Esther Herlitz, Israeli diplomat and politician, Died at 94

  Politician

Esther Herlitz was born on October 9, 1921, and died on March 24, 2016.
She was an Israeli diplomat and politician.
She served as a member of the Knesset for the Alignment between 1973 and 1977 and again from 1979 until 1981.
Esther was also Israel’s first female ambassador, having been appointed as the country’s ambassador to Denmark in 1966
She started working for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1948) and was involved in negotiating the Reparations Agreement between Israel and West Germany.
Esther Herlitz served as consul to New York between 1955 and 1958, and as ambassador to Denmark from 1966 until 1971, as well as on several missions to the United Nations.
Herlitz was director of public relations for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the 1960s and was regarded as a pioneer in building the relationship between American Jews and Israel.
Herlitz was also a member of Tel Aviv City Council, and chaired its culture committee between 1960 and 1964.
In 1972 she founded the Centre for Volunteer Services, and the following year was elected to the Knesset on the Alignment list.
Esther Herlitz lost her seat in the 1977 elections but returned to the Knesset on 14 August 1979 as a replacement for the deceased Yehoshua Rabinovitz
Esther Herlitz lost her seat again in the 1981 elections.
From 1977 and 1981, Herlitz served as secretary of the Tel Aviv branch of Na’amat, and was also on the organisation’s central committee.
She was awarded the Israel Prize for her “unique contribution to society and the state” (2015).
Esther Herlitz passed away at 94 yrs old.