By Marcus Dysch
4 min read
Standing in the hotel lobby, Dore Gold could easily be mistaken for another anonymous, jet-lagged businessman awaiting his next meeting.
Tourists wandering past him in central London on Sunday evening were oblivious to the presence of one of Israel’s key diplomats of the last quarter of a century.
For years, Dr Gold’s mustachioed face has been instantly recognisable as he worked as a leading peace negotiator, ambassador to the UN, and foreign affairs adviser to Benjamin Netanyahu.
Not much has changed in that respect — he remains, in many ways, the insider’s insider, having only last month quit, for family reasons, as director-general of Israel’s Foreign Affairs Ministry.
Over coffee, Dr Gold explains why he is so bullish about his country’s prospects at a time when millions await the impact of Donald Trump’s election, Brexit and ongoing uncertainty in the Middle East.
“You’re talking to somebody who up to a month ago was reading classified cables. So I’m coming to you with my experience,” he explains in a soft tone.
“Many people say Israel is more isolated than ever. But I saw foreign ministers pouring in to see our Prime Minister. We now have negotiations on free trade with pivotal countries in the Far East like South Korea, Japan, China and India. That’s a different reality to a country that is isolated.
“Africa is completely opening up. I would criss-cross the Sahara having meetings. Israel is in demand, it is not isolated.”
If you closed your eyes, you could be forgiven for thinking you were listening to Mr Netanyahu, so similar are the two men’s east coast US accents and forthright views.
Dr Gold, now in his 60s, is ostensibly in London to speak on a stellar panel in Parliament alongside historian Andrew Roberts, former Israeli ambassador to Canada Alan Baker, and Yair Hirschfeld, architect of the Oslo Accords.
The Jerusalem Centre for Public Affairs (JCPA), the think-tank Dr Gold serves as president, organised Tuesday’s event celebrating next year’s anniversary of the Balfour Declaration alongside the Henry Jackson Society. The aim was to refute the slurs put forward at a session hosted by Baroness Tonge at the same venue in October.
It is his latest effort to hit back at those spewing hate. When Dr Gold sees the public arena turn against Israel, he acts.
“We have a choice: we can sit silent and just let this pass, and say it happens all the time, or we stand up and object to these views.”
Legitimising voices that delegitimise Israel is “intolerable — we must speak up”.
Repeatedly he attacks those who see Hamas as being akin to the IRA and on the verge of a political transformation. The West does not understand the Middle East, Dr Gold argues, and those who are “sympathetic” to Gaza’s Islamist rulers “should think twice”.
The visit to Britain doubles as the latest leg of Dr Gold’s one-man world tour. He has already held meetings with senior ministers in South Africa, and moves on to Washington and then Harvard later this week.
When he arrives in the United States, he will not be expressing the same concerns felt by many over Donald Trump’s election victory. While Dr Gold bluntly explains how he sees the “alt-right” movement — to which many Trump supporters are attracted — as “political trash”, he is prepared to wait for the President-elect to appoint key figures before he will “examine the administration”.
His greater interest is in the “total chaos” engulfing the Middle East, and the rest of the world will deal with it.
Although a “very deep dialogue” is required with allies, he is adamant Israel has new opportunities.
Dr Gold’s approach may be surprising to many in the diaspora who are overwhelmed with concerns about rising antisemitism, the threat posed by hard-right politicians, and Brexit.
But he is vociferous on his country’s geo-political position. “Israel has excellent relations with a number of key European states bilaterally. Many times you would find our problems were in Brussels, not in Paris, not in Munich, not in London. Israel has a better standing today than it did before.”
While the issue of Brexit is brushed off as an almost complete irrelevance to the Connecticut-born diplomat who has lived in Jerusalem since making aliyah more than 30 years ago, he simultaneously rails against various EU initiatives.
The insistence on labelling of products made in Israeli settlements in the West Bank gets particularly short shrift. It is “completely outlandish”, a “double standard” not applied to other conflict zones such as Kashmir or northern Cyprus.
“The discriminatory approach which picks on the case of the Jewish state is simply unacceptable,” Dr Gold barks, now sounding like an only-slightly less grizzly version of Tony Soprano.
“Point out the obvious. In the old days we called this antisemitism – when you treat Jews differently from how you treat other faiths.”
There are two points on which he believes Israel will show itself to be essential to the West — security and energy.
“Remember,” he says bluntly, “countries that are fighting Isis, and are concerned about an attack on the streets of London, Madrid, Rome or any place else, often view Israel as a natural partner for European security.”
A lengthy explanation follows of how Israel’s role in helping Egypt combat Daesh makes his country vital to European efforts to combat jihad.
Dr Gold goes on: “Right now the price of oil is low, but it will go up. If you’re concerned about European energy stability in five or 10 years, the most stable source for European gas is going to be the eastern Mediterranean — the combined capabilities of Egypt, Israel and Cyprus.
“So Israel should be proud of how it can help Europe and not just be a country making demands on Europe.”
It is an impressive pitch and turns my mind to Mr Netanyahu surpassing David Ben-Gurion as Israel’s longest-serving premier in a single stint. That record prompts the inevitable question of how much longer Mr Netanyahu will remain in the hot seat. In Jerusalem, talk is of who his successor will be.
Dr Gold suggested this interview and is eager to lay out his vision for the future. I ask about his plans — does he expect to use his experience and personal contacts to one day return to the political or diplomatic front-line?
“Right now I’m going to focus on my family, but I’m not going out to pasture. I’ll be back,” he says, before pointedly emphasising again: “I said, I will be back.”
For decades, Dore Gold has been “the man behind the man”, often spotted just over the shoulder of Israel’s globe-trotting leading figures.
He may now be preparing to step out of the shadows and grab the limelight himself.
