Letters to Mr. Levi Eshkol, Prime Minister of Israel, and to President Nasser of UAR

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Letters to Mr. Levi Eshkol, Prime Minister of Israel, and to President Nasser of UAR S-0865-0001-03-00001 Expanded Number S-0866-0001 -03-00001 Title Items-in-Peace-keeping operations - Middle East - envelope No. 1 - letters to Mr. Levi Eshkol, Prime Minister of Israel, and to President Nasser of UAR Date Created 2710511967 Record Type Archival Item Container S-0865-0001: Peace-Keeping Operations Files of the Secretary-General: U Thant - Middle East Print Name of Person Submit Image SgaueoSignature of PersonesnSbi Submit OMMOM I ----------- SECRBET Y 27 May 1967 Excellency, It is only because of my deep concern - a concern which I know you fully share - that the Near East will be plunged once again into the catastrophe of war that I take the liberty of addressing to you this strong and urgent personal appeal. As you know, intensive efforts are being made here and in other places to find ]means of averting that war. The imperative immediate need is for time in which these efforts can have a reasonable chance to achieve constructive results. I am fully aware of your Government's firm position with regard to freedom of innocent passage through the Strait of Tiran and I would not and do not ask you to do anything which would in any sense compromise your position. I address you in this urgent way only to advise you that it is my understanding that. in the normal course of things, in the next fortnight, no flagship of Israel will be seeking passage through the Strait of Tiran and to say to you that I hope very much that this is the case. I must appeal to you and to all concerned for this necessary time, His Excellency Mr. Levi Eshkol Prime Minister of Israel Jerusalem 1. C 0 p Y short as it is, in support of earnest efforts to avert war. I can assure you that I personally, and the international community generally, would greatly appreciate any possible helpfulness. I do not ask for any undertaking from you, nor indeed do I request or expect a reply to this communication. I assure you that this message is strictly private, personal and confidential and will not be released in any form. To repeat, my sole interest is to gain a short period of two weeks in which every effort may be exerted here and elsewhere to find a way to stave off a war in the Near East which, as I have said in my Report to the Security Council dated 26 May 1967, 1 greatly fear could ensue from a clash over the Strait of Tiran. Accept, Excellency, the Assurances of my highest consideration. U Thant 2. Co SECRBET0 P Y 27 May 1967 His Excellency Mr. Gamal Abdel Nasser President of the United Arab Republic Cairo United Arab Republic Mr. President., I know fron my recent talks with you and Foreign Minister Riad that you will be fully understanding of my motivation in making this direct, personal and most urgent appeal to you. You will note that what I now beseech you to do springs solely from my desire, and from the solemn obligation I feel, to do everything that I possibly can to avert the catastrophe of a new war in the Near East. During my visit to Cairo your position and policy with regard to the Strait of Tiran was made fully clear to me. I wish to emphasize that a favourable reaction by you to this appeal would be without prejudice to that position and policy. I am seeking time, even a short period of time, in order to provide a reasonable opportunity for consultations and other international efforts to find a way out of the existing critical situation. To this end I appeal to you, Mr. President, without asking any commitment from you or indeed any reply to this message, to avoid for a period of two weeks from your receipt of it any interference with non-Israel shipping seeking passage through the Strait of Tiran. In this regard, I should advise you that in any case it is my understanding that in the normal course of things, no flagship of Israel is expected to seek passage through the Strait of Tiran. 1 . C 0 P Y Tcan assure you that I personally, and the international community generally, would greatly appreciate such a gesture by you. I assure you also that this message is entirely personal, private and confidential and will not be released in any form. Please be assured of my best wishes and personal regards U Thant 2..
