Epstein Secrets

oom where it happens. It's hard not to envy the witnesses to history in the making and to imagine attending conferences, Zelig-like, in Versailles, Vienna or Potsdam. J. T. Rogers shares that instinct. Unlike most of you, he has acted on it. Having combined investigative zeal and theatrical imaginatio

entering on one Norwegian couple who improbably initiated the diplomatic back channel that led to the epochal meeting of the Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and the P.L.O leader Yasir Arafat at the White House, "Oslo" affectingly elicits the all-too-human factor in the weary machinations of state policy.

nd anti-Semitic violence. Even in the democracies of Western Europe, Jews were not necessarily secure. Theodor Herzl, a thoroughly assimilated Jew in Vienna, published the foundation text of Zionism in 1896. It was called Der Judenstaat. “Jews have sincerely tried everywhere to merge with the national com

a motorcycle. It would be nearly three decades before the two of us actually met — shortly after the assassination of my longtime comrade and friend Yitzhak Rabin, when I had become Foreign Minister under Shimon Peres. But in the intervening years, Arafat was rarely off of my radar. By the early 1970s, he and h

nodded glumly as I joined them. The plane had landed. A Sabena Boeing 707 bound from Brussels to Tel Aviv, it had been hijacked after a stopover in Vienna. All we knew at this point was that the hijackers were Palestinians and that there were about a hundred passengers on board. Dado said that, while we

ing replacements who were sufficiently experienced, but did not bear responsibility for the errors of the war. For Prime Minister, the choice fell on Yitzhak Rabin. He had strong military credentials, of course. But he had left the army and entered politics, and had been out of Israel for several years as Israel

nd anti-Semitic violence. Even in the democracies of Western Europe, Jews were not necessarily secure. Theodor Herzl, a thoroughly assimilated Jew in Vienna, published the foundation text of Zionism in 1896. It was called Der Judenstaat. “Jews have sincerely tried everywhere to merge with the national com

a motorcycle. It would be nearly three decades before the two of us actually met — shortly after the assassination of my longtime comrade and friend Yitzhak Rabin, when I had become Foreign Minister under Shimon Peres. But in the intervening years, Arafat was rarely off of my radar. By the early 1970s, he and h

d nodded glumly as I joined them. The plane had landed. A Sabena Boeing 707 bound from Brussels to Tel Aviv, it had been hijacked after a stopover in Vienna. All we knew at this point was that the hijackers were Palestinians and that there were about a hundred passengers on board. Dado said that, while we

ing replacements who were sufficiently experienced, but did not bear responsibility for the errors of the war. For Prime Minister, the choice fell on Yitzhak Rabin. He had strong military credentials, of course. But he had left the army and entered politics, and had been out of Israel for several years as Israel

nal Peace Institute (IPI) in 2005. IPI is an independent, international not-for-profit think tank headquartered in New York, with regional offices in Vienna and Manama. IPI is dedicated to the prevention and settlement of conflict. The UN Secretary-General is the honorary chair of the board of the Interna

ordanian delegation. UN General Assembly Resolution 46/86 (Zionism-Racism). Formal dissolution of the USSR. Israeli Labor Party wins the elections. Yitzhak Rabin becomes Prime Minister. Secret Israeli-PLO talks begin in Oslo, and develop into full-scale official negotiations in May that year. Secret signing

ment, the connection between [then Prime Minister Yitzhak] Rabin and President Arafat made everyone around them, i

ton and Tehran. Nothing along those lines has leaked and there is no indication of this, yet. But in advance of the first round of Iran-P5+1 talks in Vienna in 2009, the United States and Iran did indeed engage in quiet, behind- the-scenes diplomacy. In fact, of course, any sanctions relief for Iran will

ment, the connection between [then Prime Minister Yitzhak] Rabin and President Arafat made everyone around them, i

ton and Tehran. Nothing along those lines has leaked and there is no indication of this, yet. But in advance of the first round of Iran-P5+1 talks in Vienna in 2009, the United States and Iran did indeed engage in quiet, behind- the-scenes diplomacy. In fact, of course, any sanctions relief for Iran will