Tel Aviv Diplomatic Despatches: 1972-1975
Ambassador Frederick Rawdon Dalrymple, died on 29 September 2023, aged 92. Of his eight postings, four were at head of mission level, all as ambassador. The others included; Jakarta, Washington and Tokyo. His first was to Israel, 1972-1975. He died shortly before the outbreak of the current incipient conflict.
The 7 October attack came at the fiftieth anniversary of the Yom-Kippur war, on the next day. As he did not live to observe this war, it is fitting that his earlier reporting be now reprised. These dated despatches, held at the National Archives of Australia (NAA), were de-classified some twenty years ago.
Israel and the United Nations: Despatch No. 2/73, of 16 May, 1973.
The Israelis know how important the United Nations was in the legitimisation of their State (1948). Israel has two main complaints against the UN; that it is weak and ineffectual. They also find it hard to see what they would gain from a softer line (conciliatory) when the numbers are stacked against them (pace the Arabs’ ‘built-in majority’). They (the Israelis) know their only real protector is the United States.
Israel – Secure and Recognised Borders: Despatch No. 3/73, of 18 July, 1973.
There is a difficulty with formulae which seek to combine support for the right of Israel to exist with support for the demands of the Arab states that territory seized from them by Israel should be returned. It is also the core of the problem about Resolution 242. Withdrawal from all the occupied territories is not consistent with secure borders for Israel. Does a commitment to Israel’s independence and security imply acceptance of Israel’s intention to hold at least some of the territory which she (sic) took in the 1967 war?
Israel – Painful Adjustments: Despatch No. 1/74, of 27 February, 1974.
The Israelis have some painful adjustments to make. Their political parties and programs were already more than due for a change before the events of last October, (Yom-Kippur). Now the process of change has to be accelerated. The parties are in disarray, and any Government formed now will have a provisional and contrived air. The best thing would be a sorting out into broad groupings on the big external issues facing the country, with the bulk of the present Labour Party, plus the liberals, and some others confronting at new elections an expanded Likud bloc, which would probably include Mr (General Moshe) Dayan and his associates.
Israel – More War? Despatch No. 3/74, of 5 August, 1974.
Most Israelis expect that war will start again in the (near) future. They see little or no sign that the gap between the positions of Israel and its neighbours can be bridged, and their suspicions and fears prevent most of them from contemplating new proposals or possible solutions that might involve any risk to their security. Most people believe there is no real change in the Arabs’ desire to destroy Israel. Most Israelis still think that there is no substitute for remaining as strong as possible.
Israel and the Palestinians: Despatch No. 4/74, of 23 October, 1974.
There would have been no Middle East problem in its present form had it not been for the establishment of Israel. But Israel could not have been established without some displacement of population. There will be no settlement which does not accommodate the Palestinians. There are moderate Palestinian views, but they are not ready explicitly to acknowledge Israel’s right to exist. Interpretations and policies will have to be modified if destructive deadlock is to be avoided. The middle ground awaits discovery. In the meantime any Australian recognition, or endorsement of the PLO or Palestinian national rights, should be matched by reiteration of our (Government) commitment to the survival and security of Israel.
Gaza: Despatch No. 1/75, of 5 February. 1975.
The Gaza Strip, the partner of the West Bank in most proposals for the establishment of a Palestinian entity, is the home of the largest concentration of refugees from the Israeli 1948 “War of Independence” outside of Jordan. After being a thorn in Israel’s side, it has been comparatively quiet for the last three or four years. Gazans would like to be rid of Israeli occupation and to this end they tend to look, at present (1975), mainly to the Palestine Liberation Organisation. But their position is more equivocal than that of people on the West Bank and their attitudes more ambiguous. In any arrangement setting up a political entity comprising the West Bank and Gaza, the latter’s role would involve many problems and frustrations. Especially if Gaza were denied its present economic ties with Israel, its potential in future political arrangement for the Palestinians would be primarily disruptive.
Israel and the United States: Despatch No. 2/75, of 14 March, 1975.
This very small state (occupies) a large role in the foreign policy of a superpower (the US), in terms of the methods used by Israel and its supporters to preserve influence in Washington, and as a relationship of almost total dependence in which the client (Israel) has managed to preserve so far its dignity and self respect. Israel is neither the tool of the United States, nor the determinant of American foreign policy. The evolution of the relationship, perhaps at a reduced level, will depend very much on developments within the Jewish community and in the uneasy relationship between American Jews and Israel.
The State of Israel: Despatch No. 3/75, of 14 March, 1975
The way Australian newspapers headlined the PLO raid on Tel Aviv (the Savoy Hotel, March 1975) was the most recent of several indications that there is an impression in Australia, that there is almost an emergency situation here, and that Israel is in rather bad shape. In fact the terrorist attacks have had not any noticeable effect yet and life proceeds normally. There is calm in the occupied West Bank and Gaza and, at least as things are now (1975), the country is not under intolerable strain. There are grave internal and external problems and it is hard to see where the money is going to come from. But there is certainly no impression here of imminent disaster.
A Palestinian State? Despatch No. 5/75, of 11 July 1975.
There is increasing support in Europe, and elsewhere, for the idea that creating a Palestinian State on the West Bank of the Jordan (River) would be a necessary step towards a peaceful settlement of the Arab-Israel problem and would take some of the heat out of the Palestinian liberation movement. But the West Bank lacks resources and I think it would be hard to push in even another 200,000 people in less than five years unless there was a truly massive program of investment which in merely economic terms would be perverse. The creation of a West Bank State seems more likely to be a prescription for more war than for the beginnings of peace.
Postscript: The NAA also holds other Middle East diplomatic despatches. See series A4231/2, Africa and the Middle East. Those from Tehran and Beirut are included. They remain unerringly prescient today.
Mike Fogarty, MA (Military History), is a former naval officer and diplomat.
The views stated are his own, unless ascribed to other actors. For that, they can be safely disavowed from any official endorsement, then as now. 17 February, 2024.