine in 1938 following the Anschluss of Austria. Asher Ben-Natan fled Austria first. He boarded a Panamanian-registered ship in Piraeus, Greece, from which he sailed to Palestine.[1] The ship dropped the passengers off at Tantura, where he swam to the beach.[1] He found work at a kibbutz and changed his name to Asher Ben-Natan in honor of his father.[1] His parents and sister arrived in Palestine from Austria a few months after his own arrival. Asher Ben-Natan married his wife Erika in 1940.

In 1978, he unsuccessfully ran for mayor of Tel Aviv.[3]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Asher Ben-Natan obituary: Asher Ben-Natan was an Israeli diplomat who led the hunt for Adolf Eichmann and built bridges with post-war Germany". The Daily Telegraph. 2014-07-13. Retrieved 2014-07-15.
  2. ^ Cashman, Greer Fay (2014-06-19). "Israel's first envoy to Germany dies at 93". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 2014-07-15.
  3. ^ "רשומות ילקוט הפרסומים" (PDF). www.nevo.co.il. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
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