Israel's Relations with the East European States

In the Years 1989-1991 Israel renewed its diplomatic relations with the USSR, Bulgaria, Hungary, Yugoslavia, Poland and Czechoslovakia, relations which were severed subsequent to the Six- day- war. Albania was added to the above, with which Israel established diplomatic relations for the first time. In these years Israel's representatives held talks with envoys from East Germany towards establishing diplomatic relations. This was never fulfilled due to East Germany's refusal to recognize its part in paying restitutions to Israel for its part in the persecution of Jews during the Nazi rule and due to the approaching German reunification process.
The Author, who served in those years as Deputy Director General of Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in charge of East and Central Europe, and who took part in these processes, documents, for the first time, the chain of contacts between Israel and the countries of East-Central Europe (except for the USSR) which lead up to renewing diplomatic relations between them.
The book also deals with their hostile policies towards Israel in the international and Middle Eastern arena, Anti-Semitism against the Jewish minority living among them, and the status of the Jewish Communities in these countries during the break in Diplomatic relations and in the time that followed. The Political and Economic motivations of each of these countries to improve relations with Israel are also dealt with from the mid-eighties of the previous century towards a gradual renewal of diplomatic relations together with their liberation from their dependence on the USSR and their transition from their Communist regime to a liberal one.