On 11 July 1960 Gazit arrived in Washington as minister at the embassy, that is, the ambassador’s deputy, succeeding Yaacov HerzogA diplomat; Gazit’s predecessor as minister at the Washington embassy.More on Yaacov Herzog in “People and events” → and serving alongside Ambassador Avraham HarmanIsrael’s ambassador in Washington, 1959–1968; Gazit was his deputy at the embassy.What they wanted: A close tie to the Kennedy administration, without the Dimona dispute damaging it.More on Avraham Harman in “People and events” →; he had previously headed Foreign Minister 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” →’s office. In 1961, from the embassy, he coordinated the first visit of American scientists to the Dimona reactor.
Beside Ambassador Harman he negotiated with the Americans on the Hawk anti-aircraft missiles, which the United States decided in 1962 to sell to Israel. As early as February 1961, at a meeting with McGeorge BundyNational security adviser to Presidents Kennedy and Johnson.More on McGeorge Bundy in “People and events” →, John F. KennedyPresident of the United States, 1961–1963. Gazit wrote a book on his policy.What they wanted: To prevent the spread of nuclear weapons, including at Dimona, and to build ties with the Arab states as well.More on John F. Kennedy in “People and events” →’s national security adviser, he set out Israel’s position on dividing the Jordan waters: the Jordan to Israel, and the Yarmuk to the Kingdom of Jordan.
In January 1964 he sat beside Harman opposite Secretary of State Dean RuskUS Secretary of State, that is, foreign minister, 1961–1969.What they wanted: Regional stability, without direct American involvement in the conflicts.More on Dean Rusk in “People and events” →, when Israel asked the United States for hundreds of tanks. In 1963 he signed on Israel’s behalf to join the Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, and a Geva newsreel caught the moment.
At a farewell reception given for him and his wife by Ambassador Harman in July 1965, it was noted that he had frequently served as chargé d’affaires during his five years in Washington. In his last weeks there he was dealing with one of the conflicts that would lead, two years later, to the Six-Day War.
On 7 July 1965 he raised with Secretary of State Dean Rusk Israel’s concern over a canal being dug in Lebanon.
It was part of the Arab plan to divert the sources of the Jordan, the Hasbani and the Banias, so that their water would not reach Israel and the National Water Carrier it had completed in 1964, and he asked for an urgent American démarche in Beirut.
Two weeks later, at the State Department, he argued that “now is right time from diplomatic point of view” to push the Lebanese into removing the tractors and gradually shelving the entire plan.
In October 1963 he sat beside Justice Minister Dov YosefMinister of Justice.More on Dov Yosef in “People and events” → at a meeting with the US Attorney General, that is, the justice minister, Robert KennedyAttorney General of the United States, 1961–1964; brother of President Kennedy.More on Robert Kennedy in “People and events” →, the president’s brother, as the Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) reported.
A fork in the road
Ask an ally to protect you, and keep a secret from it.
Reveal all about Dimona
The price: Losing freedom of action on the nuclear question.
Keep it ambiguous
The price: American suspicion, and requests for arms that meet hesitation.
And what happened?
Israel chose ambiguity, and still received the Hawk anti-aircraft missiles, its first American weapons.
Sources (13)
- Memorandum of Conversation, Washington, 18 August 1960 Biography
- JTA — Mordechai Gazit, New Israel Envoy, Arrives in Washington Biography
- Israel Joins the Moscow Treaty Photo or film
- JTA — Mordecai Gazit, Israel Minister in Washington, Honored; Leaves Post Biography
- Middle East Contemporary Survey — Contributor Biography Diplomatic record
- Harman and Gazit meet Bundy, 16 February 1961 Diplomatic record
- Gazit’s conversation with Komer, 30 April 1962 Diplomatic record
- FRUS — The Lebanese canal and the Jordan headwaters, July 1965 Diplomatic record
- JTA — Israel’s Minister of Justice Meets with Attorney General Kennedy, 25 October 1963 Diplomatic record
- The First American Visit to Dimona Diplomatic record
- Harman and Gazit meet Bundy, 16 February 1961 Diplomatic record
- FRUS 1961–1963, Volume XVII, Document 15 Diplomatic record
- FRUS 1964–1968, Volume XVIII, Document 3 Diplomatic record
Israel and the world
Closer ties with the United States
Security and diplomatic ties between the two countries deepened, alongside disagreements including the Dimona issue. This was the backdrop to Gazit’s work in Washington.
Explore on WikipediaThe Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty
The treaty signed in Moscow prohibited nuclear tests in the atmosphere, outer space and underwater, seeking to reduce radioactive fallout. Underground tests remained outside the ban.
Explore on WikipediaMore background from the period (2)
The struggle over the Jordan waters
Who would drink the Jordan’s water? In 1955 an American envoy, Eric Johnston, proposed a plan to divide the water between Israel and its neighbours. The Arab states rejected it, and Israel went on building the National Water Carrier, meant to bring water from the Sea of Galilee to the Negev. The challenge for the diplomats in Washington was to keep American support for the project, against Arab pressure to stop it.
Explore on WikipediaThe arms race: the tanks
Egypt was receiving modern tanks from the Soviet Union, and Israel feared losing its edge on land. Until then the United States had sold Israel only a defensive weapon, the Hawk missiles. The request for tanks was a new test: would Washington agree to sell Israel offensive weapons as well.