Meet Ambassador Asher Naim
Ambassador Asher Naim was born in Tripoli, Libya. In 1944 he immigrated to Israel with his family. He fought in the Israeli War of Independence, and earned a Master of Jurisprudence from The Hebrew University in Jerusalem. He is a 45-year veteran of Israel’s Diplomatic Service and has left his mark everywhere he served.
Asher Naim was the Ambassador of Israel to Ethiopia (1990-91) at the time of Operation Solomon. He was instrumental in the negotiating process with President Mengistu and later with the winning rebels, headed by Meles Zenawi. Largely due to Ambassador Naim’s efforts, during a 24-hour period, 14,200 Ethiopian Jews were airlifted and flown to Israel.
After retiring from the Foreign Service in September 1995, with the rank of Ambassador, Mr. Naim continues his activity on behalf of the Ethiopian community's absorption and integration into Israel society, mainly through academic scholarships. He is chairman of the Israel-Korea Friendship Association, which works for closer relations between the two countries in the field of education and promotion of economic ties. Ambassador Naim is a Fellow at the Truman Institute for Peace at Hebrew University in Jerusalem.
He has co-authored two books on Jewish education and a book on Jerusalem. His most recent book, Saving the Lost Tribe: The Rescue and Redemption of the Ethiopian Jews, (Random House, 2003) reveals the inside story of Operation Solomon. Ambassador Naim and his wife, Hilda, have three children and reside in Jerusalem.
Your friend, former US Senator Rudy Boschwitz of Minnesota, describes you as "Hamish," which is Yiddish for describing you as a man of great warmth and conviction. He also said of you: "He certainly knows how to get things done and was a marvelous Ambassador. In 'Operation Solomon,' Ambassador Naim was most definitely a man of action."
As the drama of Operation Solomon unfolded, and in the midst of all that was going on, how did you keep yourself focused and on target, Mr. Ambassador? Can you share with our readers any tips you may have on staying "cool" during such critically trying times?
I was serving as Ambassador to Finland (1988-90) where I was instructed to get permission from the Finnish Government to allow Russian Jews from Leningrad (today Saint Petersburg) and the Baltic states (Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia) to immigrate to Israel through Helsinki, the capital of Finland, which was only a ten-hour train ride. From Helsinki, there was a frequent El-Al flight directly to Israel. This saved lots of suffering and expenses.
My foreign minister asked me to go to Ethiopia. I knew nothing about Ethiopia. Finland had the highest standard of living in Europe while Ethiopia had the lowest world standard of living with a cycle of famine every four years that kills two million people.
On Landing in Addis Ababa in October 1990, I learned that Ethiopia was in the midst of a bitter civil war between Ethiopian rebels and government forces. The previous Israeli ambassador left seven months ago after an attempted assassination was made by a Libyan terrorist and 20,000 Jews were trapped - virtual hostages - in the filthy, crumbling city of Addis Ababa, herded together in subhuman conditions. All they wanted was permission to leave Ethiopia for the “Promised Land” and Israel's readiness to take them in as immigrants.
Seeing our anxiety about the fate of these Ethiopian Jews, Dictator Mengistu—like Pharaoh of old—refused "to let my people go," and demanded exorbitant, impossible ransoms of $100 million in exchange for allowing them to leave. In this desperate situation, one never is allowed to lose your temper and never say "no," but "let us talk about it" and gain time. Here we needed U.S. government help. President Bush Sr. sent Senator Boschwitz from Minnesota, whose vast experience in international politics and in human behavior, came all the way from Minnesota to a dangerous place, Addis Ababa. In two days, Senator Boschwitz was able to convince Mengistu to cooperate on humanitarian ground, accompanied with the promise of his (Mengistu's) personal safety. That did it. In tough "Middle East style" negotiations, we settled for $35 million, and called it ransom. Fate had it that Mengistu never got the money because in the final saga, he had to escape the country when the rebels reached the gates of Addis Ababa. After Mengistu's escape, we had a very short time left.
"Operation Solomon," named after the encounter of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba 3,000 years ago, started on Friday, May 24, at 10:00 a.m. and ended on Saturday, May 25, at 11:00 a.m.—just 25 hours. Thirty-five military and civilian planes made 41 flights. At one point, there were 28 planes in the air. The distance each plane traveled was 2,500 kilometers, and each flight lasted about four hours. The planes flew without insignia, passing close to enemy territory. Fourteen thousand two hundred immigrants were carried from Addis to Israel. There were no mishaps or accidents.
During the operation, 140 immigrants needed medical attention, among them ten women who gave birth to 11 children—during the bus ride to the airport, on the tarmac, in the air, and on their way to the absorption centers in Israel. On one of the flights, a woman named Libe Mammo was about to give birth. Dr. Dani Bezel of Hadassah Hospital covered the area with a white shamma. Libe gave birth to two healthy girls. She named the first girl Israela.
You were born in Tripoli, Libya. In 1944, you then immigrated to Palestine. How old were you when you moved to Palestine? And was it really Palestine or was it Israel by then?
When World War II broke out, I was 9 years old. North Africans witnessed heavy fighting between English forces and Italian and German forces. No school was held for the duration of four years. Immediately after the war, my family rented a truck and drove to Palestine via Bengazi, Alexandria, and by trail to Haifa. I spent two most beautiful years in a Kibbutz. Israel was then under British control until the declaration of independence on May 15, 1948.
You must understand well the plight of both sides of the issue between the Palestinian people and the Jewish people. If the two governments weren't involved, do you think the Palestinian and Israeli people could live side-by-side in peace? If so, what can children today all over the world do to keep peace in our world?
