We share the grief of the family and mourn the passing of our friend Prof. Joseph (Goe) Jaffe Member of the Management of the Council for Peace and Security

Maj. Gen. (ret.) Shaul Givoli, Managing Director of the Council - 23/11/2009

Eulogy by Police Maj. Gen. (ret.)  Shaul Givoli, Managing Director of the Council

Dear family of the late Prof. Joseph (Joe) Yaffe, relatives and friends that are gathered here to see Joe off on his last journey. I want to tell you about Joe, and the 25 years of friendship we shared. I am the Managing Director of the Council for Peace and Security, a non-partisan organization working to promote peace and security on whose management Joe served in recent years.

When the Council for Peace and Security got on its way, more than 20 years ago, I was pleased to meet my friend Joe Yaffe. I had met Joe about 5 years earlier during my service with the police. At the time he was the Chief Scientist of the Ministry of Public Security and the Israel Police was increasing its efforts to use scientific methods to improve its capabilities to fight crime. Joe and his assistants contributed much in this area. I was in a newly created position as  “Chief Education Officer” of the police and had to analyze the functioning of the police in the realm of relations with the public, which included learning from the experience of other police forces in the world. Joe and his team provided a lot of assistance not only through their knowledge and expertise but also by identifying critical areas and by their professional, courteous and friendly demeanor.

Several years later we met again at the Council for Peace and Security where Joe promoted his thoughts and suggestions to improve the functioning of the Council in the same quiet and humble way I had encountered earlier. Like many of us, he felt that we were not doing enough to advance peace and security and Joe suggested that the Council establish a website in English. Joe was aware of the financial difficulties of the Council and financed the establishment of the site out of his own pocket and maintained it until his last day. The English website is the Council’s window to the world and Joe, through the site, communicated with and assisted correspondents from all over the world, including Egypt and Saudi Arabia. Joe was asked to join the management of the Council and participated in all its meetings. Whenever the Council published an announcement on behalf of the management we were happy that his name was on the list – it was important that the management included not only retired members of the army and security services but also academics like Joe.

Sharing the love of the sea and the port, we used to meet occasionally at his home at Jaffa Port to discuss ways to improve the Council’s work. The members of the Council for Peace and Security already miss Joe and will have a hard time finding someone to fill his place. Joe, our dear friend will be sorely missed as a friend and active member of the management of the Council. We deeply mourn his death and share the grief of the family.
May his memory be blessed !