From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Joseph Ivor Linton (also referred to as Ivor Joseph Linton) (1900-1982) was an Israeli diplomat.

Born in Russia, he immigrated to England in 1919, where he engaged in Zionist activities on behalf of the Jewish Agency for Palestine. Following the establishment of the State of Israel, he served as Israeli Minister Plenipotentiary in Australia (1950-1952), Japan (1952-1957), Switzerland and Thailand. He was a personal friend of Israel's first President, Chaim Weizmann, whom he knew back in England. Linton disapproved of the Israeli reprisal policy against civilians in neighbouring Arab countries.

Linton was a highly unusual diplomat. Not knowing any Hebrew, he wrote all his diplomatic reports in English. He was also very temperamental, which was the result of the mistrust shown towards him by his superiors in the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

For further reading

John Katz, Israeli-Japanese Relations 1948-1963 Tel Aviv, 2007

External links

• Analysis of Japanese politics in the 1950s, including mention of Linton