“A very demanding 24/7 commitment”, that’s how Jonathan Peled describes his job as the Spokesman for the Israeli Embassy in Washington, DC. This round-the-clock nature of the job has been the reality since Peled assumed his current post in the United States just prior to the Democratic and Republican conventions in 2008. But from his perspective, the demands are justified, “First and foremost, Washington is considered the pinnacle of diplomatic postings. It’s our most important embassy, it’s our largest embassy. It’s our greatest ally and friend.”
The week prior to our meeting, Peled had been occupied managing press inquiries and helping coordinate a visit by Israeli President Shimon Peres who met with President Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and Congressional leaders among others luminaries. But a visit by the Israeli President is par for the course for Peled, “I’ve been here three years, and we’ve had two presidential visits, eight prime minister visits so far, countless ministers of defense, foreign affairs and other high ranking delegations.”
For Peled seeing how the power politics revolving around what he describes as “a really immense, strategic, very deep relationship between Israel and the United States” functions, is a great professional challenge as well as personally satisfying. And one of the key features that makes this posting in the United States unique from others is that he and his colleagues are not only exposed to the top stratum of American politicos, but his native country too, as Israeli leaders log the miles making regular trips to the United States to look after that all important friendship.
Before his current assignment in Washington, DC, Peled served as the Foreign Policy Advisor to the Speaker of the Knesset. He had previously done stints as the Israeli Ambassador to El Salvador and Belize and earlier held diplomatic postings in Turkey and Argentina. While there have been many highlights, he cites his participation in the peace negotiations with the Palestinians after the Oslo Accords in 1994, as a policy advisor alongside then Foreign Minister Shimon Peres, as one of the most rewarding experiences in his diplomatic career. A self-professed patriot who holds the rank of Major (Res.) in the Israeli Air Force, Peled recounted that he pursued a career in diplomacy because he felt “a sense of mission to go abroad and present the case for Israel.”
Making that very case to an influential community consisting of journalists, columnists, policy shapers and decision makers is Peled’s first responsibility. He acknowledged that it is made all the more challenging by the fact that many journalists and opinion makers working in Washington, DC possess an extensive knowledge of the Middle East having traveled to countries in the region and often meeting people that he cannot in his capacity meet. With so much turmoil in the region and day-to-day events driving the news cycle, Peled’s job is to provide reporters covering these stories, who as he puts it “know just as much as I do,” with the added value of an outlook from the Israeli point of view.
While most of his efforts focus on the American media, Peled is always attentive to the reality that “one aspect of my job is informing and being in touch with the Israeli media both posted here in Washington and back in Israel.” He related that while the American media may be marginally interested in events in Israel, an alert Israeli media is quite conscientious of what is occurring in the United States which makes his job of explaining the Israeli side to the United States and vice versa a virtual two-way interaction.
One of the newer approaches to interaction that Peled and the Israelis have eagerly adopted to serve their public diplomacy objectives is social media platforms. Appreciating that people are overwhelmed, he advised, “you have to learn how to bring your target audience the information he is interested in and not just bombard him.” One distinctive way the Israeli Embassy is accomplishing this is by soliciting questions on Facebook and through the #AskOren hashtag on Twitter and then having the Israeli Ambassador, Michael Oren, respond to questions via YouTube videos that are posted on the embassy’s website. While it does not replace the conventional media, he recognizes it as a tool that “cuts out the middle man so it’s a way of directly communicating with certain audiences.”
As our conversation shifted from his work and experiences as a diplomat to his views on a few of the key challenges for Israel, it became abundantly clear why Peled had been tasked to serve as the Embassy’s spokesman. He is a competent, articulate communicator whose effectiveness is evident whether you agree or disagree with him. As we walked through the issues, his confident yet amiable demeanor set an idyllic tone as he thrived in delivering what came across as a reasonable and practical Israeli perspective on what are very divisive, highly charged issues.
With Prime Minister Netanyahu scheduled to come to Washington, DC in late May, Peled said they are looking forward to that visit “and that opportunity for him to discuss with both Congress and first and foremost with the Administration ways to get back on track with the peace process.” On the last attempt getting hung up on the issue of settlements and how that may impact efforts going forward, he offered that settlements “by no means should constitute a precondition for negotiations and for hammering out a deal with our Palestinian partners.”
With international pressure for a Palestinian state swelling and the declared intention by Palestinian leaders to pursue a statehood resolution at the United Nations, he praised Palestinian efforts in the West Bank to build the foundations for governance noting, “We don’t want a failed neighbor, we want a successful neighbor that has employment, a sound economy, security and the rule of law; all these are interests that serve the Palestinians, that serve Israel just the same so we are on the same page here.” But he added, “This itself cannot compensate for negotiations with Israel as you need two to tango, you need two sides to sign an agreement. I think that one-sided or unilateral moves, they’re not only not helpful but they also stand against all previous agreements.”
