The Netherlands embassy and the interest representation for Israel in the Soviet Union, 1967-1990: Willing administrator or full agent? Daniël Cornelis Cremer – 3567850 Thesis – MA Internationale Betrekkingen in Historisch Perspectief August 2015 Supervised by prof. dr. D.A. Hellema Words: 44.000 Table of Content Introduction ....................................................................................................... - 3 - Topic ............................................................................................................... - 4 - Main research question: ................................................................................. - 5 - Sub questions: ................................................................................................ - 6 - Chapter one: How did the Dutch align themselves politically to Israel, the United States and the USSR, in the context of the Cold War? ....................................... - 8 - The Dutch alignment toward the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War ......................................................................................................... - 8 - The Dutch-Israeli political relationship .......................................................... - 20 - Conclusion .................................................................................................... - 29 - Chapter two: What was the domestic situation of the Soviet Jewry at the onset of Dutch interest representation for Israel? ......................................................... - 32 - The history of anti-Semitism in the USSR ...................................................... - 32 - The reasons behind the Soviet Jewish desire to emigrate ............................. - 42 - Soviet policy on Jewish emigration ............................................................... - 46 - ‘The Labyrinth’: Soviet emigrational bureaucracy ......................................... - 47 - Jewish emigration from the Soviet Union before the diplomatic relations between the USSR and Israel were broken off .............................................. - 50 - Jewish emigration from the Soviet Union after the diplomatic relations between the USSR and Israel were broken off ............................................................. - 51 - Why the Soviets let them go: internal vs. external vs. interaction theory ..... - 52 - Conclusion .................................................................................................... - 57 - - 1 - Chapter three: What basic responsibilities and tasks did the Dutch interest representation for Israel consist of? ................................................................ - 59 - The establishment of the Dutch embassy as the diplomatic liaison for Israel in Moscow. ....................................................................................................... - 59 - The agreements that were made between the Dutch and Israeli governments at the onset of the interest representation....................................................... - 63 - The administrative tasks for the embassy staff ............................................. - 65 - The policy regarding publicity ....................................................................... - 76 - The cooperation with the Soviet officials and the KGB ................................. - 77 - Conclusion .................................................................................................... - 80 - Chapter four: Concerning the steps that have been undertaken as a part of the Dutch representation of Israeli interests, can one speak of Dutch policy? ....... - 81 - Introduction into historiographical debate ................................................... - 81 - Work and services provided in the context of Dutch interest representation which exceeded the agreed interest representation .................................... - 84 - Actions without instructions ......................................................................... - 96 - Loyalty to Israeli instructions ........................................................................ - 97 - Conclusion ..................................................................................................... - 100 - Appendix A: List of foreign terms and abbreviations...................................... - 107 - Appendix B: Full yearly breakdown of the number of persons for whom visas for Israel were issued by the Netherlands embassy. ........................................... - 109 - References ..................................................................................................... - 110 - Archival ....................................................................................................... - 110 - Articles ........................................................................................................ - 110 - Books .......................................................................................................... - 112 - Other .......................................................................................................... - 113 - - 2 - Introduction On a quiet Sunday during the summer of 1967, the Dutch ambassador in Moscow received a cable from The Hague: his embassy would from then on diplomatically represent Israeli interests in Moscow, because the Soviet Union had broken off its diplomatic ties with Israel as a result of, or punishment for, the Arab-Israeli war of 1967. The Dutch ambassador in Jerusalem received this request from the Israeli Foreign Ministry earlier that day, and The Hague swiftly agreed the same day. Little did the Dutch diplomats know that this commitment would entail a 24-year period during which the Dutch embassy would be responsible for the facilitation of the emigration of over half a million Jewish Soviet citizens through the issuance of visas. The demand for visas was so high at times, that the entire staff had to drop what they were working on in order to jump in and assist at the visa section. The diplomatic service that was provided to Israel by the Netherlands gives rise to a number of key questions. Why had the Soviet Union broken off relations with Israel, given the fact that the Soviet Union was among the first to provide de jure and de facto recognition following the establishment of the state of Israel? Moreover, the Soviet Union had allowed for crucial arms shipments from Czechoslovakia to reach Israel, which has played a decisive role in the first Arab-Israeli war of 1948. Why did the Israeli policymakers decide to ask the tiny embassy of the Netherlands to represent their interests, and not, for example, the United States or France? Why did the Dutch say yes, and more importantly, why did they do so without taking any time for serious deliberations? Moreover, why did that many Jews want to leave the Soviet Union, and why were they allowed to do so by the authorities, given the fact that the Soviets had a planned economy and a national ideology claiming to be a perfect state? Had there been Jewish emigration prior to the onset of Dutch interest representation for Israel and what bureaucracy did the Soviet Jewry have to undergo before being allowed to leave the country? Finally, what did the Dutch and Israeli diplomats agree on upon the onset of Dutch interest representation for Israel? Did the Dutch display any agency in relation to their responsibilities for Israel, or did they only undertake actions on specific Israeli instructions? This Master’s thesis will seek answers to these questions, and more, by researching both secondary literature and the archives of the Dutch embassy in Moscow. It will tie in with several historical topics. Firstly, the cooperation between the Dutch embassy and the Israeli authorities is important because it - 3 - will lead towards a better understanding of Dutch Cold War policies and the role that the Netherlands, as a small country, chose to play in the Cold War superpower conflict. Moreover, this research thesis will display the lengths that the Netherlands were prepared to go to in order to facilitate their ally, Israel, even if it meant paying a price for it. Thirdly, this study will provide insights into the inner mechanisms of Dutch diplomacy and foreign policy considerations. Furthermore, an analysis of the history of Soviet Jewry, Soviet policies on Jewish life and anti-Semitism will be provided, as well as theories as to why the Soviet authorities decided to allow Jewish emigration en masse during the 1970s and 1980s. The tasks and responsibilities of the Dutch embassy in the context of the provided interest representation will be thoroughly examined, as well as the matter of Dutch agency in relation to the interest representation. Topic The main tasks for the Dutch delegates consisted of standard consular work, primarily the issuance of visas for Israel to all those presenting a valid exit permit. This task alone meant the issuance of somewhere between 500 and 600.000 exit visas for Soviet Jews wishing to emigrate. This exodus, peaking in the mid-70s, during a period of détente, and the late 80s, during the period known as perestroika, was a substantial part of Cold War politics. The Soviets used the Jewish emigration as a political bargaining tool to influence Western public opinion. The 1974 Soviet-American trade association linked enlarged US export to the USSR with a loosened Soviet emigration policy. Other tasks for the Dutch embassy staff included care for the