American Born Israeli Assigned As Consul General for the Midwest

Emanuel Zippori, a United States Army veteran of World War II, who later fought in Israel’s fledgling Armored Corps during the War of Independence in 1948, was warmly welcomed as the new Israeli Consul General for the Midwest by leaders of the Chicago Jewish community at an informal luncheon meeting. Zippori’s assignment includes the states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, South and North Dakotas — the largest Consular area in the United States.

The Consul General is returning as an Israeli diplomat to the city and community where he had spent his formative years, graduating from Hyde Park High School, receiving his Master’s in Political Science from the University of Chicago, and a degree from the College of Jewish Studies — now Spertus College of Judaica.

Zippori, who was born in Cleveland, Ohio, actually spoke Hebrew before he learned English. He was for many years the only former American in the Israel Foreign Ministry. Zippori’s family had a thoroughly Zionist background. His father, Samuel Feigin, was born in Eastern Europe, emigrated to Palestine in the famous Second Aliya, coming to the United States after World War I. Feign, an expert Syriologist, taught at the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago, the College of Jewish Studies, and Hebrew Theological College. His wife was on the staff of the Chicago Zionist organization.

The Consul General’s wife, Nettie Zippori, is a native of the Netherlands. She met her future husband when he was on the staff of the Israel Embassy at The Hague. As a young girl she had been hidden by a Christian family during the Nazi period. The Zippori’s have three daughters.

ZIPPORI’S PREVIOUS ASSIGNMENTS

Zippori’s previous assignments include helping to establish the Israel Foreign Ministry’s United Nations division in 1948 and key posts in Africa, Japan, and Italy. Despite Israel’s diplomatic setbacks in Africa after the Yom Kippur War in 1973, Zippori feels that strong unofficial ties still continue with many black African nations. He is especially proud of a statement by a top Nigerian official that the four countries who helped them most were the United States, United Kingdom, West Germany and Israel.

Zippori sees his new post in the heartland of America as a special challenge in which his Midwest background will be helpful. As a former student leader of the Chicago Intercollegiate Zionist Council, he expressed keen interest in working with Jewish youth, and sees the promulgation of Jewish education as a sine qua non for preservation of Jewish values and identification with Israel. He plans also to encourage aliya, and visits to Israel especially by Jewish youth.

Zippori hopes to be able to ameliorate the frequently unfriendly editorial policy toward Israel of Chicago’s major newspapers. The combination of Zippori’s American background, his broad diplomatic experience, and his straightforward, warm personality should serve him well in this assignment.