Akiva Tor

His Excellency Akiva Tor
עקיבא תור‎
14th Israeli Ambassador to the Republic of Korea
In office 2020–2024
President	Isaac Herzog
Prime Minister	Benjamin Netanyahu
Preceding	Rafael Harpaz
Preceded by	Chaim Choshen
Personal details
Born	(1960-12-17) 17 December 1960 (age 64) Fort Jackson, South Carolina
Alma mater	Hebrew University of Jerusalem Columbia University
Occupation	Diplomat

Akiva Tor (Hebrew: עקיבא תור) (born: December 17, 1960) is an Israeli career diplomat. In his last position he served as Israel's Ambassador to the Republic of Korea.^[1] Previously he served as Consul General in San Francisco and the Pacific Northwest.

Biography

Tor was born on Fort Jackson, South Carolina on December 17, 1960. His father Rabbi Gerald Turk was the first Hillel Director at Kent State University after the May 1970 Kent State shootings. His mother, Dr. Phyllis Turk, was a cultural anthropologist and university instructor of Hebrew.

In 1985 Tor made aliyah to Israel, and was drafted into the Israel Defense Forces where he served as a paratrooper and infantry officer until 1987. He then served in the IDF reserves as an infantry captain until 2008.^[2][3]

Education

Tor was raised in Cleveland, Ohio. He received Modern Orthodox Jewish education, and differed his college studies in order to study in an Israeli Yeshiva between 1979-1981.

Tor received his B.A. in analytical philosophy from Columbia University in 1985, then received his MA in Political Science and Contemporary Jewish Thought from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem,^[4] and an Master's of Public Administration from Harvard University Kennedy School of Government in 2003 with the support of the Wexner Foundation. He was a Goldman Fellow at Tel Aviv University in 2020.^[5]

Diplomatic Career and Postings

Tor entered the Israel Foreign Ministry cadet course in November 1987 and began his diplomatic career as Director at the Israel Economic and Cultural Office in Taipei in 1996.^[2] On return to Israel he served as Deputy Spokesman from 1998 to 2000 and Deputy Director of the Department for Palestinian Affairs from 2000 to 2002.^[2]

From 2003 to 2006, he was the World Jewish Affairs Adviser to the President of Israel, Moshe Katsav.^[6]

From 2008 to 2012, he served as the Israel Consul General in San Francisco and Pacific Northwest.^[7]

From 2013 to 2020, he was the Head of Bureau for World Jewish Affairs and World Religions in Ministry of Foreign Affairs.^[8][9]

In June 2020 Tor was named Israeli Ambassador to South Korea. He assumed post in November 2020, and held it until August 2024.^[10][11][12]

Personal life

Akiva Tor is married to Dr. Naomi Tor, a mediator and community social worker. They live in Beit Shemesh and have four children.

Select Writings and Publications

• Genesis: The Beginning of Everything (in Korean), in Miraesa Publishing. 2024^[13]
• Interview With H.E. Akiva Tor, Ambassador of Israel to the Republic of Korea, in Asia Society. Published June 28, 2021
• Bridge Over Troubled Waters: A Peace Corps for the Jewish People, in Times of Israel. Published October 27, 2015
• The Jewish Blindness (Hebrew), in Eretz Acheret, January 2011
• BDS and Hopelessness, in Zeek. Published May 13, 2010
• Disengagement as Hope, in Sh’ma: A Journal of Jewish Responsibility, September 2004
• The Enlightened Foreign Ministry (Hebrew) in Rishumim, June 2000
• Tisha B'Av in the Age of the Third Temple in Midstream, August/September 1991     

References

1. "Israeli ambassador reflects on 4 years of service in Korea, expresses optimism for peace in Middle East". The Korea Times. 2024-08-22. Retrieved 2024-12-30.
2. "Interview with H.E. Akiva Tor, Israeli Ambassador to the Republic of Korea". Asia Society. Retrieved 2021-08-08.
3. Pine, Dan (2012-07-13). "Mission accomplished: After four years as Israeli consul general, Akiva Tor heads home". J. Retrieved 2021-08-08.
4. "TOR". jejuforum.or.kr (in Korean). Retrieved 2021-08-08.
5. "AitN: July 27, 2020". Columbia College Today. July 27, 2020. Retrieved August 8, 2021.
6. "Does Israel need an entity for dialogue with the Diaspora?". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. 2023-05-26. Retrieved 2024-12-30.
7. "United States of America". Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Retrieved August 8, 2021.
8. "Program and Participants". United States Department of State. Retrieved 2021-08-08.
9. ""A Perfect Storm": Conference Tackles New Forms of Antisemitism in Today's World". 25-june-2019.html. Retrieved 2021-08-08.
10. "First Bedouin ambassador appointed; has called out Israeli racism in past". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. Retrieved 2021-08-08.
11. "New Israeli ambassador talks trade, cultural exchanges and eating kosher in Korea". koreajoongangdaily.joins.com. 16 December 2020. Retrieved 2021-08-08.
12. "Israeli ambassador reflects on 4 years of service in Korea, expresses optimism for peace in Middle East". The Korea Times. 2024-08-22. Retrieved 2024-12-30.
13. Eichner, Itamar (2024-06-12). "Israeli ambassador's popular Torah radio show in South Korea becomes a book". Ynetnews. Retrieved 2024-12-30.