Recommended publications
  • Moshe Dayan: Iconic Military Leader Moshe Dayan, with His Iconic Eye Patch, Became the Face of Israel’S Astonishing Six Day War
    Educator’s Guide Moshe Dayan: Iconic Military Leader Moshe Dayan, with his iconic eye patch, became the face of Israel’s astonishing Six Day War. After leading Israel to victory in the 1956 Sinai Campaign, Dayan was appointed defense minister in 1967, ahead of the Six Day War, in order to assuage the public’s growing fear of annihilation. But what was Dayan’s role in the war itself? Why is he credited as the hero of the war, when Levi Eshkol was prime minister and Yitzhak Rabin was IDF chief-of-staff? What was his background and did his questionable private life dampen or heighten his heroic image? Video: https://unpacked.education/video/moshe-dayan-iconic-military-leader/ ​ Further Reading 1. Mordechai Bar-On, Moshe Dayan: Israel’s Controversial Hero, Chapter 10 ​ ​ 2. David K. Shipler, Moshe Dayan, 66, Dies in Israel; Hero of War, Architect of Peace, https://www.nytimes.com/1981/10/17/obituaries/moshe-dayan-66-dies-in-israel-hero -of-war-architect-of-peace.htm 3. https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/moshe-dayan 4. Primary source - PM Levi Eshkol’s speech after the war, https://israeled.org/resources/documents/prime-minister-levi-eshkol-statement-kn esset-conclusion-june-war/ 5. Primary source - Chief of Staff Yitzhak Rabin’s speech after the war, https://israeled.org/resources/documents/israeli-chief-staff-yitzhak-rabin-right-israe l/ © 2019 Unpacked for Educators All Rights Reserved ​ 1 Review - Did the students understand the material? 1. How did Moshe Dayan lose his eye? 2. With which historic 1967 capture is Dayan most closely associated? a.
    [Show full text]
  • Israeli History
    1 Ron’s Web Site • North Shore Flashpoints • http://northshoreflashpoints.blogspot.com/ 2 • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wb6IiSUx pgw 3 British Mandate 1920 4 British Mandate Adjustment Transjordan Seperation-1923 5 Peel Commission Map 1937 6 British Mandate 1920 7 British Mandate Adjustment Transjordan Seperation-1923 8 9 10 • Israel after 1973 (Yom Kippur War) 11 Israel 1982 12 2005 Gaza 2005 West Bank 13 Questions & Issues • What is Zionism? • History of Zionism. • Zionism today • Different Types of Zionism • Pros & Cons of Zionism • Should Israel have been set up as a Jewish State or a Secular State • Would Israel have been created if no Holocaust? 14 Definition • Jewish Nationalism • Land of Israel • Jewish Identity • Opposes Assimilation • Majority in Jewish Nation Israel • Liberation from antisemetic discrimination and persecution that has occurred in diaspora 15 History • 16th Century, Joseph Nasi Portuguese Jews to Tiberias • 17th Century Sabbati Zebi – Declared himself Messiah – Gaza Settlement – Converted to Islam • 1860 Sir Moses Montefiore • 1882-First Aliyah, BILU Group – From Russia – Due to pogroms 16 Initial Reform Jewish Rejection • 1845- Germany-deleted all prayers for a return to Zion • 1869- Philadelphia • 1885- Pittsburgh "we consider ourselves no longer a nation, but a religious community; and we therefore expect neither a return to Palestine, nor a sacrificial worship under the sons of Aaron, nor the restoration of any of the laws concerning a Jewish state". 17 Theodore Herzl 18 Theodore Herzl 1860-1904 • Born in Pest, Hungary • Atheist, contempt for Judaism • Family moves to Vienna,1878 • Law student then Journalist • Paris correspondent for Neue Freie Presse 19 "The Traitor" Degradation of Alfred Dreyfus, 5th January 1895.
