Zalman Shoval: A lifetime of insight from Israel's veteran diplomat

• Published date: 15 March 2024
• Author: HERB KEINON
• Publication title: Jerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel)

Ninety-three-year-old Zalman Shoval is one of the few

And when Shoval says that he has had political contact with every national leader, he means every national leader: Ben-Gurion, Moshe Sharett, Levi Eshkol, Golda Meir, Moshe Dayan, Ariel Sharon, Menachem Begin, Yitzhak Shamir, Yitzhak Rabin, Shimon Peres, Ehud Barak, and Netanyahu.

That track record with so many different figures who have shaped the country has come through stints in Military Intelligence, the Foreign Ministry, 14 years in the Knesset as a member of four different political parties, two different runs as ambassador to the US, and also a prosperous career in finance and investment – Shoval was one of the founders of the Jerusalem Bank and still sits on its board of directors.

He recently released his fourth book, L'da'ati (In My Opinion), a compilation of Hebrew articles and papers on diplomacy and foreign policy issues he has written over this long career.

He said it is neither a memoir, which he has written before, nor a history book. "Instead, I would call it writing history in real time," he said.

"The Palestinian issue cannot be solved in the near future."

The book includes articles on various topics, many of which he has been intimately involved in, such as the on-and-off negotiations with Syria, the beginning of talks about Iran's nuclear program, and the ongoing relationship with the US over what he referred to as the "so-called peace process."

What is so striking, he said, is the degree to which so much has not changed. "We see that many of these things, many of these issues, are just the same. It's as if the past, future, and present are all joined at the navel."

For instance, said Shoval – who can genuinely be characterized as center-right – a paper he published exactly three decades ago spelling out a plan for the West Bank that would combine Israeli, Jordanian, and Palestinian cooperation, giving the Palestinians full control of their daily lives with overall security control over the territory in Israel's hands, is as relevant today as it was then.

Asked whether it was depressing to think that so little has changed on many of these issues after 30 years, Shoval replied, "depressing is perhaps not the right word."

"If you take a realistic, historical look at the situation [with the Palestinians], there is no avoiding the conclusion that there is no possibility for a relatively quick solution, because the actual conflict is not about the border being here or there, or the...