Jerusalem and Washington: A Life in Politics and Diplomacy

by Zalman Shoval, Anthony Berris (Translator)

Overview

Diplomat and raconteur Zalman Shoval leads readers behind the closed doors of Jerusalem and Washington in this memoir, into the rooms where prime ministers and presidents made decisions about the first Gulf War, the fate of Jonathan Pollard, the role of the PLO, and Israel’s responses to international criticism and hostilities.

As a member of Israel’s Likud party, an early ally of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and a two-time ambassador to the United States, Shoval has navigated the complicated relationships among Israel’s various ministers and political parties. But none was more fraught than Jerusalem and Washington’s in the 1990s, when Israel’s financial dependence on the U.S. ignited tensions that threatened Shoval’s diplomatic expulsion.

Since Israel’s founding seventy years ago, Shoval has championed its independence, survival, and global reputation. His public life began as a child relocated from 1930s Europe, throwing rocks at Palestine’s British occupiers and living alongside Arabs and Jews whose backgrounds differed greatly from his own. As a college student in the U.S. and Switzerland, an intelligence officer in the Israeli Defense Force, a member of Israel’s governing majority in Jerusalem, and Israel’s ambassador in Washington, DC, Shoval’s cosmopolitan background has influenced his hopes for Israel, and his ability to negotiate with others.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781538116838
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	11/30/2018
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	384
File size:	9 MB

About the Author

Zalman Shoval is an Israeli politician and diplomat who served as Israel’s ambassador to the United States during the George H. W. Bush presidency and, later, during the Clinton administration. He resides in Tel Aviv and regularly visits the United States.

Table of Contents

Foreword Dennis Ross xi

Preface xv

Acknowledgments xxi

1 A Tel Aviv Boy 1

2 Nahalal, San Francisco, Geneva 19

3 "Why would a young man like you want to go into the foreign ministry?" 24

4 Banking and Politics 33

5 The Six-Day War: Egyptian POW Interrogator 42

6 Splits and Unifications 47

7 War and Turnabout 61

8 Dayan Joins the Begin Government; Shoval: The Public Diplomat 72

9 Camp David, 1978: Stalemate and Breakthrough 84

10 Begin and Dayan: No Longer 91

11 Hurwitz: Finance Minister; Weizman Seeks to Depose Begin 98

12 Breakup of La'am and the Founding of Telem; Death of Dayan 100

13 The First Lebanon War 106

14 Twice Unity 111

15 "Mr. Ambassador" 123

16 "Money is fungible." 131

17 "We are not considering a preemptive strike." 136

18 "Zalman, the war will start today." 145

19 Bargaining and Crisis 158

20 "I want to begin the peace process-together with you." 170

21 "Israel must choose between guarantees and settlements." 177

22 The Madrid Conference: "The United States will not support the creation of an independent Palestinian state." 184

23 Couch Talks and Coffee Diplomacy 190

24 Stalemate with the Palestinians, Progress with Jordan 202

25 Shamir and George H. W. Bush Leave the Stage 208

26 Other Troubles 213

27 "The Israeli Cronkite" 218

28 The Guarantees: Happy End 225

29 Rabin: "I want you to stay." 235

30 "You have brought honor to Israel and the United States." 242

31 "Your guy won." 244

32 Washington for the Second Time 254

33 The Wye River Conference; Pressure and a Near Blowup 259

34 Efforts to Block the Iranian Nuclear Program 282

35 Another New Boss: Ehud Barak 286

36 Return Home; Barak Is Defeated by Sharon 296

Notes 313

Index 317

About the Author 333

Editorial Reviews

A political classic. .. Jerusalem and Washington provides much first-hand eyewitness material for historians and it is to Shoval’s credit that this is far more than an autobiography. The author keeps his focus on matters of enduring importance, with the briefest personal asides, and avoids the usual claptrap of ambassadorial memoirs, so often preoccupied with the doings and undoings of long-forgotten notables.

Times Literary Supplement

.. .thoughtful and vivid. .. Shoval, now 89, ranges over this tumultuous period in exacting detail, while recalling his childhood in Danzig, his immigration to Mandatory Palestine in 1938, and his career in Israeli politics, which started in 1970 when he was elected to the Knesset to replace David Ben-Gurion, the first prime minister of Israel.

The Times of Israel

.. . a highly recommended and inspired, conscientious, scholarly, and bold tour de force.

Journal of the Scientific and Medical Network Paradigm Explorer

[An] inside recounting of past Israeli-Arab peace negotiations by Zalman Shoval, one of Israel’s leading politicians and diplomats. Ambassador Shoval had served in the Israeli Foreign Ministry during the negotiations that led to the 1978 Camp David Agreement, and as Israel’s ambassador to the United States during critical periods in 1990 to 1993 and again from 1998 to 2000.. .. In this gripping memoir, many fascinating details and anecdotes about Israeli politics and diplomacy abound, making it an indispensable account for those interested in the Middle East and the issues that continue to challenge it.

Washington Times

Ambassador Shoval, with whom I worked closely during his first tour as ambassador to the United States, has written a true insider's account of seminal events in US-Israel relations. The English edition of his memoirs is essential reading for scholars, diplomats, and all who seek to understand America's critical role, past and future, in the Middle East.

General (Ret.) Brent Scowcroft

"No mere witness to history, Zalman Shoval was at times a craftsman and at others an architect in US-Israel relations. This book charts both the impetus for and the consequence of leadership at critical times in our shared history.

John Hamre

In the various functions he fulfilled, Ambassador Shoval made many important contributions to the State of Israel, and especially as Israel's Ambassador to Washington. There are not many people who have carried out this important and critical position as successfully as he did; actually, in my view nobody has.

Benjamin Netanyahu