Abba Eban

Foreign Minister of Israel

Abba Eban (1915- 2002) was an eloquent spokesman for Israel, UN representative and Foreign Minister. He was born in Cape Town, South Africa.

Early in November 1917, my mother had obeyed a nocturnal call from the Zionist leaders to leave my cradle and go to the office on a foggy night to translate the Balfour Declaration into French and Russian. It was a sensational document because, in promising the Jewish people a national home in Palestine, it took the Jews, for the first time since antiquity, into the world of politics and law. It deserves to be acknowledged to this day as the authentic starting point of the process that led to the State of Israel. The translation of a document sounds a modest chore, but it linked my family to an unforgettable drama…

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