Kissinger’s Middle Eastern legacy is reflected in the war in Gaza
Henry A. Kissinger is a key figure in modern Middle Eastern history, and his legacy is reflected in the current war in Gaza.
One of Mr. Kissinger’s most notable contributions was his role in brokering peace between Israel and Egypt. The two nations have since cooperated in enforcing a 16-year blockade of Gaza, and in delivering humanitarian aid to Palestinians in the enclave after the October 7 Hamas-led attacks on Israel sparked a full-scale war.
Egypt, thanks to Mr. Kissinger’s diplomacy, “has gone from being in the Soviet Union’s sphere of influence to the American sphere of influence,” said Bren Carlill, a spokesman for the Zionist Federation of Australia, an umbrella organization for the Australian- Jewish community. “That, in my opinion, was one of, if not the, greatest Cold War victories for American foreign policy.”
After its founding in 1948, Israel fought five wars with Egypt, most notably the 1973 Arab-Israeli War, also known as the Yom Kippur War, after Egypt and Syria coordinated a surprise attack on Israel over the Israeli-occupied area around Sinai. peninsula and the Golan Heights. That was the last war between Egypt and Israel.
Mr. Kissinger, who was a Jewish refugee in his youth, facilitated intensive negotiations with Israel, Egypt and its Arab allies that helped end that war. Those talks proved to be a turning point in the history of the Middle East.
By traveling for 33 days across the region – a round-trip journey called “shuttle diplomacy” – he convinced Israel and Egypt to start direct talks and make major concessions. His marathon meetings in Jerusalem, Cairo and Damascus helped pave the way for the 1978 Camp David Accords, which formally ended the state of war between Israel and Egypt, paved the way for diplomatic relations between the two countries and led until the withdrawal of the Israeli forces. of the Sinai Peninsula.
“He never lost sight of the need to maintain balance in the Middle East,” said Bilahari Kausikan, a former diplomat and chairman of the Middle East Institute at the National University of Singapore.
At home, he was a complicated figure for some in the Jewish community. In a recording that came to light in 2010, Mr. Kissinger was heard telling President Richard M. Nixon in 1973 that helping Jewish people in the Soviet Union emigrate to the United States to escape totalitarian oppression “was not an objective of American foreign policy. Some leaders of Jewish organizations called his words “despicable,” “insensitive,” and “shocking,” though others tempered their criticism and pointed to his longstanding support for Israel.
“Kissinger was a very, very proud Jew,” Mr. Carlill said. “But absolutely, first and foremost, especially in his professional life, he put U.S. interests first, beyond his Jewish identity, beyond Israel — as was entirely appropriate.”