Up for auction "Ben-Gurion University" Yosef Tekoah Hand Signed Program. 

ES-6224E

Yosef

Tekoah (Hebrew: יוסף תקוע‎, 4 March 1925 – 14 April 1991) was a senior Israeli diplomat and the President of the Ben-Gurion University of

the Negev (1975–1981). He was instrumental in the Israeli

settlement in disputed DMZ territories with Syria, serving as one of David Ben-Gurion's favorite diplomats. Tekoah was born

in Lyakhavichy, Poland as Yosef Tukaczynski. At the age of

five he emigrated with his family to Harbin, due to the rise of

fascism in his homeland. Some time after the Fall of Harbin to the Imperial Japanese Army,

Tekoah's family moved to Shanghai for financial purposes. He

had a Doctorate in international relations from Harvard University, where

he also taught and Master's degree in Natural and legal rights from Aurora University.

He was the President of the Ben-Gurion University of

the Negev from 1975 to 1981, following Moshe Prywes and succeeded by Shlomo Gazit. Historian Avi Shlaim stated

that he "could always be relied on [by Israel and the IDF] to produce

legal arguments to justify even the most outrageous Israeli actions," and

that "in his view the basic function of Israeli diplomacy was to service

the country's security needs." Tekoah

died in 1991 in New York City after

a heart attack. Tekoah knew fluent Hebrew, English, Russian, French, Portuguese, and Chinese.