BACKGROUND

RAYMOND WEIL

GENEVE

Is The Israeli Embassy In D.C.
Jerusalem's Stepchild?

JAMES D. BESSER

Washington Correspondent

W

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36

FRIDAY, AUGUST 3, 1990

hen word leaked in
Jerusalem that
Israel was getting
ready to replace its ambas-
sador in Washington, the
news rekindled a long-
simmering debate: what is
the proper role of Israel's top
diplomatic representatives
in Washington?
And, more to the point,
why has the Israeli embassy
here been beleaguered by
internal problems that have
hampered its ability to de-
fend Israel's interest at a
critical moment in
U.S.-Israeli relations?
These are not trivial ques-
tions. Although diplomacy
increasingly takes advan-
tage of the instant modes of
communications that can
directly link top officials in
far- flung capitals, em-
bassies still play an impor-
tant role in the day-to-day
conduct of relations between
countries.
Embassies in Washington
provide the point of contact
between foreign govern-
ments and the vast federal
bureaucracy — with the
middle-level functionaries
who play a largely invisible
but important role in the
interaction between nations,
as well as with the major
players in the foreign policy
establishment.
Embassy officials also
interact with members of
Congress and with
legislative staffers. Israel's
congressional liaison weighs
in on a wide range of issues
important to the govern-
ment in Jerusalem — some
weighty matters, like the
now-suspended dialog with
the Palestine Liberation
Organization, some more
mundane but still impor-
tant, like the myriad joint
projects between the two
countries and the endless
fine points of foreign aid.
But in recent years, the
Israeli embassy has been se-
riously deficient in fulfilling
these important functions,
according to numerous Jew-
ish activists and journalists.
In part, the dilemma fac-
ing the Israeli embassy has
been a direct consequence of
the "national unity"
government that led Israel
from 1984 until its collapse
earlier this year.
Under a divided, fractious
government, the embassy

here was serving masters
with very different political
and diplomatic agendas — a
position that made the con-
duct of serious diplomacy
almost impossible.
Moshe Arad, the outgoing
ambassador, was a com-
promise choice when he
replaced Meir Rosenne in
1987. A close confidant of
neither side in Jerusalem's
fierce political wars, Arad
was quickly frozen out of the
diplomatic action.
At the same time, his staff
has often been torn by
Israel's internal political
wars — a fact that produced
the mixed messages that

The Israeli
embassy here is
often scrambling to
catch up on
policies that have
already been
revealed in
Jerusalem, but not
conveyed to the
embassy.

often infuriated Israel's
strongest defenders in Con-
gress, as well as the ad-
ministration and the Ameri-
can press.
When Secretary of State
James Baker proposed his
plan for meetings between
Israel, Egypt and a Palestin-
ian delegation, the Israeli
embassy emitted confusing
signals about the Israeli re-
sponse — reflecting the in-
tense debate taking place
within Israel's government.
But beyond the obvious
consequences of Israel's long
period of divided govern-
ment, the problems at the
embassy in Washington are
also a function of a number
of other factors — including
the critical importance of the
Middle East to U.S. policy
makers and the principles
that guide Israeli leaders in
dealing with this country.
The great dangers in-
herent in the endless Middle
East crisis have led to a
highly personal style of di-
plomacy that emphasizes
direct contact between top
officials in Washington and
Jerusalem.
When the United States
government deals with a
country like Belgium,
routine contact- through the
embassy in Washington is
an important part of the dip-

lomatic process. But in
U.S.-Israeli diplomacy, the
norm is for top officials here
to contact Israeli leaders
directly — or to use the
media to send highly public
messages.
There is a widespread _
perception among policy
makers here that the Israeli
embassy is not always "in
the loop" when it comes to
the decision making process
in Jerusalem.
And the Israelis tend to
reinforce that perception —
in part because leaders in
Jerusalem also tend to rely
on long- distance personal
diplomacy, in part because
the diplomatic staff here in
Washington is often not
trusted by the movers and
shakers in Israel.
As a result, the Israeli em-
bassy here is often scrambl-
ing to catch up on policies
that have already been
revealed in Jerusalem, but
not conveyed to the embassy.
According to seasoned
observers of the Middle East
scene, the U.S. embassy in
Tel Aviv is similarly outside
the mainstream of
U.S.-Middle East diplomacy
— which works to the detri-
ment of U.S. policy in that
country.
Foreign diplomats also
play an important role in
managing the image of their
nations in this country. For
the American press, the em-
bassy in Washington is the
primary point of contact
with official Israel. When a
crisis erupts in the Middle
East, reporters besiege the
embassy here; how Israel's
representatives respond to
journalists' demands makes
a significant difftrence in
how the situation is
ultimately perceived by the
American public.
Again, there are abundant
indications that the embassy
has been hindered by its sta-
tus as a kind of stepchild of
the Jerusalem government
— and by some of the basic
philosophies that have guid-
ed the behavior of its per-
sonnel.
Until the arrival of the
most recent Israeli press at-
tache, Ruth Yaron, the
media strategy among
Israeli diplomats was simply
to focus on a short list of
columnists for major news-
papers; reporters for smaller
publications, including Jew-
ish newspapers, tended to
receive the cold shoulder
from the embassy.

