Yosef Ciechanover, former Director-General of Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other government positions, who had an extensive relationship with the Rebbe and brought many prominent officials to the Rebbe, passed away on 14 Elul 5784.
Yosef Ciechanover, former Director-General of Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other government positions, who had an extensive relationship with the Rebbe and brought many prominent officials to the Rebbe, passed away on 14 Elul 5784.
He was 90 years old.
Born in Chaifa on 11 Kislev 5694 (1933) to Polish immigrants. Yosef studied at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, UC Berkeley, and Boston University, earning degrees in Philosophy and Jewish Studies.
From 1957 to 1968, he served in various roles in the Ministry of Agriculture, and from 1968 to 1978, he worked in the Ministry of Defense, where he notably managed the Procurement Department in the United States. From 1978 to 1980, he served as the Director-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. After concluding his role, Ciechanover remained active in various committees on behalf of the Israeli government.
While serving as the legal advisor for the Ministry of Agriculture, Ciechanover visited the Rebbe at the recommendation of R’ Shlomo Maidanchik during a trip to the United States. That yechidus, which lasted three hours, marked the beginning of a close relationship with the Rebbe, as he began attending 770 on every trip to the U.S. and was present for many farbrengens. Since that first visit, he made it a point to come to 770 every Yom Kippur. One year, before birkas kohanim, the Rebbe instructed Ciechanover, who was a kohen, to stand on the Rebbe’s bima (where some of the kohanim would stand).
In 5734 (1974), Ciechanover was appointed head of the Procurement Department for the Ministry of Defense in the U.S., and during his tenure, he visited the Rebbe almost every month. The Rebbe sent him on various missions related to state affairs, including discussions about fuel supplies to Israel from Norway and proper conduct with the American government. During the Yom Kippur War, the Rebbe instructed him to tell then-Minister of Defense Moshe Dayan that Damascus should be captured.
The Rebbe also asked him to advocate in Sweden for the Nobel Prize for Professor Yirmiyahu Branover. Although he tried to leverage various connections for this purpose, he was ultimately unsuccessful. Ciechanover was also a key figure in establishing the largest menorah in the world on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan.
Throughout the years, he brought many leaders of the state, the IDF, and the Ministry of Defense to meet with the Rebbe, including Prime Ministers Shimon Peres and Yitzchak Rabin, as well as his brother, Professor Aaron Ciechanover.
When he was offered the position of Director-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he wrote to the Rebbe expressing various concerns, to which the Rebbe responded: “Your concerns should not interfere with your fulfilling your new role.” Despite wanting to leave his position at various times, the Rebbe encouraged him to stay.
Ciechanover, who spent more time discussing Israel’s security with the Rebbe than anyone else, generously devoted hours to discussing the Rebbe’s positions on matters of Israel’s security with JEM’s director Rabbi Elkanah Shmotkin. Many of these interviews were recorded with Ciechanover’s permission.
In 5781, he was honored with the Israel Prize for his special contributions to society and the state.
Yosef Ciechanover passed away on 14 Elul 5784.
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