Posted on 11/17/2002 9:46:10 AM PST by TheConservator
Former Foreign Minister Abba Eban, who helped convince the United Nations to approve creation of the State of Israel in 1947 and defended its policies for decades afterward, died Sunday, hospital officials said. He was 87.
Eban, born Aubrey Solomon Meir in Cape Town, South Africa, on February 2, 1915, immigrated to Israel in 1946 after serving a short stint in the British intelligence corps during World War Two.
Eban served as Israel's UN ambassador and envoy to the United States when the state was created, and was the country's foreign minister from 1966 to 1974, one of the most turbulent periods of Israel's history. He also served as minister of education from 1961-1963 and as deputy prime minister from 1963-1966.
His term spanned two wars and their aftermath. Fluent in 10 languages, Eban was best known for his explanation of Israeli policies in world gatherings and interviews.
His views on the Israel-Palestinian conflict were more dovish than those of most of Israel's leaders. He called for an Israeli pullback from most of the West Bank and Gaza Strip and creation of a Palestinian state years before that stand became the policy of his Labor Party.
After losing his place in the Labor Party parliament faction in 1988, he turned to other projects, including a television series about Jewish history, spending most of his time in New York.
Eban was married to Suzy and had two children.
Israel's right to exist, like that of the United States, Saudi Arabia and 152 other states, is axiomatic and unreserved. Israel's legitimacy is not suspended in midair awaiting acknowledgement....
There is certainly no other state, big or small, young or old, that would consider mere recognition of its 'right to exist' a favor, or a negotiable concession.”
— Abba Eban
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