Asher Ben-Natan

Israeli diplomat (1921–2014)

אשר בן נתן‎

Director General of the Ministry of DefenseIn office
1959–1965Appointed byDavid Ben-GurionPreceded byShimon PeresSucceeded byMoshe KastiIsraeli Ambassador to GermanyIn office
1965–1970Appointed byGolda MeirPreceded byPost establishedSucceeded byEliashiv Ben-HorinIsraeli Ambassador to FranceIn office
1970–1974Appointed byAbba EbanPreceded byWalter EytanSucceeded byMordechai Gazit Personal detailsBorn

Arthur Piernikartz

February 15, 1921
AustriaDiedJune 17, 2014SpouseErikaParentNatan 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

^ ^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.
^ Cashman, Greer Fay (2014-06-19). "Israel's first envoy to Germany dies at 93". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 2014-07-15.
^ "רשומות ילקוט הפרסומים" (PDF). www.nevo.co.il. Retrieved 29 July 2021.