During the debate on the Middle East last year in the United Nations General Assembly, Israeli Ambassador Yosef Tekoah once again, as he had on many occasions before, presented an impassioned plea for peace in the Middle East.
“It is with regret,” the began, in clear and measured tone, “that we are again entering upon a debate on the Middle East situation. This is a feeling shared by all who have the cause of peace at heart. Public discussions of the Israel-Arab conflict in the United Nations have been characterized throughout the years by polemical exchanges consummated in controversial, one-sided resolutions which multiplied differences and heightened tensions.”
Several of the Arab delegates sat back in their chairs consumed with apathy. One Soviet delegate scanned some papers on his desk. A delegate from the People’s Republic of China stared languidly into space. Some 40 minutes later Tekoah ended his presentation, stating: “The year ahead of us can be one of meaningful progress toward understanding….Acrimony, controversy, confrontation have proved harmful in the past. The time has come to free ourselves from them.”
Speeches by the Arab-Soviet bloc following Tekoah’s presentation indicated that they bad listened with deaf ears. So far as they were concerned it was just one more “speech,” a replay of the “Zionist propaganda machine.” The Arab-Soviet bloc delegates didn’t say so in those many words, but their vituperations, tirades and diatribes against Israel, and against Tekoah in particular–now as in the past–added up to this.
In view of this, why does Israel remain in the UN, what does it hope to achieve there? Tekoah was asked these questions during an interview. He remained silent for a few moments as he looked at the pictures of Golda Meir and Abba Eban that are hung on the walls of his office in the Israel Mission to the UN.
ISRAEL’S GOALS IN THE UN
“The goal of Israel in the United Nations,” he said, “is to declare its policy from this international stage. But mainly, it is to prevent the UN from becoming an efficient tool in the political battle that the Arabs are waging against Israel. We must reach the point where UN discussions about Israel are at a minimum. The Arabs automatically have a majority in the UN and this factor dictates our actions and goals.”
Tekoah noted that Israel’s situation in the world body is especially difficult “when we consider that in addition to the 18 Arab delegations there are also 11 pro-Soviet delegations and 15 Moslem delegations who are cooperating with the cause of the Arabs.” The Israeli diplomat and statesman, who had his first assignment in the UN in 1947, said, Israel has no illusions about what she can achieve in that organization. “There fore,” he said, “Israel’s goal is to neutralize as much as possible the Arab parliamentary majority, to reduce the UN’s dealings with Israel, and to let the Arabs know that they can’t harm Israel or influence her with endless complaints.”
According to the Harvard educated envoy, Israel was a subject of many discussions in the Security Council after the Six, Day War. Now, the Security Council seldom bothers with Israel. Why? “The Arabs have understood that they can’t influence or change the situation with one-sided resolutions in the Council,” he observed. “As a result, the Arabs have decreased the number of their complaints.”
Tekoah, who was born in Russia, spent his childhood and early youth in China. He received a law degree in Shanghai, then studied at Harvard where he taught-international law in 1947 and 1948. In 1948 he served with the Israeli delegation to the UN, was ambassador to Brazil from 1960-62, and served as ambassador to the Soviet Union from 1962-65. He is multi-lingual and is at home in English, French, Russian, Chinese and, of course, Hebrew, the language in which he conducted the interview.
Before returning to the topic of Israel and the UN, Tekoah told the visitor that he has three children and “my daughter is an officer in the Israeli Army.” He stated this with great pride and his eyes sparkled. For a fleeting moment the weight of international politics receded into the background. But only for a moment. “The UN as an international institution which can intervene and change facts on the international level is deteriorating,” he said. “This is true especially in the case of the Middle East. From the point of view of Israel it is just as well. Israel does not regret it.”
‘ONE DOES NOT LEAVE A DIFFICULT FRONT’
Asked whether Israel has ever considered decreasing its activities in the UN, the 47-year-old diplomat responded that this course would not be acceptable to either the Israeli government or the Israeli public. “One does not leave a difficult, ‘front,” he asserted. “You have to stand firm and ‘hit back.’ To a certain extent, the feeling is that our delegation in the General Assembly is too small. Between one Assembly session and the next there are many issues which demand attention. Israel has a six-member delegation. But there are as many as 180 members in the Arab delegations and hundreds of Soviet and Moslem delegates who are hostile to Israel.”
So far as the African states are concerned, Tekoah observed that breaks in diplomatic relations between African states and Israel “of course have implications for power alignments and alliances in the UN.” The world body, an organization of states with diverse, interlocking, or, as the cases may be, conflicting interests, reflects the general world political situation and, therefore, “this situation is reflected in the way various states vote in the UN,” Tekoah said.
The Israeli diplomat, who was appointed in 1968 as Permanent Representative to the UN, was asked to assess the differences between Secretary General Kurt Waldheim and his predecessor, U Thant. “I think the main difference is that Waldheim tends more to political thinking, while Thant viewed problems more narrowly and acted more on the basis of UN formalities.”
Tekoah, through the years, has developed his own style of delivery, one that frequently nettles the opponents of the Jewish State. His presentations are always lucid, logical and filled with historical references that illuminate the topic under discussion. He is always, in the words of one admirer, “unflappable and unruffled.” Quite frequently visitors in the gallery applaud Tekoah as he reduces to a shambles the emotional Invectives of the Arab-Soviet bloc spokesmen.
One delegate said recently, “The Arabs could use someone like Tekoah to present their cause.” The compliment, ironically, missed the point. In the final analysis the eloquence of Yosef Tekoah is not the principle of delivery but the delivery of principle.
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