A memorial ceremony and lay of wreaths in remembrance of Ambassador Argov was held today (Wednesday 6
th March) afternoon, outside the Dorchester Hotel in London.
Family members, diplomats and MPs, have gathered outside the Dorchester hotel where, 31 years ago, Ambassador Argov was assassinated.
On 3 June 1982, Ambassador Argov attended a banquet at the Dorchester Hotel, in Park Lane, London. After the event he got into his car when three men approached him and shot him in the head from point blank. He was critically injured, and has remained in a coma for three months.
Argov died ten years ago at Hadassah Hospital, aged 73, from the injuries inflicted in the attack. He had been paralyzed and in permanent hospital care for 21 years.
The keynote speaker at the event was the Rt Hon Alistair Burt MP, Foreign Office Minister for the Middle East, who said that “Ambassador Argov was a highly respected diplomat with a huge affinity for Britain. I was honoured to pay my respects at the memorial service today, on behalf of the Foreign Secretary and myself “.
Deputy Ambassador, Mr Alon Roth Snir has stated that “The bullets that hit Ambassador Argov were meant not just for him. They had a broader aim as well. They were aimed against the State of Israel, and the Jewish people’s right to live in an independent state. They were a strike against the essence of institution of diplomacy, a centuries old pillar of international relations.”
(Photo: Yakir Zur Photography)