    [Show full text]
  • List of the Archives of Organizations and Bodies Held at the Central
    1 Guide to the Archival Record Groups and Collections Notation Record group / Collection Dates Scanning Quantity 1. Central Offices of the World Zionist Organization and of the Jewish Agency for Palestine/Israel abroad Z1 Central Zionist Office, Vienna 1897-1905 scanned 13.6 Z2 Central Zionist Office, Cologne 1905-1911 scanned 11.8 not Z3 Central Zionist Office, Berlin 1911-1920 31 scanned The Zionist Organization/The Jewish Agency for partially Z4 1917-1955 215.2 Palestine/Israel - Central Office, London scanned The Jewish Agency for Palestine/Israel - American Section 1939 not Z5 (including Palestine Office and Zionist Emergency 137.2 onwards scanned Council), New York Nahum Goldmann's offices in New York and Geneva. See Z6 1936-1982 scanned 33.2 also Office of Nahum Goldmann, S80 not Z7 Mordecai Kirshenbloom's Office 1957-1968 7.8 scanned 2. Departments of the Executive of the World Zionist Organization and the Jewish Agency for Palestine/Israel in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and Haifa not S1 Treasury Department 1918-1978 147.7 scanned not S33 Treasury Department, Budget Section 1947-1965 12.5 scanned not S105 Treasury Department, Section for Financial Information 1930-1959 12.8 scanned partially S6 Immigration Department 1919-1980 167.5 scanned S3 Immigration Department, Immigration Office, Haifa 1921-1949 scanned 10.6 S4 Immigration Department, Immigration Office, Tel Aviv 1920-1948 scanned 21.5 not S120 Absorption Department, Section for Yemenite Immigrants 1950-1957 1.7 scanned S84 Absorption Department, Jerusalem Regional Section 1948-1960 scanned 8.3 2 Guide to the Archival Record Groups and Collections not S112 Absorption Department, Housing Division 1951-1967 4 scanned not S9 Department of Labour 1921-1948 25.7 scanned Department of Labour, Section for the Supervision of not S10 1935-1947 3.5 Labour Exchanges scanned Agricultural Settlement Department.
    [Show full text]
  • The National Left (First Draft) by Shmuel Hasfari and Eldad Yaniv
    The National Left (First Draft) by Shmu'el Hasfari and Eldad Yaniv Open Source Center OSC Summary: A self-published book by Israeli playwright Shmu'el Hasfari and political activist Eldad Yaniv entitled "The National Left (First Draft)" bemoans the death of Israel's political left. http://www.fas.org/irp/dni/osc/israel-left.pdf Statement by the Authors The contents of this publication are the responsibility of the authors, who also personally bore the modest printing costs. Any part of the material in this book may be photocopied and recorded. It is recommended that it should be kept in a data-storage system, transmitted, or recorded in any form or by any electronic, optical, mechanical means, or otherwise. Any form of commercial use of the material in this book is permitted without the explicit written permission of the authors. 1. The Left The Left died the day the Six-Day War ended. With the dawn of the Israeli empire, the Left's sun sank and the Small [pun on Smol, the Hebrew word for Left] was born. The Small is a mark of Cain, a disparaging term for a collaborator, a lover of Arabs, a hater of Israel, a Jew who turns against his own people, not a patriot. The Small-ists eat pork on Yom Kippur, gobble shrimps during the week, drink espresso whenever possible, and are homos, kapos, artsy-fartsy snobs, and what not. Until 1967, the Left actually managed some impressive deeds -- it took control of the land, ploughed, sowed, harvested, founded the state, built the army, built its industry from scratch, fought Arabs, settled the land, built the nuclear reactor, brought millions of Jews here and absorbed them, and set up kibbutzim, moshavim, and agriculture.
    [Show full text]
  • Promised Land: the Legacy of Ariel Sharon and the Limits of Unilateralism | the Washington Institute
    MENU Policy Analysis / Articles & Op-Eds Promised Land: The Legacy of Ariel Sharon and the Limits of Unilateralism by Dennis Ross Sep 21, 2006 ABOUT THE AUTHORS Dennis Ross Dennis Ross, a former special assistant to President Barack Obama, is the counselor and William Davidson Distinguished Fellow at The Washington Institute. Articles & Testimony ennis Ross reviews Ariel Sharon: A Life, a new biography by Nir Hefez and Gadi Bloom. The review D originally appeared in the Fall 2006 issue of the journal Democracy. As Israeli journalists Nir Hefez and Gadi Bloom ask in the beginning of their new book, Ariel Sharon: A Life, will Sharon be remembered as the man who laid the basis for resolving a 150-year conflict with the Palestinians? Or will future generations think of him as the man responsible for helping to create a terrorist-governed Palestinian state, for promoting the massive construction of settlements (many of which were likely to prove unsustainable), and for generating the growth of Hezbollah in Lebanon with a misbegotten war in 1982 that also stained him -- and Israel -- with the massacres in Sabra and Shatila? Considering how this extraordinary and controversial Israeli leader strode across the history of the Middle East over the past half-century, such a question cannot be definitively answered until the future of this region is settled. Writing in the summer of 2006, with Hamas in control of Gaza and Hezbollah having provoked a conflict that has many in the international community questioning the logic of Israel's response, one might be tempted to say that history's verdict is already in, and it is not kind to Sharon.
