Wikipedia

Jeonathan Prato

Jeonathan Prato (16 February 1913 – 5 January 2006; Hebrew: יהונתן פראטו) was a lawyer, a yishuv envoy, and an Israeli diplomat.

Jeonathan Prato
1st Israel Ambassador to Cuba
In office
1960–1963
Preceded bynone
Succeeded byYossef Keisari
Israel Ambassador to Costa Rica
In office
1969–1972
Preceded byChanan Olami
Succeeded byWalter Abeles
Israel Ambassador to Nicaragua
In office
1969–1972
Preceded byChanan Olami
Succeeded byWalter Abeles
Israel Ambassador to Honduras
In office
1971–1972
Preceded byEliezer Armon
Succeeded byJoshua Shai
Director of the Church Relations Division
In office
1973–1978
Personal details
Born(1913-02-16)February 16, 1913
Florence, Italy
DiedJanuary 5, 2006(2006-01-05) (aged 92)
Jerusalem, Israel
ProfessionDiplomat, lawyer

Early life edit

Jeonathan Prato was born on 16 February 1913 in Florence, Italy, where his father, David Prato, was the Chief Cantor.[1] The father went on to become Rabbi of Alexandria (1927–1936). Meanwhile, Jeonathan Prato obtained a Ph.D. in Law and made aliyah in 1936.[2] [Prof. Rabbi David Prato became Chief Rabbi of Rome (1936–1938 and again 1945–1951) and lived in Tel Aviv in between.[1]]

Career edit

In Mandatory Palestine, Dr. Prato worked initially as a teacher of Italian and head of the Italian section of the British governmental Jerusalem Calling radio station.[2] In 1940, Dr. Jeonathan Prato and his father negotiated as emissaries for the yishuv with the Italian and Vatican authorities a plan to rescue Jews from Poland through Italy.[3] In 1941, Jeonathan Prato was named a lawyer.[4]

Israeli foreign service edit

On 1 May 1949, Dr. Jeonathan Prato joined the foreign service of the young State of Israel. Initially he worked at the Israeli embassy in Italy, then in Argentina after an interlude in Israel. In 1959, Israel's foreign minister Golda Meir appointed Prato diplomatic envoy in Athens.[5] Next, Jeonathan Prato served as the Minister to Cuba (1960-1963).[6][7]

As an advisor for church relations, Prato welcomed Pope Paul VI in 1964 to Israel at the Ta'anakh Crossing.[8] From 1969 to 1972, Prato served as Ambassador in Costa Rica and Nicaragua. During the last year, this position also included Honduras. Prato managed the Church Relations Division from 1973 until his retirement from the foreign service on 28 February 1978.[9] In his retirement, he worked another 5 years as an archivist.

Personal and legacy edit

In 1951, Dr. Jeonathan Prato donated historical chairs to the Bezalel National Museum (that later merged into the Israel Museum), in memory of his father.[10]

The Prato Haggadah edit

Also in 1951, Prato received into his possession a famous Haggadah that was created around the year 1300.[11] This Haggadah had been the personal property of the famous Rome-based art-dealer, scholar and collector Ludwig Pollak. Pollak and his family are thought to have been murdered in the course of the deportation of the Jews of Rome to Auschwitz on October 23, 1943 or upon arrival at Auschwitz.[12] This book had initially been promised to the father of Prato.[13]

Jeonathand Prato sold the haggadah in 1964 to the Jewish Theological Seminary of America.[11] It is still known as the Prato Haggadah.[13][14][15]

Family and death edit

Prato was married[7] and had one child. He died on 5 January 2006, aged 92, in Jerusalem.[16] Prato was buried on Har HaMenuchot.[16]

References edit

  1. ^ a b "Prato, David". Encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
  2. ^ a b "הנזיר דיבר עברית רהוטה; ד״ר יהונתן פראטו, שנתמנה לציר ישראל בבלגראד, מעלה זכרונות מעבודותו ביוון‭ ‬" [The monk spoke fluent Hebrew; Dr. Jeonatan Prato, who was appointed Israeli envoy to Belgrade, reminisces about his work in Greece]. Maariv. 5 June 1962. p. 4. Retrieved 25 November 2022 – via National Library of Israel.
  3. ^ "?התתן איטליה מקלט זמני לפליטים יהודים מפולין" [Will Italy provide temporary asylum to Jewish refugees from Poland?]. Omer. 15 February 1940. p. 1. Retrieved 25 November 2022 – via National Library of Israel.
  4. ^ "הוכתר לעורך דין" [Named a lawyer]. Hatzofe. 2 May 1941. p. 4. Retrieved 25 November 2022 – via National Library of Israel.
  5. ^ "יהונתן פראטו - ציר מוסמך באתונה" [Jeonathan Prato - accredited envoy in Athens]. Haaretz. 16 October 1959. p. 2. Retrieved 25 November 2022 – via National Library of Israel.
  6. ^ "Trade Pact". The Australian Jewish News. United Press International. 13 July 1962. Retrieved 25 November 2022 – via National Library of Israel.
  7. ^ a b "ציר ישראל בקובה סיים כהונתו" [Israeli envoy to Cuba completed his term]. LaMerhav. 24 March 1963. p. 1. Retrieved 25 November 2022 – via National Library of Israel.
  8. ^ "הנשיא יקבל את פני האפיפיור במגידו" [The President will receive the Pope in Megiddo]. Hatzofe. 5 January 1964. p. 1. Retrieved 25 November 2022 – via National Library of Israel.
  9. ^ "Jeonathan Prato archive.: -Archive of Jeonathan Prato. 1935-1996". National Library of Israel. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
  10. ^ "כסאות עתיקים לבית הנכות" [Ancient chairs to the museum]. Al Hamishmar. 20 July 1951. Retrieved 25 November 2022 – via National Library of Israel.
  11. ^ a b Liebman Dorfman, Shelli (10 April 2008). "Timeless; Medieval Haggadah manuscript makes its way from Spain to Southfield". The Detroit Jewish News. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
  12. ^ Oren, Dan A. (2018). The wedding photo. Connecticut. ISBN 978-0-692-13981-3. OCLC 1046657980.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  13. ^ a b "Prato Haggadah, Spain, c. 1300". The Bezalel Narkiss Index of Jewish Art. Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
  14. ^ Drake Boehm, Barbara; Holcomb, Melanie (21 April 2016). "The Haggadah of Five Questions". Metropolitan Museum of Art. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
  15. ^ "Art: Prato Haggadah". Art Through Time: A Global View. Annenberg Foundation. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
  16. ^ a b "פראטו יהונתן" [Prato Jeonathan]. Burial Society of Jerusalem. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
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