Strategic Assessment

• Book: Israel and the Cyprus Question: Foreign Policy, Diplomacy, and International Relations 1946-1960
• By: Gabriel Haritos
• Publisher: Bloomsbury
• Year: 2023
• pp: 321

This new book by Gabriel Haritos—who is currently a Visiting Professor at Panteion University, Athens, a Research Fellow at the Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP) and a media commentator —addresses Israel’s relations with Cyprus and the Cypriot question between 1946 and 1960. These were the formative years for Cyprus, before it gained independence until immediately after the establishment of the Republic of Cyprus. This comprehensive book is based on Haritos’ doctoral dissertation written at the University of Macedonia in Thessaloniki, which was published as a book in Greek and is already in its second edition. The book is largely based on diplomatic documents, most of them from Israel’s State Archive and some of which were revealed for the first time thanks to the author’s interest in them.

The book is structured chronologically for the most part. The first chapter discusses the factors that shaped Israel’s foreign policy in the first years after its establishment and how the pro-Western alignment that emerged would later lead to Israeli concern over a possible British withdrawal from Cyprus, which it had controlled since 1878. The second chapter addresses the period between 1946 and 1949, during which time the British operated detention camps in Cyprus to imprison illegal immigrants and to limit Jewish immigration to Mandatory Palestine —and how the existence of these camps influenced the relationship between Jews and Greek Cypriots. It also addresses the informal plebiscite that was conducted in 1950 over the issue of Enosis (the union of Cyprus with Greece), in which the vast majority of Greek Cypriots voted in favor of the proposal and on which Israel needed to establish its position. The third chapter deals with the Israeli stance on Greek efforts to raise the Cypriot issue for discussion at the United Nations. The Greek Cypriot demand for independence from Great Britain and Turkey’s concern over a union between Cyprus and Greece (concern that was sparked, in part, because of the existence of a Turkish Cypriot minority on the island, constituting around one fifth of the population at that time) led to direct contact on the Cypriot issue between Greece, Turkey, Britain, a representative of the Greek Cypriot community and a representative of the Turkish Cypriot community. These negotiations eventually led to the London and Zurich Agreements, which in turn paved the way for Cypriot independence. In the context of the growing likelihood that Cyprus would, indeed, gain independence, the fourth chapter deals with Israel’s efforts to ensure that both the Greek Cypriot community and the Turkish Cypriot community would support diplomatic relations with the State of Israel. The fifth chapter deals with the transition period between the signing of the London and Zurich Agreements and Cyprus’ declaration of independence, as well as the assessments and concerns over the orientation of regional foreign policy of the soon-to-be independent state. The sixth chapter deals with the period between Cyprus gaining independence and the new state establishing diplomatic relations with Israel, as well as efforts by the United Arab Republic and by Lebanon—efforts that were ultimately unsuccessful—to sabotage bilateral relations. The seventh chapter is a summary of the book.

The choice of 1946 as the starting point for this book is unconventional since, at that time, neither Israel nor Cyprus were independent states. It does, however, touch on an important element in the author’s thesis: the significance of the detention camps on how the approach of the pre-State Jewish community in Mandatory Palestine and, subsequently, the State of Israel, toward the Cypriot issue developed. The fact that Greek Cypriots helped the Jews being held in British detention camps—and even cooperated with them so that representatives of the Jewish undergrounds were able to secretly train detainees to be ready to take part in the war effort as soon as they arrived in Mandatory Palestine/Israel—contributed to a fundamentally positive public attitude among the Jews when it came to Greek Cypriot aspirations for independence from Great Britain. There was also a high level of solidarity with Greek Cypriots in light of “their shared desire to be free of the British presence” (p.28). At the same time, as the years passed, the official Israeli position became less sympathetic toward the Greek Cypriot position due to concern over the ramifications of the British leaving the island, and especially if Cyprus were to adopt a pro-Arab line—something that seemed possible in Israeli eyes given the cool relationship between Greece and Israel and the parallel improvement in relations with Turkey. For example, there was genuine concern that Cyprus would fall under the influence of Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser, especially after the union between Egypt and Syria and the establishment of the United Arab Republic in 1958 (p.152). Having said that, the process was not entirely linear and, as the documents that Haritos uncovered show, there were many deliberations within Israel, which led to the divergent voting patterns of Israel in the United Nations when it came to the Cyprus issue. In this regard, the book’s focus on the period when the foreign policy of both Israel and Cyprus was in its formative stage is thought-provoking, since the deliberations at that time raise questions about what would have happened had both countries opted for a different pattern of alignment in the international system than they eventually chose.

