Shlomo Argov

Shlomo Argov, Hebrew: שלמה ארגוב , (December 14, 1929 – February 23, 2003) was a well-known Israeli diplomat. He was the Israeli ambassador to the United Kingdom. On 3 June, 1982 three Palestinians tried to kill Shlomo Argov. This was a cause of the 1982 Lebanon War.

Early life and education
Argov was born in Jerusalem in 1929. His family had lived in Jerusalem for seven generations. As a teenager, he joined the Palmach, the elite force of the Haganah. During the 1947-1948 Civil War in Mandatory Palestine, he was wounded in the Battle of Safed. When Israel was established and the 1948 Arab-Israeli War began, Argov joined the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

In 1950, he completed his military service and went to the United States to study. In 1952 he received a Bachelor of Arts in political science from Georgetown University. While studying, he worked part-time at the Israeli Embassy. In this time he met his future wife Hava. Afterwards, he went to study in the United Kingdom. In 1955 he received a Master of Arts in international relations from the London School of Economics.

Personal life
Argov had three children with his wife Hava: son Gideon and daughters Yehudit and Edna. Hava died in May 2002.

Attempted assassination
On 3 June 1982, three men, Hussein Ghassan Said, Marwan al-Banna, and Nawaf al-Rosan came close to Argov when he got into his car after a party at the Dorchester Hotel, in Park Lane, London. There is another report that says that four men were coming close to Shlomo Argov. Said shot Argov in the head. Argov was not killed, but he was badly injured. He was taken to the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery very rapidly, and he was taken to a specialist unit and the surgeons did an emergency brain surgery on him . He remained in a coma for three months. Argov was the second of two Israeli diplomats who were attacked in just a month. This was given as the reason for Israel attacking Lebanon in 1982.Avigdor Kahalani, A Warrior's Way (New York: S.P.I. Books, 1994), pp. 300–301

Later life
Argov recovered from his coma and was returned to Israel. There, he was placed in Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem as a permanent patient. Though he could not move, he could clearly understand what was going on around him.

Death
Argov died at Hadassah Hospital in 2003 aged 73 from the injuries in the attack. He had been paralysed and was placed in permanent hospital care for 21 years.

References

Category:1929 births
Category:2003 deaths
Category:Ambassadors of Israel
Category:Israeli Jews
Category:People from Jerusalem