---
born: 1929-06-23
category: Intelligence & Government
died: 2003-09-23
location: Tel Aviv, British Mandate Palestine
summary: Simcha Dinitz was the Israeli ambassador to Washington D.C.
tags:
- Person
- Israel
- Diplomat
- Military
---

Simcha Dinitz was the Israeli ambassador to [Washington, D.C.](/places/washington-dc/) During the 1973 [Yom Kippur War](/events/yom-kippur-war/), he made a series of urgent telephone calls to [Henry A. Kissinger](/people/henry-a-kissinger/), then Secretary of State, focusing on the need for resupply for the Israeli military. Dinitz's insistence on a one-on-one meeting with Kissinger, where he reportedly conveyed [Golda Meir](/people/golda-meir/)'s willingness to come to the [United States](/places/united-states/) personally to plead for arms aid, was described by Kissinger as potentially "hysteria or blackmail."[^1]

[^1]: Hersh, Seymour M. *The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy*. Random House, 1991. Chapter 17.