Whose Ambassador are you, anyway?
Shalom and Ayalon are fighting over wrong issue, Eytan Bentsur writes
The recent rift between Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom and the Ambassador in Washington Danny Ayalon is a part of a “Jerusalem Triad” – the treacherous, tough, tense, hateful relationship between the foreign minister and the prime minister as to who is in charge of the unique relations between Israel and the United States.
The political and bureaucratic structure that is responsible for the American-Israeli relations is a function of the stature of the players involved, their personal and political ambitions, their individual characteristics, adherence to norms and values and willingness to play by some basic respectful ground rules.
This triad - the prime minister, the foreign minister and the ambassador in Washington - was, ever since the establishment of the State of Israel, imbued with tension, competition, debates, ideas, resourcefulness – all these to be galvanized into Israel’s policy and relations with the U.S.
Ambassador must be widely respected
This structure has known all variations that would affect its inner balance and equilibrium of power; from prime minister and foreign minister working in unison and full harmony (Begin and Shamir) to a situation whereby the foreign minister (Levy) was preferred by the Administration as its interlocutor over Prime Minister Shamir who had limited access to President Bush (Senior).
In each case the ambassador is expected to play a crucial role in enabling this complex and inherently tense structure to function as effectively as possible. To this end Israel was always in need of an ambassador who would have stature, be widely respected and be over-toweringly capable of reconciling the conflicting ambitions and views so American-Israeli relations would benefit and not be hurt.
Ambassadors Evron, Arad and Rosenne did this prudently, tactfully and successfully. The late Ben-Elissar, though a political appointee, handled himself with care and fairness. Rabinovich who was appointed by Prime Minister Rabin, would duly report both to him and the Foreign Ministry.
These ambassadors acted as full-fledged representatives of the State of Israel and not as an obsequious extension of one potent or another – not allowing one bureau to monopolize American – Israeli relations. Their task was not easy. They had to withstand pressures, maneuvers, bickering and even subtle threats.
What is needed for the structure to be solidified?
- We need “players” who handle themselves with dignity and in a civilized fashion. When the players' bureau, office or emissary acts with arrogance, inattentive to other views and inputs – Israel is set to pay a heavy price, sooner rather than later.
- The structure should not be dominated by one bureau. The ultimate wisdom does not always rest with one person or one ministry.
- The Foreign Ministry should insist on being fully involved in helping develop American-Israeli relations. Historically – it is a proven fact – whenever the Foreign Ministry was overlooked or circumvented, ultimately Israel would incur serious damage.
- This structure is definitely in need of constructive tension. Through debates, mutually enriching the political thinking process, breeding initiatives, avoiding mistakes. The debates ought to be based on substance and not on secondary, disrespectful issues.
Ambassador must keep 'triad' solid
Whereas Foreign Minister Shalom’s decision to fire Consul General Alon Pinkas was fully justified since the latter demonstrated arrogance and immaturity far exceeding any other capability of his – the feud between Shalom and Ayalon was on the wrong issue.
Had Shalom insisted that he would no longer tolerate an ambassador to Washington who is an obedient extension of the prime minister’s bureau and who reports solely to it – his demand to end Ayalon's term of duty would have been fully justified.
The ambassadorship in Washington requires a fully competent and experienced ambassador in order to render the “triad” strong and solid. When the time comes to elect a new ambassador, the process should be serious and handled responsibly, unlike the course of action that preceded the appointment of the incumbent ambassador.
Eytan Bentsur is former Director-General of the Foreign Ministry