In many respects, many of the dilemmas that Israel faced during that period in terms of its relations with Cyprus are still valid today, albeit at varying levels. For example, the difficulty in disconnecting from the zero-sum-game approach to the eastern Mediterranean, given that any rapprochement with Turkey or the Turkish Cypriot community could negatively influence relations with Greece and the Greek Cypriot community, and vice versa. The recognition of the importance of Cypriot airports and seaports to Israel’s commercial ties and to the early waves of immigration—an understanding which led Israel, despite the financial difficulties at the time, to open a consulate in Nicosia as early as 1950 (p.33)—still exists to a large extent (although today the perception of Cyprus as assisting Israel in times of emergency and as a kind of backup is much more developed). Cyprus’ strategic importance is also very obvious—whether in regard to the period that the book is analyzing with Egypt’s nationalization of the Suez Canal, or with regard to current events, with the war since October 7 last year and the international coalition that was formed to thwart Houthi attacks that impinge on freedom of navigation in the Red Sea. On the one hand, this importance draws Western actors to the island, but it is also what encourages actors who are not necessarily friendly toward Israel to seek to interfere in the island’s affairs. Israel understood and apparently still understands relations with Cyprus as an integral part of its wider Middle East strategy. This is despite the fact that, from Cyprus and Greece’s perspective, developments in the eastern Mediterranean are their primary consideration in their relations with Israel.

The significant improvement in relations between Israel and both Greece and Cyprus since 2010 stems from the crisis in the Israeli-Turkish relationship (and, as such, is similar to the patterns described in Haritos’ book); but is also thanks to the reserves of natural gas that have been found in the eastern Mediterranean and the fact that, since 2004, Cyprus has been a member of the European Union and Israel needs allies within that bloc. It is not surprising, therefore, that given Israel’s warmer relations with Greece and Cyprus, there has been increased interest in the early, formative years of those relations. This could explain why the Greek-language edition of Haritos’ book is already in its second reprint. The Cyprus issue and the profound dispute between the Greek and Turkish side of the island still exist, and Israel has been asked to take a stand on the issue over the years. Due to the failure thus far to reunite the island—which was effectively split in two in 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied around 40 percent of the island—Turkey has publicly demanded since 2020 that Cyprus be officially divided into two countries. It is almost certain that Jerusalem is far more receptive than in the past to Greek Cypriot concerns that such a partition would create a Turkish puppet state, given the increased tensions between Israel and Turkey.

Like other diplomatic history books, “Israel and the Cyprus Question” is full of details and names—which can sometimes be confusing. It would have been useful if the author had added tables, especially when it comes to the various United Nations votes on the Cyprus issue, in order to make reading easier. Having said that, the relatively structured style of the book, especially the conclusions, helps convey the main points that the author seeks to stress. Particularly impressive is how Haritos manages to get inside the heads of Israeli decision-makers from that period and to accurately present the Israeli perspective. The book not only contributes to our understanding of the formative period in Israeli-Cypriot relations, but also to that of other bilateral relations, such as Israel-Great Britain, Israel-Turkey and Israel-Greece. For this reason, it is an important addition to scholarly literature covering Israel’s foreign policy in the first decades following independence.