Israel’s Foreign Policy Against the Background of the Cold War

This course examines main trends and dilemmas in Israel’s foreign policy in the 1950s and in the first half  of the 1960s. Lectures will focus on major problems faced by Israel’s policy makers and will analyze the decisions taken to deal with these issues. This period saw an intensification in the confrontation between East and West, especially between the United States and the Soviet Union. The question of Israel's position in the Cold War, from  a nonaligned policy  to solidarity with the Western bloc, raised difficult questions that will be discussed comprehensively in the course.  We will examine the complex relationship between Israel and the Soviet Union and the changes in relations with the United States, from suspicion and repeated confrontations in the 1950s, to the the beginning of strategic cooperation in the 1960s. In addition, relations with European countries, primarily Britain, France and Germany, will be discussed. The following issues, among others, will be explored as well: negotiations with Arab states and their failure, the confrontation between Ben-Gurion and Sharett regarding Israel’s security and foreign policies, the Palestinian refugee problem, the strategic alliance with Turkey and Iran, and Israel's relations with the Third World and with African countries.