When I was a boy in Palestine, I had Palestinian friends. We played soccer together. It is the religious and political leaders that have a different agenda. Even with the conflict so intense, there are schools and youth camps that combine Jewish, Muslim and Christian children. These children want a better life and a better future. The more children are active in a social life, the better it is. Children can make a difference!
You were in Israel's diplomatic service right after college and served for 43 years. How did you become an Ambassador? Does the government appoint you to this title and then give you assignments? Do you have to earn this as you become more experienced in the diplomatic service? Please explain.
Because of World War II (1939-45), my family had to leave the city of Tripoli to an isolated, distant village with no schools for four years. I attended only the first four years of school, from ages six to nine.
I immigrated to Palestine in 1944 and spent two years in a Kibbutz where I studied four hours and worked four hours. When my father died, he left behind eight children aged one to 17. I left the Kibbutz to work in house construction to help my family in Tel Aviv. Two years later I lied about my age, and at 17-and-a-half, (the recruit person just asked my age with no proof necessary) I went to fight in the war of Israeli independence.
After the war, at the age of 20, I worked in construction in the city of Beersheba in the south and became involved in local politics. I ran for mayor at age 21, but lost. That's when I decided to change my whole life and go study at Hebrew University.
I was not qualified to enter an academic institution. I am a self-taught person. I taught myself for matriculation and in one-and-a-half years, I passed the external exams necessary to be accepted at the university. I completed a Master of Law in four years in 1956. Then I realized that I didn't want to be a lawyer but a scholar on China, believing that China will be an important country in the future.
As a student, I supported myself by working in the Foreign Ministry as a clerk. The Foreign Ministry wanted me to stay, so they offered to send me to the Israel Embassy in Tokyo, Japan, as Third Secretary, the lowest diplomatic rank. I was very active beyond the call of duty with the press and cultural exhibition. I initiated the visit of the Israeli Symphonic Orchestra. That jumped me up into two higher positions - as Attaché, and later, as Second Secretary.
The more active I was, the more I liked my job as diplomat. My experience is that if one is active, innovative, puts forward new ideas, initiates projects that serve the country well, it is not only a secure way for promotion but self satisfaction as well.
The Foreign Ministry is always in need of such people, and I myself feel I learned diplomacy through experience. The most satisfying way to live is to treat the world as if we all live in one village, getting to know all the different countries and all the people's cultures. During my diplomatic service, I was appointed for three years or more in Japan, Kenya, Uganda, Washington, DC (twice), Consul General in Philadelphia, United Nations in New York, Ethiopia, and Korea. In between this service, I had short assignments in other countries: Argentina, Chile, Mexico, Peru and Uruguay, China, Canada, Italy, France and others. All in 43 years of service! In all, I served with devotion and even won "The Best Civil Servant" award in 1991.
This issue of Stories for Children Magazine includes the story you co-authored with Sylvia Rouss – "Jognau, the Dreamer". What was your favorite part of this story and why?
The part when the dream becomes a reality. Each child should have a dream and should try to realize his/her dream.
How did you connect up with author Sylvia Rouss to write this story?
Sylvia Rouss is a prize-winning author of children's books. She is an educator and teacher. She succeeded in conveying the daily life of an Ethiopian family with interest. It was an honor for me to have her choose my book for a children's story because I believe "Operation Solomon" is one of the greatest humanitarian stories in our not- always-sensitive world of human aspiration for a better society.
Do you have any future plans to do a children's book?
I wish to tell my childhood story. I think it can encourage children to hope for a meaningful life while facing all odds in society.
If you could be any character from any book you've ever read, who would you choose to be and why?
Joseph, the son of Jacob, from the Bible. His own brothers wronged him, he was sold as a slave, and despite his own struggles, Joseph came out triumphant and forgave his brothers for their shortcomings.
Did being an emigrant yourself play a major role in your decision to continue helping the Ethiopian Jewish children with scholarships, etc?
Yes. I share their feelings because I know what it is in life from my own experiences and not just in theory. But mostly, I know now that helping an underprivileged child means you are helping to decide his/her destiny in life. My wife also gives, pro-bono, as a volunteer, private lessons to Ethiopian children and grownups too.
Tell us about the scholarship fund you have set up for the Ethiopian immigrants' children that several other ambassadors and former Senator Rudy Boschwitz are on the committee for. You said: "It takes more than good will to integrate a community." Can you tell our readers why you say this?
People have good will toward the underprivileged. But if one doesn't translate his good will into action, the good will means nothing. Only through action can one make a difference in our society.
We, several Israeli ambassadors that served in Africa, are maybe more aware of the need to promote and act fast to help our new immigrants.
They left an Ethiopian society of the Middle Ages and entered into Israel, a modern society of the 20th century . . . a leap of 500 years in four hours of flight!
To integrate them as fast as possible into Israeli society is a most imperative task. It is a very difficult transition that encompasses children, fathers, mothers, and all in between.
We are ALL volunteer workers. I established a non-profit association in America and donors are welcome to share in our efforts. The name of the association is The Scholarship Fund for Ethiopian Jews (SFEJ) and we have a website: http://www.sfej.org/
EDITOR'S NOTE: This website has a 20 minute video documentary that you can watch, showing Operation Solomon as it happened. It's an incredible video. It is very moving to witness this in action and to think about all the things that could have gone wrong to prevent this mass evacuation and resettling of some mighty fine people.
Click here to read Jognau, The Dreamer
Copyright © 2008 by Stories for Children Magazine