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The Personal Touch in Arab-Israeli Diplomacy: Amb. Samuel W. Lewis
(Brookings Institution) Tamara Cofman Wittes - Amb. Samuel W. Lewis has left us. With his death on Monday at age 84, we have lost not just a famous Middle East peacemaker, but one of the great American diplomats of the 20th century. "If Arab and Israeli leaders are to acquire any real confidence in a third-party mediator," he said, "the mediator will have to demonstrate real understanding, not only of the issues, but also of the historical connections, underlying fears, and basic principles that shape the behavior of both sides." Sam understood the limits of "blunt" tools for influencing foreign leaders, like aid and military force, and the skill of using relationships as the best means of influencing foreign leaders. Most famously, Sam in 1977 worked with Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin to produce a historic peace between Israel and Egypt. At the Camp David talks, he persuaded President Carter that the key to working with the Israeli leadership was not to push them in the desired direction, but to put your arm around their shoulders and show them where you wanted to go. The writer, former deputy assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs, is director of the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at Brookings.