George A. Naifeh, U.S. Diplomat and Peace Activist, Dies at 82 Naifeh, who was a U.S. diplomat for 28 years and held posts in several embassies, died at University Hospital in Augusta, Georgia, on November 9 after an extended illness. He was 82. Naifeh was born in Kiefer, Oklahoma, in 1924, the youngest of six children of Shahada and Saida Naifeh. On graduating from high school, he joined the Army Air Forces and served as a Staff Sergeant during World War II. He was a tall turret gunner and radio operator with the 490th Bomb Group, a B-17 Flying Fortress unit of the Eighth Air Force, based in England, and was awarded the Purple Heart on 6 February 1945 as a result of enemy action in Strasbourg, France; he also earned an Oak Leaf cluster, an Air Medal, and four battle stars. A graduate of the University of Oklahoma, Naifeh attended the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University before joining the U.S. Foreign Service in 1951. Naifeh served for nearly three decades in Iran, Iraq, Libya, Nigeria, Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, and Jordan. Upon retiring from the Foreign Service, Naifeh founded the American-Arab Affairs Council, serving as President and Chairman from 1981 to 1990. The Council, a non-profit organization, is dedicated to acquainting Americans with the Arab world, the Islamic religion, and the culture of the Middle East. The Council offers a program of publications, lectures, seminars, exhibitions, and films, all carried out with the assistance of four distinguished advisory committees in the fields of diplomacy, economics, education, and the media. Throughout his career, both in the U.S. Foreign Service and at the American-Arab Affairs Council, Naifeh worked tirelessly to educate Arabs about Americans and Americans about Arabs, believing that information leads to respect, tolerance, and peace. Naifeh retired to Aiken, South Carolina, in 1999. He is survived by his wife of 55 years, Marion Carolyn Naifeh, son Steven Naifeh, and daughter Carolyn Naifeh. A funeral service will be held at St. Thaddeus Episcopal Church in Aiken at 1:00 p.m., Saturday, November 11; a memorial service will later be held at St. Columba's Episcopal Church in Washington, DC. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Hala Maksoud scholarship fund, 815 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Suite 200, Washington, DC 20006.