One of the most interesting points raised by Peled on the peace process is that in his judgment Palestinian leaders have failed to effectively prepare the Palestinian people for the difficult compromises that will be necessary to achieve peace with Israel. According to Peled, “We continue to see policies of incitement and hatred in the Palestinian camp which does not prepare the population for a future agreement with Israel. We have to compromise, we have a very small piece of land which is holy to all and the only way which we can reach an agreement is if both sides are prepared to make compromises for peace.” So for Peled the question goes beyond whether Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is willing to work toward peace to whether a majority of Palestinians are prepared to accept it.
Insisting that Hamas cannot be a viable partner as long as it does not adhere to the demands of the international community, Peled considers the divided Palestinian camp “one single greatest impediment at the moment.” He maintains that this is a problem to be solved by the Palestinians themselves, but he did express a sense of hope saying, “And at the end of the day, the Palestinian in Gaza will see his brother in the West Bank is by far better off and will decide to get rid of Hamas or vote them out or whatever, that’s up to them but the idea is to give them a choice between a pragmatic, moderate approach and a radical, violent one. And we want to show and prove that the moderate path is the one that achieves prosperity and peace and political expression.”
On the Arab Spring, Peled expressed a theme of encouragement and cautious hope, reasoning, “We’d like the Egyptian people to achieve their long desired freedom, democracy and economic prosperity. There’s nothing we wish more for the Egyptian people and for all peoples in the region by the way. We’ve always said we’re the only democracy in the region but we will be more than happy to be one of many democracies in the region. We believe that democracies also serve as a guarantor for stability and peace to be maintained because the likelihood for democracies to wage war is far, far smaller than among other regimes, radical and autocratic.”
Although he does not know what his next position will be, Peled has been offered diplomatic jobs in the Foreign Ministry, the President’s office and with other organizations. Regardless of what that move is; it is hard to imagine him not continuing, in some capacity, to serve as a voice for the Israeli cause.
###
Peled on the Issues
On the Israeli-Palestinian Peace Process
We are working very hard to come up with constructive ideas and ways to get the Palestinians back to the negotiating table. It’s a joint interest we share with the United States. At the end of the day, the Prime Minister has stated his commitment to a two state solution, to a Palestinian state side-by-side with Israel, and we have to find the best ways, without in any way impeding on our security, to get back to negotiations and get closer to trying to achieve that goal.
On a UN Resolution to Impose a Palestinian State
Declarations and unilateral steps may sound nice on paper, but will not change the situation on the ground. A United Nations declaration will only be harmful; will not bring the Palestinians any closer to actually having a Palestinian state because at the end of the day they have to negotiate with Israel issues of security, borders, settlements, Jerusalem, all the final status issues and; therefore, we believe that every effort has to be made to convince the Palestinians that they’re going down the wrong path at the moment that’s not going to serve their long-term interests.
On Egypt’s Democracy Movement
Our main concern today is upholding and maintaining our peace agreement with Egypt in the first place. That is a peace agreement that has held for 30 years; it has served both Israel and Egypt. And obviously we would like Egypt to be a country of stability and anything that can in any way impair that stability whether it be the introduction of a radical regime with Iranian influence and interference or whether it be the emergence of terrorist organizations that are taking advantage of a failed state or a vacuum like we can see in other countries in the region, those are all matters of concern to Israel and the United States.
On Stability in the Middle East
The lack of peace negotiations and an eventual peace agreement plays into the hands of the radical camp; the one that’s interested in seeing Egypt and other countries in the region go through instability, mayhem and so on. So definitely with all the dangers and uncertainties which are occurring which nobody can really predict, we need to ensure elements of stability in the region and also make sure that the moderate, pragmatic camp, the camp that stands for peace, has the upper hand over the radical camp led by Iran, Syria and all these Islamic radical organizations that basically are calling for overthrowing these governments and imposing radical Islamic regimes, destroying the state of Israel, attacking the United States and so on.
On the Goldstone Report
In practical terms, we believe that this report should be withdrawn. The problem is unfortunately that the Goldstone Report and what it signifies is to a great extent a blood libel and it’s very difficult, if not impossible to retract a blood libel. So we are here in a situation where I think enormous and maybe irreparable damage has been made.
Steve Lutes is a freelance writer pursuing a Masters in International Affairs from Virginia Tech University. He is also the Director of the Corporate Leadership Advisory Council at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. He can be found on twitter at @stevelutes.
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Diplomatic Profiles: A Conversation with Jonathan Peled, Spokesman for the Embassy of Israel in the U.S.
