Tamar Golan
Encyclopedia
Tamar Golan was an Israel
i journalist and diplomat, who was known especially for her work to promote relations between Israel and Africa
n nations, and for her effort to increase knowledge and awareness to African culture in Israel.
Golan was born in Haifa
in 1933. As a youth she was active in Hashomer Hatzair
. She did her compulsory army service at the Nahal
brigade, and joined a group of soldiers who were sent to help in Kibbutz Lahav
, north of Beersheba
. When she finished her army service, Golan became a member of the kibbutz
. After earning a doctorate at Columbia University
, she began her professional career.
She went to Africa
for the first time in 1961 when she, with her husband, Aviyahu Golan, joined an Israeli delegation to Ethiopia
and served there as a teacher. She returned to Kibbutz Lahav in 1958 following her husband's death in Ethiopia. She never remarried. She worked as a journalist in several Israeli media outlets, and in the BBC
African department, but spent most of her career in Maariv
, reporting from African and Arab countries. She was also worked as Maariv reporter in Paris
. The fact that she had dual Israeli-French nationality, and therefore entitled to French passport, helped her enter countries hostile to Israel.
She built a network of contacts with influential figures in Africa and in France
, and received requests from Israeli official to help maintaining contacts with African leaders, especially following the Six Day War, when many African countries cut their diplomatic relations with Israel. In 1994 Golan was named the Israeli ambassador to Angola
.
She served there from 1995 until 2002. She returned to Angola later on, upon the request of the Angolan president, in order to help establish a taskforce, under the auspices of the UN, for the removal of landmines. When she came back to Israel, Golan returned to Kibbutz Lahav and lived there for the rest of her life, though she did not renew her kibbutz membership. She became active in a foundation that helped Bedouin
youths obtain higher education and established a center for African studies in the Ben Gurion University in Beersheba
.
. In a letter she left, which was made public by the Africa Center she established, she expresses frustration over recent political developments in Africa and the Middle East. She mentions "the downhill deterioration
" in Côte d'Ivoire
and that Angola was still "corruption stricken". About the situation in the Middle East she says in her letter "I am tired of feeling like Don Quixote who tries to tilt at the windmills of deteriorating reality in this country". A close friend of Tamar Golan, who was with her among the first residents of Kibbutz Lahav, told Haaretz
that Golan suffered from deteriorating health - "her body betrayed her, and she could not bear it anymore", she said.
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i journalist and diplomat, who was known especially for her work to promote relations between Israel and Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
n nations, and for her effort to increase knowledge and awareness to African culture in Israel.
Golan was born in Haifa
Haifa
Haifa is the largest city in northern Israel, and the third-largest city in the country, with a population of over 268,000. Another 300,000 people live in towns directly adjacent to the city including the cities of the Krayot, as well as, Tirat Carmel, Daliyat al-Karmel and Nesher...
in 1933. As a youth she was active in Hashomer Hatzair
Hashomer Hatzair
Hashomer Hatzair is a Socialist–Zionist youth movement founded in 1913 in Galicia, Austria-Hungary, and was also the name of the group's political party in the Yishuv in the pre-1948 British Mandate of Palestine...
. She did her compulsory army service at the Nahal
Nahal
Nahal is an Israel Defense Forces infantry brigade. Historically, it refers to a program that combines military service and establishment of new agricultural settlements, often in outlying areas...
brigade, and joined a group of soldiers who were sent to help in Kibbutz Lahav
Lahav
Lahav is a kibbutz in southern Israel. Located around 20 km north of Beersheba and covering 33,000 dunams, it falls under the jurisdiction of Bnei Shimon Regional Council. In 2006, it had a population of 384....
, north of Beersheba
Beersheba
Beersheba is the largest city in the Negev desert of southern Israel. Often referred to as the "Capital of the Negev", it is the seventh-largest city in Israel with a population of 194,300....
