Abba Eban Centre for Israeli Diplomacy

The Abba Eban Centre for Israeli Diplomacy houses the archives for the papers, videocassettes, photographs, and recordings of former Israeli Ambassador, Member of Knesset, and Foreign Minister Abba Eban.

Founded in 1992, the Abba Eban Centre for Israeli Diplomacy operates under the umbrella of the Truman Institute. The Centre encourages research in the field of Israel’s diplomatic history and offers public and diplomatic activities with the participation of statesmen and scholars from Israel and abroad.

Given Mr. Eban’s varied career as a diplomat and politician, the Centre’s collection is available to assist scholars, students, and other researchers explore Israel’s emergence into the international community. A rich repository of material may also be found on many other subjects beyond Israeli politics.

The Abba Eban Centre was made possible thanks to the generous endowments and contributions from friends of Israel, including Mrs. Henry Gestetner,OBE; Lord Wolfson of Marylebone; Mrs. Vivien Clore Duffield; Morris Levinson; Sheila Robbins; the Joseph Mailman Foundation, th Blaustein Foundation; the John L. Loeb Foundation; Joanne Cummings; the Recanti Foundation; and the Rothschild Foundation.

Abba Eban Archives

The archives consist of 3,712 files, arranged and catalogued, as well as video material that have been transferred to digital files and archived. Most of our 4,883 photographs have been scanned and computer-catalogued. There are 158 digitized audios.

Click here to access the Abba Eban Archives at The Hebrew University.

Lectures in Memory of Abba Eban

Diplomats, academics, and admirers of Abba Eban, attended a unique one day symposium, marking the anniversary of his death. “The Role of the Diplomat in the 21^st Century” was debated by a panel of 5 speakers including: 

Director General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Aaron Abramovich: The Challenges of Israeli Diplomacy in the 21^st Century

Prof. Shlomo Avineri: The Diplomat in Different Parts of the World

Dr. David Kimche: Diplomatic Secrecy and Media Coverage in the Middle East

Yoav Biran: The Diplomat, Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs – Their place in the decision making process and in their execution

Eitan Bentsur: The Role of the Diplomat in Different Areas Around the World.

Israel’s Minister of Social Affairs and Social Welfare and nephew of Abba Eban, Yitzhak Herzog gave opening remarks.

Prof. Eli Eban, son of Abba Eban, gave family greetings

Meetings with Ambassadors, Politicians and Renowned Researchers 

The Centre organizes and hosts ambassadors from various countries and experts in their field of research, to give lectures on issues related to diplomacy. Among those who visited this past year are:

Ambassador of Russia to Israel Petr Stegniy

Ambassador of Korea to Israel Dr. Shin Kak-Soo

Ambassador of Albania to Israel Dr. Tonin Gjuraj

Ambassador of Turkey to Israel Namik Tan

Menashe Amir, Chief Editor of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Persian-language website

Sharon Barli Saar, Director of Syria and Lebanon Department, Centre for Political Research, Ministry of Foreign Affairs 

Publications 

Yosef Govrin: Israel's Relations with the East European States: From Disruption in 1967 to Resumption in 1989-1991. The book was published by Magnus Press, with the assistance of the Truman Institute's Abba Eban Centre for Israeli Diplomacy.

Abba Eban Research Unit Members:

Yoram Shani serves as the Coordinator of the Abba Eban Centre for Diplomacy

Hours: 10:00-15:00

Contact Information

e-mail: abbaebancen@savion.huji.ac.il

Tel: 972-2-588-2860