In April 1974 Golda MeirPrime Minister, 1969–1974. Gazit headed her office twice: when she was Foreign Minister in the late 1950s, and as Director-General of the Prime Minister’s Office from 1973.What they wanted: Security for Israel, and peace through direct negotiation, without a return to the 1967 lines.More on Golda Meir in “People and events” → announced her resignation, and in June Yitzhak RabinPrime Minister, 1974–1977; earlier Deputy Chief of Staff and ambassador in Washington.What they wanted: To move step by step, through interim agreements, in return for American guarantees and arms.More on Yitzhak Rabin in “People and events” → entered the Prime Minister’s Office. Gazit stayed where he was: Director-General of the office and political adviser to the new Prime Minister. Between the two governments, in May and June 1974, he represented Israel at the signing of the agreement with Syria in Geneva, alongside Major General Herzl ShafirIDF major general; appointed with Gazit to represent Israel at the Geneva Peace Conference in 1975.What they wanted: Security arrangements that would hold on the ground.More on Herzl Shafir in “People and events” →.
In September 1974 he sat beside Rabin at the White House, opposite President Gerald FordPresident of the United States, 1974–1977.What they wanted: To continue Kissinger’s path: a second interim agreement between Israel and Egypt.More on Gerald Ford in “People and events” →. In March 1975 he sat on the Israeli negotiating team during Henry KissingerU.S. National Security Adviser and Secretary of State.What they wanted: To push the Soviet Union out of the Middle East and make the United States the only broker, through step-by-step agreements.More on Henry Kissinger in “People and events” →’s shuttle between Jerusalem and Aswan, and in June 1975 he returned with Rabin to the Oval Office.
In August 1975, at the end of his term, he travelled to Washington with the Foreign Ministry’s legal adviser, Meir RosenneLegal adviser to the Foreign Ministry.What they wanted: Precise legal texts that leave no opening for readings against Israel.More on Meir Rosenne in “People and events” →, to work on the legal and political wording of the interim agreement. Before the cabinet meeting, ministers raised a toast to him and to his successor, Amos EranDirector-General of the Prime Minister’s Office after Gazit, from 1975.More on Amos Eran in “People and events” →.
Sources (9)
- Rabin and Ford at the White House, 10 September 1974 Diplomatic record
- The agreement with Syria, 28 May 1974 Diplomatic record
- Ministry of Defense — The disengagement agreement with Syria (Hebrew) Diplomatic record
- FRUS — The final meeting of the shuttle, 22 March 1975 Diplomatic record
- Rabin and Ford, 11 June 1975 Diplomatic record
- FRUS — Rabin and Kissinger in New York, 15 June 1975 Diplomatic record
- JTA — Chancellor Brandt’s visit to Israel Biography
- JTA — A mission to Washington and the end of his term at the Prime Minister’s Office Biography
- Middle East Contemporary Survey — Contributor Biography Diplomatic record
Israel and the world
A change of prime ministers
In April 1974 the Agranat Commission, the inquiry into the Yom Kippur War, published an interim report. Public protest grew, and Golda MeirPrime Minister, 1969–1974. Gazit headed her office twice: when she was Foreign Minister in the late 1950s, and as Director-General of the Prime Minister’s Office from 1973.What they wanted: Security for Israel, and peace through direct negotiation, without a return to the 1967 lines.More on Golda Meir in “People and events” → resigned. Yitzhak RabinPrime Minister, 1974–1977; earlier Deputy Chief of Staff and ambassador in Washington.What they wanted: To move step by step, through interim agreements, in return for American guarantees and arms.More on Yitzhak Rabin in “People and events” →, who had taken no part in the decisions before the war, formed a new government in June. The challenge for the office was continuity: the same negotiation, opposite the same Henry KissingerU.S. National Security Adviser and Secretary of State.What they wanted: To push the Soviet Union out of the Middle East and make the United States the only broker, through step-by-step agreements.More on Henry Kissinger in “People and events” →, with a new prime minister.
The agreement with Syria
After the war the fighting on the Golan Heights went on for months. Henry KissingerU.S. National Security Adviser and Secretary of State.What they wanted: To push the Soviet Union out of the Middle East and make the United States the only broker, through step-by-step agreements.More on Henry Kissinger in “People and events” → shuttled between Jerusalem and Damascus for more than a month, until the agreement was signed in Geneva at the end of May 1974. The challenge was to agree on a line that would stop the fire without giving up the security of the Golan settlements.