    [Show full text]
  • Israeli Premier Levi Eshkol Dies
    lilt B CATHER KERN PRODUCTION Temperatures fligte Yesterday ............ 58 Agriculture ............... $301*712,366 Yew Today ...... _ .................. 47 Assessed Value .... $1,040,174,350 Experted High Today................ fin Bank Deposits ......... $415,249,000 Experted Low Tomorrow 43 Building Permits ... $47,863-951 Expected High Tomorrow fi3 Petroleum ...... — $266,272,000 Sunrise 6:28 a.m. Sonnet 5:49 p.m. Population ............ ....... 346,600 Rainfall Telephones ................... 170,773 Reason Total 7.02 Season Normal 4.10 IKern County Board of Trade Figures) East Year ................... 3.46 Second Class Postage paid in Bakers* Isabella Dam Reservoir: 351.946 acre-feet Ie ftokei$fieU! Californianfield, California. Kern River Flow : In 3.491 cfs: Out 918 Published daily except Sunday by The Forecast ^ _______ Bakersfield Californian at 1707 E ye Increasing cloudiness with rain late ........ Street. Send Form 3579 Change of Ad- Thursday. VOL 82 * * * 10 CENTS PER COPY $2.00 MONTHLY DELIVERED BAKERSFIELD, CALIFORNIA, WEDNESDAY, FEB. 26,1969 SIX SECTIONS 60 PAGES No. 180 <»» top o . box rn Bakersfield, calif. .. - . - . _ " ___________________________________________ STORM RAVAGES KERN ROADS $1 Million in Damages Estimated Weary state and county road crews have been working around the clock since Monday pumping water from roads and sumps and making repairs for emergency traffic throughout Kern County. Damage to county roads and bridges has been estimated at nearly $1 million by County Road Commissioner Vernon Smith. Two county bridges already have been washed out, roads have been sliced up by rampaging flood waters—and more rain is on the way, according to the weatherman at Meadows Field. Malaga Road disappeared under flowing waters which inundated large areas southeast of Bakersfield.
    [Show full text]
  • May 26, 1967 Protocol Number 62 of the Israeli Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Friday, May 26, 1967 at 4 Pm, in the Kirya, Tel Aviv
    Digital Archive digitalarchive.wilsoncenter.org International History Declassified May 26, 1967 Protocol number 62 of the Israeli Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Friday, May 26, 1967 at 4 pm, in The Kirya, Tel Aviv Citation: “Protocol number 62 of the Israeli Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Friday, May 26, 1967 at 4 pm, in The Kirya, Tel Aviv,” May 26, 1967, History and Public Policy Program Digital Archive, Israel State Archives. Obtained by Adam Raz. http://digitalarchive.wilsoncenter.org/document/145002 Summary: Original Language: Hebrew Contents: English Translation Scan of Original Document Protocol number 62 From the Israeli Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee That took place on Friday, May 26, 1967 At 4 pm, in The Kirya, Tel Aviv Presence: Committee Members: D. (David) Hacohen - Chairman M. (Menachem) Begin R. (Reuven) Barkat A. (Aryeh) Ben-Eliezer A. (Akiva) Govrin Y. (Yizhar) Harari Y. (Yaakov) Hazan M. (Meir) Yaari G. (Gavriel) Cohen H. (Haim) Landau M. (Mordechai) Namir Y. (Yosef) Serlin S. (Shimon) Peres H. (Haim Yosef) Zadok Z. (Zeev) Tzur E. (Elimelekh) Rimalt Y. (Yitzhak) Rafael Invited: L. (Levi) Eshkol - Prime Minister H. (Haim-Moshe) Shapira - Minister of Internal Affairs Z. (Zerach) Warhaftig - Minister of Religions Z. (Zalman) Aran - Minister of Education Y. (Yisrael) Galili - In charge of publicity in the Prime Minister Office Z. (Zvi) Dinstein - Deputy Minister of Defense Y. (Yitzhak) Rabin - IDF Chief of Staff A. (Aharon) Yariv - Head of Aman, the IDF's military intelligence Y. (Yaakov) Herzog - Ministry of Foreign Affairs Notes by: S. Kotler Chairman D. Hacohen: I’m opening the meeting. I didn’t agree to hold the meeting with my whole heart today, Shabbat evening, in such a late hour, but I’m running into great difficulties in organizing our meetings.
