The determination of the Adventurer Ambassador

PETA KROST MAUNDER

And he has found the perfect career for himself, one in which he gets to travel the world, meet interesting people, learn about new cultures and get paid for it.

Keinan has very clear goals about what he wants to achieve in his four-year stint in South Africa and he knows he has his work cut out for him. But, this 47-year-old career diplomat has done his homework about what it takes to tackle his role in our strange and wonderful country.

Having been here a number of times and having a South African-born wife and extended family in South Africa, surely helps. His love of rugby will also go a long way in integrating him into our society.

And in a few short weeks, he has already hosted a group of Israeli Knesset members, met with a former president of South Africa, a potential future president, the Leader of the Opposition and the Mayor of Johannesburg.

He has also handed his credentials to President Jacob Zuma – having whispered in his ear just a few possibilities they would have if they worked together – and been a special guest of Zionist Christian Church Leader Bishop Barnabas Lekganyane at a gathering of over three million.

Yes, he is a man on a mission and he hit the ground running in South Africa.

Keinan hails from Rechovot in central Israel, where he says he had a simple childhood as the oldest of three children. At school, it was his passion for sport that stood out, particularly basketball, in which he excelled.

Back then he wanted to be a diplomat and decided to study international relations once he finished the army. Being someone who loves meeting new people, especially those from other cultures, he loved the army.

“As a child, you grow up in an environment where you mix with people just like you and you don’t get to meet others and then, in the army, you are thrown into a tent with people from all over. It is a melting pot and you mix and learn from each other and come out as an Israeli,” he says. Being a leader by nature obviously showed and he became an officer in the air force.

Instead of taking the opportunities to remain in the military, he chose the road less travelled and took his chances outside. “I wanted to look for other adventures, not taking the predictable route,” he says.

But like most young Israelis straight out of the army, he got on the first plane out of the country for a year. But on that first fateful flight, he met a young woman, Sarit is her name, who was going to go on a lifelong journey with him.

“We met at the check-in to the flight to Sri Lanka. She was with her best friend and I was with mine. We sat together through the long flight and then went our separate ways,” he recalls, not feeling so comfortable chatting about such personal stuff.

As luck would have it, the same young Israeli woman happened to be on his flight from Sri Lanka to Thailand. They have been travelling together ever since.

Soon after they returned to Israel in 1993, Sarit took him to South Africa and he immediately understood why she loved this country of her birth. They returned to Israel to study – she to become an occupational therapist and he, international relations.

Just as soon as their studies were done in 1996, they were back on a plane to South Africa. This time in Africa, they backpacked all the way up to Kenya, visiting countries like Zimbabwe, Zanzibar, Malawi and Namibia. In South Africa, they hired a car and travelled. “It was a fascinating time here then and back in 1993 it was a young nation in transition to democracy. We could see the changes over the three years.”

Then they headed to Guatemala, where they taught English to rural people and while in South America, they got engaged at Iguazu Falls on the border of Brazil and Argentina. “You would understand why – this is one of the most beautiful places in the world,” he says.

On their return to Israel, they got married and started working, Sarit in schools and kindergartens, and Lior at El Al in telecommunications. He left there to join a “revolutionary telecoms start-up”, which due to bureaucratic red tape, eventually closed, leaving Keinan – already a father of two children – without work for the first time.

A friend suggested he go to Tel Aviv University because they were having an IT and telecoms careers fair/bazaar.

“I got there and found nothing. I went to the noticeboard to discover that the bazaar had been the day before, but I saw there was an introductory cadet course for the foreign ministry the following day,” he says. “I remembered then that I had always wanted to be a diplomat and so I was there the next day.”

He found a telecoms position while pursuing the tough nerve-wracking year-long process to become a diplomat. “I knew it was for me. I get paid to travel the world, learn new cultures, and if I can do it for the cause of Israel, what more could I ask for?

“Every day in this job is different. One day I could be focusing on economics, the next on the media and I could be in a rural area surrounded by people of another culture the following day.”

Keinan never looked back and has held foreign positions in Peru, Mexico and Portugal, before taking up his role here.

“Our families pay a big price for our diplomatic careers. It is hard for a diplomatic spouse because they leave their positions in Israel and go to another country for a few years, not knowing if they can work there and then they come back and may find it impossible to find work in their careers.

“And when they do, they might be uprooted again,” he says. “Also, when I arrive in a country and enter the embassy, I disappear into this job and someone has to deal with settling the children, setting up home and all the other things. It requires a really strong bond and an understanding spouse.”

Because his wife works for the ministry of education, they are obligated to offer her a job on her return and she also has a part-time job at the embassy. He says that for children it is also really tough, having to be uprooted from their schools and friends every few years.

“Some children really love the adventure and others just want to stay home. Each one takes this package in their own way.”

Coming to South Africa was much easier because they have close family here and are familiar with the people, country, language and sport.

As posts for Israeli diplomats go, he says, this is a “challenging one”.

“Things here are not easy, but they are by all means not impossible, nor hopeless,” he says.

“Our work is building bridges between people and showing them the difference between what people think and the reality. We also introduce people to those realities and help improve lives in the countries we work in,” he says.

“I know we have so much to offer South Africa, as I mentioned to President Zuma when I presented my credentials to him. We can help with water technology, agriculture, hi-tech and so many areas.

“Just looking at water, we are a country with little rain but no shortage of water. One of our ways of ensuring this is with no wastage. When we pump water from lakes, we perhaps lose a maximum of three per cent in pipes, whereas here there is a 30 per cent loss, which is not logical.

“That 30 per cent could be supplying a city. We have the technology to find the leaks and fix them. We could help South Africa with that, among other things.”

He said that Johannesburg Mayor Herman Mashaba, was very interested in what he had to offer around water technology and Keinan said he would pursue it with him.

Keinan noted that while he hasn’t had much time with President Zuma, he believes Zuma heard his call for using what was learnt in South Africa’s peaceful transition to help broker peace between Israel and the Palestinians.

“But this can’t be done without objectivity to both sides. If you hold a view that one side is totally right and the other is wrong, it won’t work for us. But we do believe South Africa can play an essential role for us in this.”

This issue falls in with Keinan’s goals for his time in South Africa.

“I really want to advance relations between our two countries. I believe in engagement and don’t know this world of boycotts. We look to engage, whether we agree with each other or not. You can never advance anything with the approach of boycotts.

“I also want to improve trade and business relations between us. I want to help facilitate tourism and travel, by improving the number and the cost of flights, among other things.”

He also wants to introduce people to the charm of Israel, the training it offers and its cultural contribution, including dance, television, and so much more. “Social media today could bring you Israel in less than 140 characters. We are working on this,” he says, with a chuckle.

His first month has been a success and from what I have seen of this man, he will make sure the rest of his tenure (or adventure) here will be as successful. Did I mention that he has already been to watch a rugby match and met former Springbok captain Francois Pienaar?