The international diplomacy of Israel’s founders: deception at the United Nations in the quest for Palestine

In this fast-paced narrative of diplomatic events, John Quigley illustrates the extension of Zionist colonial violence and manipulation at an international level. The International Diplomacy of Israel’s Founders: deception at the United Nations in the quest for Palestine (Cambridge University Press, 2016) opens with the concept of hasbara, which is the euphemism for propaganda utilised by the Israeli government to justify its violations of international law. In recent years, hasbara has garnered a lot of attention due to the government’s overt focus on the concept. What is missing, however, is the link between the historical and current manipulation of facts, something to which Quigley draws attention as a priority.

In the first chapter, the author declares that “Hasbara has continued to occupy such a prominent role in Israel’s public agenda because of Israel’s atypical history.” The tactic, which was first employed by the World Zionist Organisation, gained ground due to its international appeal and background, given that the organisation was of European origin. This leads to another point made early on in the book regarding the way that Zionist colonial ideology sought an international agreement which resonated with the existing colonial powers at the time, mainly due to the common ground of excluding Arabs from decision-making.

Hasbara, therefore, was projected internationally due to the contradictions between Zionist claims of a Jewish state and the lack of support for such an endeavour from Jews already living in Palestine. The First and Second World Wars provided an opportunity for Zionists to manipulate favours in return for support, or at least acquiescence, towards the proposed colonisation of Palestine. Starting from the 1917 Balfour Declaration, post-war diplomacy gave the illusion of a gradual progress. Behind the scenes, Zionist leaders such as Chaim Weizmann imparted misleading statistics and information that paved the way for colonisation.

Laying these foundations based upon exclusion provided the preliminary groundwork for garnering favour at the UN from 1945, based mainly upon extending manipulation between a heavily-guarded ambition and the façade presented at the international organisation. The lack of enthusiasm on behalf of Jewish Palestinians — to whom Weizmann referred as a “useless and retarding element” — necessitated greater focus upon achieving international acceptance for colonisation, which was achieved mainly by lobbying both the US and the Soviet Union. The latter was a lot more receptive in the initial stages as world powers also played out their competing strategies.

A remarkable aspect of Quigley’s book is his evocation of Palestinian absence in all of this. What Zionist colonialism has achieved is a complete displacement of Palestinians when it comes to the diplomatic arena. It is a competent depiction — abhorrently so — of the international acquiescence which allowed Zionist colonisation absolute freedom to distort the history of a people to the point of denial and exclusion. This is best seen within the timeline of events discussed by Quigley, as well as two main factors contributing to such oblivion. One is UN incompetence, revealed by the manner in which it allowed its committees to be manipulated to the extent that seeking alternative information other that Zionist propaganda was simply not part of the equation. The other is the “diplomatic opportunity” provided in the aftermath of World War II, which enabled Zionists to manipulate the Holocaust narrative as well as seek world powers’ support while they also sought assertion through allegiances.

From the 1947 UN Partition Plan onwards, Palestinian absence is reinforced, particularly through the dynamics at the international body. US and Soviet support for partition influenced smaller countries such as Guatemala, whose representative declared, “An ignorant majority should not be allowed to impose its will.” As Quigley shows, colonialism was disguised under many facades, such as cultural supremacy, preventive defence with regard to Zionist paramilitaries perpetrating the atrocities committed during the Nakba, as well as the alleged voluntary fleeing from their homes and death in combat to explain the Palestinians’ exodus and prevent their legitimate right of return more or less permanently.

Israeli rhetoric at the UN became an indispensable tool to manoeuvre the pitfalls of international law while creating legislation that blatantly defied resolutions and recommendations. The author discusses how Israel evaded responsibility for the Nakba by claiming that the state had not yet come into existence prior to 15 May 1948, thus establishing impunity without adequate objection from the international community. UN officials such as General Burns, who was tasked with guarding the armistice lines, were fulfilling duplicitous roles that directly aided Israel while preventing Palestinians from returning to their land. Meanwhile, as Soviet support for Zionist colonisation waned upon realisation that Israel was moving close to the US, Israeli diplomacy became geared towards promoting the normalisation of violence. As Quigley states, “In their interactions with other diplomats they had to portray themselves as conforming to the rules that applied in the international community, but altering the truth to give the appearance of conformity to the rules could readily be rationalised.”

Similar impunity can be discerned in Quigley’s narration of events leading to the Six-Day War and Israel’s monopoly of Jerusalem. There is never an absence of knowledge about Israeli conspiracy and intent, even if such knowledge is conveniently delayed. As the author points out, Israel’s ambitions have always had a willing collaborator in the form of the international community and, more specifically, the UN Security Council which is considered to have provided “the diplomatic battlefield for international acceptance.”

That said, it is also important to note that despite the international community incorporating acceptance of Zionist colonisation into its rhetoric and agenda, Israel has also exhibited a constant preoccupation with censorship. This is particularly so with regard to narratives exposing the truth behind massacres such as Deir Yassin and the Six-Day War, even though there has been no organised effort to challenge the prevailing narratives at an international level.

Towards the end of the book, Quigley notes a difference in UN attitude towards Israel after 1967, attributed to the fact that former colonies were admitted as members of the organisation. However, this does not detract from the fact that previous complicity has rendered Israeli colonisation acceptable at the UN.

The ease with which the events are related is a striking aspect of Quigley’s narrative. He manages to impart history in an engaging manner, albeit not without a sense of trepidation at how colonisation was facilitated instead of opposed. If anything is to be gleaned from this book, it is the importance of avoiding historical dissociation when combating Israeli hasbara. Anything less would constitute complicity in sustaining Palestinian absence.