    [Show full text]
  • Unintended Alliances: Kennedy, Israel, and Arab Nationalism
    UNINTENDED ALLIANCES: KENNEDY, ISRAEL, AND ARAB NATIONALISM by Michael Bocco A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of The Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts Florida Atlantic University Boca Raton, Florida December 2008 Copyright by Michael Bocco 2008 ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I wish to express my sincere thanks to the History Department’s Faculty at Florida Atlantic University for all their help and guidance through the years to make this thesis possible. They provided not only a conducive learning environment but also became an extended family, which is something I will always cherish. I am grateful for the invaluable assistance from many individuals. First, I would like to thank the History Department for awarding me the O’Sullivan Travel Grant, which allowed me to travel to the John F. Kennedy Library in Boston, Massachusetts. I greatly appreciate Mrs. Marjorie O’Sullivan’s generosity for making this award possible. A special thanks to David Glauber for all his help in the early thesis writing process, and his attentive ear was greatly appreciated. This work benefited from an exceptional thesis committee. A sincere appreciation goes to Dr. Mark H. Rose for providing me with encouragement to think outside of the box in history and in life. Dr. Eric J. Hanne offered his personal and academic guidance that helped me comprehend both western and eastern perspectives on the Middle East. Last but certainly not least, a most heartfelt thanks to Dr. Kenneth A. Osgood for enlarging the scope of this project, being a mentor, and pushing me to strive for excellence.
    [Show full text]
  • Prime Minister Levi Eshkol Speech to the Knesset at Conclusion of June War 12 June 1967 a Week After the Fighting Had Broken
    Prime Minister Levi Eshkol Speech to the Knesset at conclusion of June War 12 June 1967 http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/ForeignPolicy/MFADocuments/Yearbook1/Pages/23%20Statement%20to%20the%20Knesset%20by%20Prime%20Minister%20Eshk.aspx A week after the fighting had broken out and two days after its conclusion, the Prime Minister addressed the Knesset and reviewed the events which led to the Six-Day War and Israel's efforts to avoid armed hostilities and the diplomatic initiatives taken, and surveyed the military, operations of the past week. He concluded by renewing Israel's appeal to the Arab States to follow the road back to peace. A week ago the momentous struggle opened. The existence of the State of Israel, the hope of the generations and the vision that has been realized in our days, hung in the balance. Now, only a week after the last session of the Knesset, which took place to the accompaniment of the thunder of the guns, we meet with the tidings of victory ringing in our ears. The aggression of the enemy has been repelled, the greater part of his power has been broken, his military machine destroyed, the bases for aggression cleared. The threat of war has been lifted from our country. The skies above our heads are safe. The threat to Jerusalem, to the coastal plain, to the villages of the north and the corridor, to the whole of the Negev and Galilee, has been removed. The Israel Defense Forces dominate the Sinai Peninsula as far as the Suez Canal, the West Bank of the Jordan, and the Golan Heights.
