Politicsמאיר עזרי

Meir Ezrī

Meir Ezri was an Israeli diplomat who served as Israel's ambassador to Iran from 1968 to 1973.

1924 to 2015Israel's ambassador to IranOrganizing Jewish immigration from IranFounding the Persian immigrants' association

Died: 30 June 2015
Occupation: diplomat, politician, writer

Meir Ezrī was born in 1924 in Israel

Meir Ezri was born in Iran in 1924. His father, Zion Ezri, was a leader of the Jewish community and head of the Zionist Federation in Isfahan. At 15 he founded Zionist youth groups in Isfahan.

In 1945 and 1946 he founded the HeHalutz movement in Tehran. With his father he helped organize illegal immigration from Iraq and Iran to Israel through Iran.

He moved to Israel in 1950 and worked for the Jewish Agency on absorbing immigrants from Iran and Iraq. He founded and edited the Persian-language newspaper Kokhav HaMizrah. In 1951 he founded the Association of Immigrants from Persia and was active in Mapai.

In 1958 he was sent to Iran as assistant to ambassador Zvi Doriel, and later became minister there. He was ambassador to Iran from 1968 until Uri Lubrani replaced him in 1973. He worked to expand ties between the 2 countries and raised donations from Iranian Jews for institutions in Israel.

In 1999 he received the Yakir Yerushalayim award, and in 2001 he published his memoir in Hebrew and Persian. In 2006 his funding helped open a center for Iran and Persian Gulf studies at the University of Haifa. He lived in Savyon, was married with 3 children, and died on June 30, 2015.