Back to Ambassadorial Speeches - Ambassador Zalman Shoval

Interview with Ambassador Shoval on the FOX Morning News
Interviewer: David Burnett, January 26, 1993

DAVID BURNETT: Joining us is outgoing ambassador to the U.S. for Israel Zalman Shoval. Mr. Shoval, thank you very much for being with us.

AMBASSADOR ZALMAN SHOVAL (Israeli ambassador to U.S.): Hello, David.

Q: You are going to be leaving in just a couple of weeks. Before you leave, I want an assessment of U.S.-Israeli relations. Where do they stand as you depart?

AMBASSADOR SHOVAL: Well, this has not been the easiest of times, as everybody knows, these last two years. There have been ups and downs. But at the end of the day, there have been important achievements. I think the links are as close as ever. They may be closer, perhaps.

In the new Clinton administration I suppose there will be continuity. There will be some changes. But we have had good agreements on economic matters, on strategic military matters, and if you just look at the Middle East today, I think that friendship and that alliance is probably more important than ever before.

Q: So you're confident that the Clinton administration will be able to forge a newer, better partnership with Israel?

AMBASSADOR SHOVAL: I'm confident that there will be continuity in the good things and there will change in some of the others.

Q: Some of those others are what? I know that there were a number of disagreements with the Bush administration. Where do you think some of those will be smoothed out with the Clinton administration?

AMBASSADOR SHOVAL: Well, even with the Bush administration we have had good agreements at the end of the road. Sometimes we didn't have the right sort of chemistry or whatever the term is. I think that will improve now, but I would not say that the preceding period has been a bad one. The bottom line was good.

Q: Martin Indyk becomes Bill Clinton's new Middle East expert, ambassador, if you will. Are you familiar with Mr. Indyk?

AMBASSADOR SHOVAL: Oh, yes.

Q: What do you think of him?

AMBASSADOR SHOVAL: I know him very well. He's a top expert on Middle East affairs. He's an academic, but he has led many American groups over to the Middle East, to all countries, Israel and the Arab countries. He's very knowledgeable. I think he's the right man in the right place.

Q: What kind of challenges do you believe the United States faces in the Middle East at this point?

AMBASSADOR SHOVAL: Well, there are many challenges, of course, but I would single out two. First of all, the Middle East has to be made safe from potential aggressors or actual aggressors, whether it's a Saddam Hussein or Iran tomorrow, which could be even more dangerous than Iraq. On the other hand, the United States will continue to play an active role in trying to get the Arabs and Israel to conclude a peace treaty or peace treaties amongst themselves. America will have to be very, very diplomatic about that. Sometimes it will have to be more active. Sometimes it will have just to fade away.

And I think that is the main American role, as America defines it, to create stability in the Middle East. Israeli- Arab peace is part of that. It's not the pivot. It's only part of that because most wars in the Middle East have broken out between Arabs and Arabs and Moslems and Moslems, not between Israel and the Arabs. It's just part of the picture.

Q: You mentioned Saddam Hussein. Clearly, in the last month or so, we have gotten again a taste of Saddam Hussein and Iraq. How comfortable is Israel feeling with what is going on right there now?

AMBASSADOR SHOVAL: Well, it's not the question of being comfortable. It's the question of Saddam Hussein still being around, still having a great deal of military capability, although much less than he had two years ago. He may still be working on all sorts of non-conventional arms and so on and so forth. As long as he's around and he has these policies, he is still a threat.

Q: Internally there have been some problems in Israel, as well as Lebanon, about what should happen with the deportees. What's going on with that situation, whether they can be in Lebanon, whether they can be in Israel? What's happening here?

AMBASSADOR SHOVAL: I think it has to be understood the main problem is not the humanitarian one. It's not even a political one. It's a security one. The first priority is how do we prevent these people, who were ring leaders of a very vicious terrorist group, the Hamas, who are opposed to the peace process, to the very existence of Israel, even to moderate Palestinian Arabs--how do we prevent them from playing ever again a role in inciting violence and terror? That's the main issue.

The legal aspects, the United Nations aspects, which may be irritating right now, but these are secondary.

Q: Lastly, in the few seconds that we have left, what are you going to be doing in your future? You've been here two and a half years as ambassador. Do you plan to go back into politics?

AMBASSADOR SHOVAL: First of all, I plan to go home and to go back to private life. All the rest, we shall see.

Q: We thank you very much, Ambassador, for being with us this morning.

AMBASSADOR SHOVAL: Thank you very much.