    [Show full text]
  • From Altneuland to Neuland. Re-Interpretation of Jewish/Israeli Identity in Modern Hebrew Literature
    SCRIPTA JUDAICA CRACOVIENSIA Vol. 17 (2019) pp. 9–14 doi:10.4467/20843925SJ.19.002.12225 www.ejournals.eu/Scripta-Judaica-Cracoviensia From Altneuland to Neuland. Re-Interpretation of Jewish/Israeli Identity in Modern Hebrew Literature Daria Boniecka-Stępień https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0204-8422 (Jagiellonian University, Krakow) e-mail: [email protected] Keywords: Israeli literature, Theodor Herzl, Eshkol Nevo, Israel, modern Israeli identity Abstract: In 1902, Theodor Herzl, a prominent Jewish thinker and founder of political Zionism, published a utopian novel entitled Altneuland, in which he envisioned, based on ideas of egali- tarianism, modern Jewish society in Palestine. In 2011, more than a hundred years after the utopia of Herzl was published, the contemporary Israeli writer Eshkol Nevo, in a way referring to the book of the Zionist ideologist, wrote a moving Israeli family saga entitled Neuland. Since the es- tablishment of the State of Israel, Israeli literature has developed, expressing the experiences and expectations of the young society. Modern Israeli literature developed from realism and a strong Zionist character, through revaluation of the Zionist myth up to the representatives of postmodern- ism focusing on the personal experiences of the protagonists, detached from the socio-political reality. Modern Israeli literature and in particular Eshkol Nevo’s novel, propose new approaches to literature in general and to Jewish and Israeli identity in particular. Contemporary Israeli identity is a matter of interest for researchers from different fields, starting from social studies through culture studies and ending with literature studies. The question of Israeli identity is a complex issue that needs to be investigated from different points of view.
    [Show full text]
  • A Surprise out of Zion? Case Studies in Israel's Decisions on Whether To
    C O R P O R A T I O N A Surprise Out of Zion? Case Studies in Israel’s Decisions on Whether to Alert the United States to Preemptive and Preventive Strikes, from Suez to the Syrian Nuclear Reactor Warren Bass For more information on this publication, visit www.rand.org/t/RR498 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available for this publication. ISBN: 978-0-8330-8416-3 Published by the RAND Corporation, Santa Monica, Calif. © Copyright 2015 RAND Corporation R® is a registered trademark. Limited Print and Electronic Distribution Rights This document and trademark(s) contained herein are protected by law. This representation of RAND intellectual property is provided for noncommercial use only. Unauthorized posting of this publication online is prohibited. Permission is given to duplicate this document for personal use only, as long as it is unaltered and complete. Permission is required from RAND to reproduce, or reuse in another form, any of its research documents for commercial use. For information on reprint and linking permissions, please visit www.rand.org/pubs/permissions.html. The RAND Corporation is a research organization that develops solutions to public policy challenges to help make communities throughout the world safer and more secure, healthier and more prosperous. RAND is nonprofit, nonpartisan, and committed to the public interest. RAND’s publications do not necessarily reflect the opinions of its research clients and sponsors. Support RAND Make a tax-deductible charitable contribution at www.rand.org/giving/contribute www.rand.org Preface and Summary Might senior U.S. policymakers be surprised by an Israeli strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities? This study considers four key historical prece- dents to shed some light on today’s decisionmaking in both the United States and Israel.
    [Show full text]
  • Beating the Odds Together” Remarks by George Yeo 9 December 2019, Arts House
    Annex A Launch of ‘Beating the Odds Together” Remarks by George Yeo 9 December 2019, Arts House Allow me first to correct a mistake in the essay I wrote in the book. It was Levi Eshkol, not David Ben-Gurion, who was PM when Israel made the decision to help Singapore in 1965. This book celebrates 50 years of Singapore-Israel ties. Our two countries share a deep friendship growing out of the critical assistance which Israel gave to a newly-independent Singapore. It is sustained not only by common strategic interests but also by the sharing of a certain kindred spirit, of having to survive under difficult odds. On the way back from Beijing last Friday, I chanced to read an opinion piece written by Roger Cohen on the front page of the International New York Times. It was titled: “Incitement in Israel that killed Rabin.” Cohen was moved to write the piece after watching a preview of a movie by Yaron Zilberman about the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin in November 1995. Cohen declared he was not given to hypothetical speculations but had one exception which haunts him still. It is: “What if Yigal Amir, a fanatical religious-nationalist Jew, had not assassinated Rabin?” Cohen added: “If only Rabin had lived. If only Israel had confronted the fanatical scourge in its midst before it was too late. If only Israel had understood earlier the poison of the occupation.” By putting Cohen’s piece on the front page, the International New York Times is jumping into a furious debate among Jews and Israelis about the future of Zionism and Israel.
    [Show full text]