David Kimche (; 14 February 1928 – 8 March 2010) was an Israeli diplomat, deputy director of the

Mossad The Institute for Intelligence and Special Operations (), popularly known as Mossad ( , ), is the national intelligence agency of the Israel, State of Israel. It is one of the main entities in the Israeli Intelligence Community, along with M ...

, spymaster and

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. He is believed to have been the main contact between the

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and

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during the Iran-Contra affair. Kimche was president of the Israel Council on Foreign Relations, and a member of the steering committee of the International Alliance for Arab-Israel Peace.

Biography

David Kimche was born in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. His birth was registered in

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, England, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, located mainly in the London Borough of Camden, with a small part in the London Borough of Barnet. It borders Highgate and Golders Green to the north, Belsiz ...

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between January and March 1928, with his mother's maiden name given as Palast. In addition to holding an M.A. (cum laude) and a Ph.D. in

international relations International relations (IR, and also referred to as international studies, international politics, or international affairs) is an academic discipline. In a broader sense, the study of IR, in addition to multilateral relations, concerns al ...

from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Kimche studied at the Centre de Hautes Etudes Administratives sur l’Afrique et l’Asie Modernes (C.H.E.A.M.) of the

University of Paris The University of Paris (), known Metonymy, metonymically as the Sorbonne (), was the leading university in Paris, France, from 1150 to 1970, except for 1793–1806 during the French Revolution. Emerging around 1150 as a corporation associated wit ...

. Kimche died of brain cancer at his home in Ramat HaSharon, near Tel Aviv, on 8 March 2010 at the age of 82.

Diplomatic and public career

Kimche joined

, Israel's foreign intelligence service, in 1953. While in the foreign intelligence service, he served in a number of postings in

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and

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. Among many others he recruited Olivia Frank, who infiltrated the Abu Nidal Organization and was part of a team which stopped a right-wing group from bombing the homes of Jewish families in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

. Kimche moved up the ranks to eventually become Mossad's deputy director. In 1980 Kimche left Israel's foreign intelligence service. He became the director-general of the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

, holding that post from 1980 to 1987. Kimche was appointed

ambassador-at-large An ambassador-at-large is a diplomat, a secretary of state, secretary, or a minister (government), minister of the highest rank who is accredited to represent a country and its people internationally. Unlike an ambassador-in-residence, who is us ...

of the State of Israel in 1987 and served a number of missions, especially in Arab countries. During his tenure Kimche would often engage in backchannel diplomacy when the political context required subtlety. In an article written in ''The Israel Journal of Foreign Affairs'' Nir Levitan wrote the following about his career: “Kimche strongly believed that what seemed impossible could be made possible, and he accomplished just that in his long and distinguished career.… Kimche was one of the foremost secret emissaries in service of the State of Israel at a time when backchannel diplomacy was the only way forward to a more peaceful future.” In 1989, Kimche founded the Israel Council on Foreign Relations under the auspices of the World Jewish Congress to serve as a policy forum for visiting dignitaries and scholars. Kimche became the publisher of a bimonthly journal, the Israel Journal of Foreign Affairs. He was a member of the Board of Governors and the management committee of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, the Board of Governors of The Harry S. Truman Research Institute for the Advancement of Peace in

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

, and the

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of '' Maariv'' (a daily

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published in

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

) and a member of the executive board of the Peres Center for Peace.

Author

He published a number of non-fiction books during his life, many co-authored with his brother Jon Kimche: *(1955): with Jon Kimche, ''The Secret Roads: The "Illegal" Migration of a People, 1938-1948'' (with plates, including portraits, and a map). New York: Farrar, Straus and Cudahy. *(1960): with Jon Kimche, ''Both Sides of the Hill: Britain and the Palestine War''. London: Secker & Warburg. Re-published as: **(1960): with Jon Kimche, ''A Clash of Destinies: The Arab-Jewish War and the Founding of the State of Israel''. New York: Praeger. *(1968): with Dan Bawly, ''The Sandstorm: The Arab-Israeli War of 1967: Prelude and Aftermath''. London: Secker & Warburg. (Re-published as ''Six-Day War: Prologue and Aftermath'' in 1971.) *(1969): with Jon Kimche, ''La premiere guerre d'Israel 1948: 16 cartes''. Paris: Arthaud. *(1973). ''Afro-Asian Movement: Ideology and Policy of the Third World''. Jerusalem: Israel University Press. *(1991): ''The Last Option: After Nasser, Arafat & Saddam Hussein - The Quest for Peace in the Middle East''. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson; New York: Charles Scribner's Sons.

References

External links

*http://www.haaretz.com/news/israeli-spymaster-and-mossad-founding-father-david-kimche-dies-at-82-1.266398 *David Kimche, 1928-2010 – the man who walked in the shadows https://web.archive.org/web/20110713123252/http://new.jpost.com/Israel/Article.aspx?id=170592 *Geneva accord official site http://www.geneva-accord.org/mainmenu/dr-david-kimche {{DEFAULTSORT:Kimche, David Spymasters Deaths from brain cancer in Israel Diplomats for Israel Israeli people of British-Jewish descent Israeli–Palestinian peace process Iran–Contra affair 1928 births 2010 deaths British emigrants to Israel People of the Mossad Hebrew University of Jerusalem Faculty of Social Sciences alumni Diplomats from London