Simcha Dinitz, 74; Israeli Envoy to U.S. in 1970s During the Mideast War

Simcha Dinitz, 74, an Israeli ambassador to the United States in the 1970s, died of a heart attack Tuesday at his Jerusalem home, according to officials of the Jewish Agency, a quasi-governmental organization he headed from 1987 to 1995.

Dinitz was ambassador to Washington during the 1973 Mideast War and played a crucial role in helping organize a U.S. airlift of weapons to Israel at the time. He also participated in U.S.-brokered peace talks between Israel and Egypt in the late 1970s.

Dinitz was born in Tel Aviv in 1929 and served in the Israeli Defense Force during the War of Independence.

He was educated in the United States, studying political science at the University of Cincinnati. He later attended Georgetown University, where he earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees.

After joining the foreign service, he was elected to Israel’s parliament in 1984 as a representative of the Labor Party.

In 1987, he became chairman of the Jewish Agency, which serves as a link to world Jewry and helps bring immigrants to Israel.