Tamar Golan

Who was Tamar Golan?

Tamar Golan was an Israeli journalist and diplomat, who was known especially for her work to promote relations between Israel and African nations, and for her effort to increase knowledge and awareness to African culture in Israel.

Golan was born in Haifa in 1933. As a youth she was active in Hashomer Hatzair. She did her compulsory army service at the Nahal brigade, and joined a group of soldiers who were sent to help in Kibbutz Lahav, north of Beersheba. When she finished her army service, Golan became a member of the kibbutz. After earning a doctorate at Columbia University, she began her professional career.

She went to Africa for the first time in 1961 when she, with her husband, Aviyahu Golan, joined an Israeli delegation to Ethiopia and served there as a teacher. She returned to Kibbutz Lahav in 1958 following her husband's death in Ethiopia. She never remarried. She worked as a journalist in several Israeli media outlets, and in the BBC African department, but spent most of her career in Maariv, reporting from African and Arab countries. She was also worked as Maariv reporter in Paris. The fact that she had dual Israeli-French nationality, and therefore entitled to French passport, helped her enter countries hostile to Israel.