June 5, 2011
“A very demanding 24/7 commitment”, that’s how Jonathan Peled describes his job as the Spokesman for the Israeli Embassy in Washington, DC. This round-the-clock nature of the job has been the reality since Peled assumed his current post in the United States just prior to the Democratic and Republican conventions in 2008. But from his perspective, the demands are justified, “First and foremost, Washington is considered the pinnacle of diplomatic postings. It’s our most important embassy, it’s our largest embassy. It’s our greatest ally and friend.”
The week prior to our meeting, Peled had been occupied managing press inquiries and helping coordinate a visit by Israeli President Shimon Peres who met with President Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and Congressional leaders among others luminaries. But a visit by the Israeli President is par for the course for Peled, “I’ve been here three years, and we’ve had two presidential visits, eight prime minister visits so far, countless ministers of defense, foreign affairs and other high ranking delegations.”
For Peled seeing how the power politics revolving around what he describes as “a really immense, strategic, very deep relationship between Israel and the United States” functions, is a great professional challenge as well as personally satisfying. And one of the key features that makes this posting in the United States unique from others is that he and his colleagues are not only exposed to the top stratum of American politicos, but his native country too, as Israeli leaders log the miles making regular trips to the United States to look after that all important friendship.
Before his current assignment in Washington, DC, Peled served as the Foreign Policy Advisor to the Speaker of the Knesset. He had previously done stints as the Israeli Ambassador to El Salvador and Belize and earlier held diplomatic postings in Turkey and Argentina. While there have been many highlights, he cites his participation in the peace negotiations with the Palestinians after the Oslo Accords in 1994, as a policy advisor alongside then Foreign Minister Shimon Peres, as one of the most rewarding experiences in his diplomatic career. A self-professed patriot who holds the rank of Major (Res.) in the Israeli Air Force, Peled recounted that he pursued a career in diplomacy because he felt “a sense of mission to go abroad and present the case for Israel.”
Making that very case to an influential community consisting of journalists, columnists, policy shapers and decision makers is Peled’s first responsibility. He acknowledged that it is made all the more challenging by the fact that many journalists and opinion makers working in Washington, DC possess an extensive knowledge of the Middle East having traveled to countries in the region and often meeting people that he cannot in his capacity meet. With so much turmoil in the region and day-to-day events driving the news cycle, Peled’s job is to provide reporters covering these stories, who as he puts it “know just as much as I do,” with the added value of an outlook from the Israeli point of view.
While most of his efforts focus on the American media, Peled is always attentive to the reality that “one aspect of my job is informing and being in touch with the Israeli media both posted here in Washington and back in Israel.” He related that while the American media may be marginally interested in events in Israel, an alert Israeli media is quite conscientious of what is occurring in the United States which makes his job of explaining the Israeli side to the United States and vice versa a virtual two-way interaction.
One of the newer approaches to interaction that Peled and the Israelis have eagerly adopted to serve their public diplomacy objectives is social media platforms. Appreciating that people are overwhelmed, he advised, “you have to learn how to bring your target audience the information he is interested in and not just bombard him.” One distinctive way the Israeli Embassy is accomplishing this is by soliciting questions on Facebook and through the #AskOren hashtag on Twitter and then having the Israeli Ambassador, Michael Oren, respond to questions via YouTube videos that are posted on the embassy’s website. While it does not replace the conventional media, he recognizes it as a tool that “cuts out the middle man so it’s a way of directly communicating with certain audiences.”
As our conversation shifted from his work and experiences as a diplomat to his views on a few of the key challenges for Israel, it became abundantly clear why Peled had been tasked to serve as the Embassy’s spokesman. He is a competent, articulate communicator whose effectiveness is evident whether you agree or disagree with him. As we walked through the issues, his confident yet amiable demeanor set an idyllic tone as he thrived in delivering what came across as a reasonable and practical Israeli perspective on what are very divisive, highly charged issues.
With Prime Minister Netanyahu scheduled to come to Washington, DC in late May, Peled said they are looking forward to that visit “and that opportunity for him to discuss with both Congress and first and foremost with the Administration ways to get back on track with the peace process.” On the last attempt getting hung up on the issue of settlements and how that may impact efforts going forward, he offered that settlements “by no means should constitute a precondition for negotiations and for hammering out a deal with our Palestinian partners.”
With international pressure for a Palestinian state swelling and the declared intention by Palestinian leaders to pursue a statehood resolution at the United Nations, he praised Palestinian efforts in the West Bank to build the foundations for governance noting, “We don’t want a failed neighbor, we want a successful neighbor that has employment, a sound economy, security and the rule of law; all these are interests that serve the Palestinians, that serve Israel just the same so we are on the same page here.” But he added, “This itself cannot compensate for negotiations with Israel as you need two to tango, you need two sides to sign an agreement. I think that one-sided or unilateral moves, they’re not only not helpful but they also stand against all previous agreements.”
