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Shlomo Hillel (Hebrew: שלמה הלל, born April 23, 1923) is an Iraqi-born Israeli diplomat and politician who served as Speaker of the Knesset, Minister of Police and Interior Minister. He was also Israeli ambassador to several countries in Africa.

Biography

Shlomo Hillel immigrated to Palestine with his family in 1934 at the age of eleven. [1] After graduating from the Herzliya Hebrew High School in Tel Aviv, he underwent agricultural training in Kibbutz Degania Alef, and later Pardes Hana. Hillel was secretary of a Hebrew Scouts group which later established Kibbutz Ma'agan Michael. In 1945, Hillel and his colleagues worked at a Haganah munitions factory disguised as a laundry facility in the basement of the Ayalon Institute in Rehovot.[2][3] He studied political science, economics and public administration at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Shlomo and Temima Hillel have two children, a son and a daughter. [4] They live in Jerusalem's Ramat Denya neighborhood.

Operation Ezra and Nehemiah

In 1946, Hillel flew to Baghdad on an Iraqi passport and remained there for one year. He went to Baghdad again in 1950 to negotiate the mass immigration of the Jews of Iraq, 120,000 of whom were airlifted to Israel in Operation Ezra and Nehemiah between 1950 and 1952. On these trips, he disguised himself as either a Frenchman or an Englishman. The airlift was made possible through the cooperation of Iran, which was a close ally of Israel at the time. [5][6]

Hillel's partner was Ronnie Barnett, a British Jew who worked for Trans-Ocean Airlines. While organizing pilgrimages to Mecca, Barnett met the director of a travel agency called Iraq Tours, Abdul Rahman Raouf.[7] Barnett and Raouf met in Rome and Hillel came along as "Richard Armstrong." Raouf realized that there was money to be made in transporting the Jews out of Iraq, and arranged for the two to meet with the prime minister of Iraq, Tawfiq al-Suweidi, who was a board member of his company. [8] They visited the prime minister at his home. Al-Suweidi complained that the illegal immigration of the Jews was harming Iraq because they were probably smuggling out property and leaving without paying their taxes. According to his estimates, at least 60,000 Jews would leave the country if they could. They agreed on a ticket price of 12 dinars (about $48) per ticket. [9]

Political and diplomatic career

In 1952-1959, Hillel was a member of the 2nd and 3rd Knesset, representing Mapai. He then joined the Israeli foreign service, and was appointed Israeli ambassador to Guinea (1959-1961), and Côte d'Ivoire, Dahomey, Republic of Upper Volta, and Niger (1961-1963). In 1963-1967, Hillel was a member of the Israeli Delegation to the United Nations, He returned to Israel to serve as the Deputy Director of the Israeli Foreign Affairs Ministry (1967-1969).[5]

In 1969, Hillel was re-elected to the Knesset on the Alignment list. He served consecutively from the 7th Knesset until the 12th Knesset. He was Minister of Police in 1969-1977 and Interior Minister in 1974 and 1977. In 1984 he was elected Speaker of the 11th Knesset.[5]

[10]

Published work

In 1984, Hillel published Operation Babylon: The Story of the Rescue of the Jews of Iraq [11](East Wind in Hebrew Hebrew: רוח קדים), a memoir of the operation, which was later translated into English, French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian and Arabic.[5]

Awards

In 1988, Hillel was awarded the Israel Prize, for his exceptional contribution to the Israeli state and society. He currently serves as president of the Society for Preservation of Israel Heritage Sites.

References

  1. ^ http://www.dangoor.com/74078.html
  2. ^ Chotkovsky, Meir (2007-11-02). "Former Speaker of the Knesset Shlomo Hillel: I am still optimistic". Interview with Shlomo Hillel (in Hebrew). Scoop. Retrieved 2008-05-20. ((cite web)): Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  3. ^ Horovitz, David (2007-04-12), "Editor's Note:Role models", The Jerusalem Post, retrieved 2008-05-20 ((citation)): Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
  4. ^ http://www.dangoor.com/74078.html
  5. ^ a b c d "Shlomo Hillel". Knesset. Retrieved 2008-05-20. ((cite web)): Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  6. ^ Middleton, Drew (1988-01-05), "Books: Iraq's Jews", The New York Times, retrieved 2008-05-20 ((citation)): Check date values in: |accessdate= and |publication-date= (help)
  7. ^ http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1001003.html
  8. ^ http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1001003.html
  9. ^ http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1001003.html
  10. ^ "Shlomo Hillel" (in Hebrew). Labor Party. Retrieved 2008-05-20. ((cite web)): Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  11. ^ http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=940DE4D8173FF936A35752C0A96E948260
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