Speaking for Israel

A Speechwriter Battles Anti-Israel Opinions at the United Nations

Aviva Klompas

• Publisher: Skyhorse
• Year: 2019
• Print ISBN:
  9781510743915
• eBook ISBN:
  9781510743922
• Topic: Politik & Internationale Beziehungen
• Subtopic: Diplomatie & Abkommen

The exclusive—and explosive—account of the politics of one of the most controversial nations in the world. According to Aviva Klompas, representing Israel at the United Nations is like volunteering to sell Red Sox paraphernalia outside Yankee Stadium. During her time as the director of speechwriting for Israel's Permanent Mission to the United Nations, Klompas crafted highly acclaimed speeches that advanced Israel's policies and informed public opinion. In Speaking for Israel, Klompas gives readers a glance behind the curtain of international politics and all the drama, intrigue, and conflict that simmer under the surface. During her tenure as Israel's UN speechwriter, Klompas saw the collapse of four Middle Eastern states, faltering Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, waves of Palestinian terrorism, stop-and-go nuclear negotiations (culminating in the Iran Deal), an attempt to push Palestinian statehood through the UN Security Council, the Palestinians' bid to join the International Criminal Court, the kidnapping and murder of three Israeli teenagers, and fifty days of war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. Constantly in the thick of things, Klompas's experience with the Israeli UN delegation is full to bursting with juicy insider stories and a day-to-day look at what it's like in the top diplomatic echelon. With humor and bite, Speaking for Israel tells her story, one that is both universal and uniquely singular.

Table of contents

• Front Cover
• Title Page
• Dedication
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Author’s Note
• Introduction
• Chapter 1: Yalla! / Let’s go!
• Chapter 2: Hishtagat? / Are you crazy?
• Chapter 3: Lo nora / It’s not so terrible
• Chapter 4: Go’al nefesh / Disgusting to the soul
• Chapter 5: Chutzpa / Audacity
• Chapter 6: Ma ani, ez? / What am I, a goat?
• Chapter 7: Balagan / A mess
• Chapter 8: Tzarat rabim chatzi nechama / Sorrow shared is sorrow halved
• Chapter 9: Koev li halev / My heart hurts
• Chapter 10: Sof ha’olam smola / At the end of the world, turn left
• Chapter 11: Gam Elohim boche / God also cries
• Chapter 12: Ze loke’ach kefar / It takes a village
• Chapter 13: La’asot chaim / Have fun
• Chapter 14: Zazim / We’re moving
• Chapter 15: 45 shniyot ze kol ma sh’ata tzarich / 45 seconds is all you need
• Chapter 16: Sof hammassa / The end of the journey
• Plates