On Thursday, former Council General in Jerusalem, Edward Abington, graced the Historical Security Council (HSC), with his presence. “For me, it’s a real privilege to be here. It’s important what you are doing.” This powerful statement opened up Mr. Abington’s speech in Room: Central America. Abington was part of the US State Department for 30 years, and he also spent two years working for the US Army and one year for the CIA.
“For me, it’s a real privilege to be here. It’s important what you are doing.”
Edward Abington had more experience with Palestinian leaders than any Western diplomat during the Palestine-Israel crisis. Not only was he present at the embassy at the start of the Yom Kippur War, but also part of Henry Kissinger’s negotiating team. The former United States Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger, was known for his negotiating style, most famously for negotiating the end of the Vietnam War. This resulted in him being awarded the 1973 Nobel Peace Prize.
When the Yom Kippur War broke out, Edward Abington was present. “Israel lacked the ability to think outside the box.” Though there were hints to a war, Israel chose to ignore all the red flags. On October 6th, 1973, Egypt and Syria attacked Israel on two fronts. The Suez Canal was being ambushed by the Egyptian army, while a fierce battle between the Syrian and Israeli armies in the Golan Heights was ensuing at the same time.
Kissinger’s negotiating team, which included Abington, negotiated multiple agreements that led to the Egyptian-Israeli Peace Treaty of 1979. “It was an exhausting but extremely exciting period,” Abington reminisced once finishing his report. After this, the floor was opened to a Q&A, where Abington answered a question revolving around what his most shocking experience was. He restated that during the war in Israel, he flew over an area over the Suez Canal, where he saw “destroyed armor as well as dead bodies of both Israelis and Egyptians”
It was a great honor for the HSC as well as THIMUN as a whole to have Edward Abington come speak and answer questions.
Photo by Anna Delmas