One of the most interesting points raised by Peled on the peace process is that in his judgment Palestinian leaders have failed to effectively prepare the Palestinian people for the difficult compromises that will be necessary to achieve peace with Israel. According to Peled, “We continue to see policies of incitement and hatred in the Palestinian camp which does not prepare the population for a future agreement with Israel. We have to compromise, we have a very small piece of land which is holy to all and the only way which we can reach an agreement is if both sides are prepared to make compromises for peace.” So for Peled the question goes beyond whether Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is willing to work toward peace to whether a majority of Palestinians are prepared to accept it.
Insisting that Hamas cannot be a viable partner as long as it does not adhere to the demands of the international community, Peled considers the divided Palestinian camp “one single greatest impediment at the moment.” He maintains that this is a problem to be solved by the Palestinians themselves, but he did express a sense of hope saying, “And at the end of the day, the Palestinian in Gaza will see his brother in the West Bank is by far better off and will decide to get rid of Hamas or vote them out or whatever, that’s up to them but the idea is to give them a choice between a pragmatic, moderate approach and a radical, violent one. And we want to show and prove that the moderate path is the one that achieves prosperity and peace and political expression.”
On the Arab Spring, Peled expressed a theme of encouragement and cautious hope, reasoning, “We’d like the Egyptian people to achieve their long desired freedom, democracy and economic prosperity. There’s nothing we wish more for the Egyptian people and for all peoples in the region by the way. We’ve always said we’re the only democracy in the region but we will be more than happy to be one of many democracies in the region. We believe that democracies also serve as a guarantor for stability and peace to be maintained because the likelihood for democracies to wage war is far, far smaller than among other regimes, radical and autocratic.”
Although he does not know what his next position will be, Peled has been offered diplomatic jobs in the Foreign Ministry, the President’s office and with other organizations. Regardless of what that move is; it is hard to imagine him not continuing, in some capacity, to serve as a voice for the Israeli cause.
###
Peled on the Issues
On the Israeli-Palestinian Peace Process
We are working very hard to come up with constructive ideas and ways to get the Palestinians back to the negotiating table. It’s a joint interest we share with the United States. At the end of the day, the Prime Minister has stated his commitment to a two state solution, to a Palestinian state side-by-side with Israel, and we have to find the best ways, without in any way impeding on our security, to get back to negotiations and get closer to trying to achieve that goal.
On a UN Resolution to Impose a Palestinian State
Declarations and unilateral steps may sound nice on paper, but will not change the situation on the ground. A United Nations declaration will only be harmful; will not bring the Palestinians any closer to actually having a Palestinian state because at the end of the day they have to negotiate with Israel issues of security, borders, settlements, Jerusalem, all the final status issues and; therefore, we believe that every effort has to be made to convince the Palestinians that they’re going down the wrong path at the moment that’s not going to serve their long-term interests.
On Egypt’s Democracy Movement
Our main concern today is upholding and maintaining our peace agreement with Egypt in the first place. That is a peace agreement that has held for 30 years; it has served both Israel and Egypt. And obviously we would like Egypt to be a country of stability and anything that can in any way impair that stability whether it be the introduction of a radical regime with Iranian influence and interference or whether it be the emergence of terrorist organizations that are taking advantage of a failed state or a vacuum like we can see in other countries in the region, those are all matters of concern to Israel and the United States.
On Stability in the Middle East
The lack of peace negotiations and an eventual peace agreement plays into the hands of the radical camp; the one that’s interested in seeing Egypt and other countries in the region go through instability, mayhem and so on. So definitely with all the dangers and uncertainties which are occurring which nobody can really predict, we need to ensure elements of stability in the region and also make sure that the moderate, pragmatic camp, the camp that stands for peace, has the upper hand over the radical camp led by Iran, Syria and all these Islamic radical organizations that basically are calling for overthrowing these governments and imposing radical Islamic regimes, destroying the state of Israel, attacking the United States and so on.
On the Goldstone Report
In practical terms, we believe that this report should be withdrawn. The problem is unfortunately that the Goldstone Report and what it signifies is to a great extent a blood libel and it’s very difficult, if not impossible to retract a blood libel. So we are here in a situation where I think enormous and maybe irreparable damage has been made.
Steve Lutes is a freelance writer pursuing a Masters in International Affairs from Virginia Tech University. He is also the Director of the Corporate Leadership Advisory Council at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. He can be found on twitter at @stevelutes.