. When she finished her army service, Golan became a member of the kibbutz
Kibbutz
A kibbutz is a collective community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. Today, farming has been partly supplanted by other economic branches, including industrial plants and high-tech enterprises. Kibbutzim began as utopian communities, a combination of socialism and Zionism...
. After earning a doctorate at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
, she began her professional career.
She went to Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
for the first time in 1961 when she, with her husband, Aviyahu Golan, joined an Israeli delegation to Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
and served there as a teacher. She returned to Kibbutz Lahav in 1958 following her husband's death in Ethiopia. She never remarried. She worked as a journalist in several Israeli media outlets, and in the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
African department, but spent most of her career in Maariv
Maariv
Maariv is a Hebrew language daily newspaper published in Israel. It is second in sales after Yedioth Ahronoth and third in readership after Yedioth Ahronoth and Israel HaYom. In a TGI survey comparing the last half of 2009 with the same period in 2008, Maariv saw its market share fall slightly...
, reporting from African and Arab countries. She was also worked as Maariv reporter in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. The fact that she had dual Israeli-French nationality, and therefore entitled to French passport, helped her enter countries hostile to Israel.
She built a network of contacts with influential figures in Africa and in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, and received requests from Israeli official to help maintaining contacts with African leaders, especially following the Six Day War, when many African countries cut their diplomatic relations with Israel. In 1994 Golan was named the Israeli ambassador to Angola
Angola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...
.
She served there from 1995 until 2002. She returned to Angola later on, upon the request of the Angolan president, in order to help establish a taskforce, under the auspices of the UN, for the removal of landmines. When she came back to Israel, Golan returned to Kibbutz Lahav and lived there for the rest of her life, though she did not renew her kibbutz membership. She became active in a foundation that helped Bedouin
Bedouin
The Bedouin are a part of a predominantly desert-dwelling Arab ethnic group traditionally divided into tribes or clans, known in Arabic as ..-Etymology:...
youths obtain higher education and established a center for African studies in the Ben Gurion University in Beersheba
Beersheba
Beersheba is the largest city in the Negev desert of southern Israel. Often referred to as the "Capital of the Negev", it is the seventh-largest city in Israel with a population of 194,300....
.
Death
Tamar Golan took her own life on March 30, 2011, aged 77, at a hotel in her native HaifaHaifa
Haifa is the largest city in northern Israel, and the third-largest city in the country, with a population of over 268,000. Another 300,000 people live in towns directly adjacent to the city including the cities of the Krayot, as well as, Tirat Carmel, Daliyat al-Karmel and Nesher...
. In a letter she left, which was made public by the Africa Center she established, she expresses frustration over recent political developments in Africa and the Middle East. She mentions "the downhill deterioration
2010–2011 Ivorian crisis
The 2010–11 Ivorian crisis was a political crisis in Côte d'Ivoire which began after Laurent Gbagbo, the President of Côte d'Ivoire since 2000, was proclaimed the winner of the Ivorian election of 2010, the first election in the country in 10 years...
" in Côte d'Ivoire
Côte d'Ivoire
The Republic of Côte d'Ivoire or Ivory Coast is a country in West Africa. It has an area of , and borders the countries Liberia, Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso and Ghana; its southern boundary is along the Gulf of Guinea. The country's population was 15,366,672 in 1998 and was estimated to be...
and that Angola was still "corruption stricken". About the situation in the Middle East she says in her letter "I am tired of feeling like Don Quixote who tries to tilt at the windmills of deteriorating reality in this country". A close friend of Tamar Golan, who was with her among the first residents of Kibbutz Lahav, told Haaretz
Haaretz
Haaretz is Israel's oldest daily newspaper. It was founded in 1918 and is now published in both Hebrew and English in Berliner format. The English edition is published and sold together with the International Herald Tribune. Both Hebrew and English editions can be read on the Internet...
that Golan suffered from deteriorating health - "her body betrayed her, and she could not bear it anymore", she said.