Shlomo
Argov was born in Jerusalem in 1929. He took an active interest in
politics and joined Palmach, a secret Jewish military organization.
In 1948 he was wounded at the battle for Safed.
The
Jewish state of Israel was established
on 14th May 1948 when the British mandate over Palestine
came
to an end. Argov went to study at Georgetown University in United
States before taking a post-graduate course at the London
School of Economics.
In
1959 Argov joined Israel's ministry of foreign affairs and eventually
became deputy director general of public relations. After working
in Ghana and Nigeria, he served as ambassador to Mexico (1971-74),
the Netherlands (1977-79) and to Britain (1979-1982).
On
3rd June 1982, Argov attended a dinner held at the Dorchester Hotel
in London. As Argov left the hotel he was
attacked by three members of the Abu Nidal terrorist group. One of
the bullets fired by the terrorists hit Argov in the head.
Although
the Abu Nidal was not under the control of Yasir
Arafat and
the Palestine
Liberation Organization,
Israel's prime minister, Menachem
Begin,
ordered air strikes against the PLO ammunition depots and training
bases in and around Beirut. The PLO retaliated with a 24-hour barrage
on Israeli kibbutzim. This led to Israel carrying out a full-scale
invasion of Lebanon.
Argov
lost his sight as a result of the attack and never recovered movement
in his hands and legs. Although
he eventually lost consciousness Argov lived for another twenty one
years. Shlomo Argov died in Jerusalem on 23rd February, 2003.
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