George Deek (Hebrew: ג'ורג' דיק, Arabic: جورج ديك; born c. 1984)[1] is an Arab-Israeli diplomat. In 2018, Deek was appointed Israeli ambassador to Azerbaijan. He is the first Israeli Arab Christian to become an ambassador.
George Deek | |
|---|---|
 Deek, at the reception of his credentials by the President of Azerbaijan | |
| 8th Israel Ambassador to Azerbaijan | |
| Assumed office 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Dan Stav |
| Personal details | |
| Born | c. 1984 (age 39–40) Jaffa, Israel |
| Alma mater | Radzyner Law School, Herzliya, Georgetown University Law Center |
| Profession | Diplomat |
Childhood, education, and family background
editDeek grew up in an Eastern Orthodox Christian family in the Ajami neighborhood of Jaffa, in a building where the other tenants included Muslims, Catholics, Jews and a Catholic priest of Jewish ancestry.[2][3] His father, who worked as a tax advisor,[3] was one of the leaders of the Christian community in Jaffa who served as chairman of the Orthodox Association, and was considered a well-known and popular figure in the city; in 2015 a square was inaugurated in his memory in Jaffa in the presence of Mayor Ron Huldai.[4] According to Deek, his grandparents fled to Lebanon for safety during the 1947–1949 Palestine war, having been told that the Jews would slaughter them if they remained in their homes, but expecting to return home once Arab armies defeated the Jews.[3] According to Deek, when the war ended, his grandparents felt that they had been "deceived", and decided to return illegally to their home in Jaffa rather than remaining in Lebanon as refugees.[2] Since reentering the country was illegal, Deek's grandfather, an electrician, was arrested and jailed but Jewish friends and co-workers got him released.[3] Deek's relatives who also fled in 1947 but did not return now live scattered around the world.[3]
Deek has stated that he is of Armenian heritage through his father's side; his paternal great-grandmother was a survivor of the Armenian Genocide.[5]
Deek earned an LLB from Radzyner Law School at IDC Herzliya in 2006. He then studied at the Georgetown University Law Center on a Fulbright Fellowship, specializing in diplomacy and international law.[3][6] He worked as an attorney in Tel Aviv specializing in international law before joining the Israeli foreign service.[7]
Career
editDeek joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2008.[8] He was deputy chief of mission to Nigeria from 2009 to 2012.[8] Deek was posted to Oslo in Norway from 2012 to 2015 where he served as deputy ambassador; he was the acting ambassador during the 2014 Israel–Gaza conflict.[8][2][3]
In 2018, at age 34, Deek was appointed ambassador to Azerbaijan.[8][9]
Deek is the first Israeli Arab Christian to hold ambassadorial rank.[8] Israel has had Arab ambassadors in the past. Ali Yahya was ambassador to Finland and to Greece.
External links
edit
Media related to George Deek at Wikimedia Commons
References
edit- ^ Armin Rosen (20 November 2018). "Israel Appoints Its First Arab Christian Ambassador". The Tablet. Deek was 34 years old as of the date of the article.
- ^ a b c Jackman, Josh (7 May 2015). "Arab who is a diplomat for Israel". Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved 20 November 2018.
- ^ a b c d e f g Berrin, Danielle (26 April 2017). "Within Israel's cauldron of conflict, George Deek wants to redefine the future". The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles. Retrieved 20 November 2018.
- ^ "יצא ממעגל הנכבה". 21 May 2015.
- ^ Twitter https://twitter.com/georgedeek/status/587279848894296064. Retrieved 2022-11-07.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ^ Israeli MA Outreach Fellows
- ^ For Israel’s ambassador to Azerbaijan, Iranian death threats are all in a day’s work
- ^ a b c d e Keinon, Herb (15 November 2018). "Jewish state appoints Christian envoy to Muslim country". Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 20 November 2018.
- ^ Rosen, Armin (20 November 2018). "Israel Appoints its First Arab Christian Ambassador". Tablet. Retrieved 20 November 2018.