Exclusive Interview with Ambassador Daniel Kurtzer

On October 2, President Clinton nominated Daniel C. Kurtzer to replace Edward Walker as United States Ambassador to the Arab Republic of Egypt. Kurtzer, an alumnus and former Dean of Yeshiva College was later confirmed for that position. The career dip lomat has had extensive experience in Middle East affairs. On December 2, Kurtzer was sworn in as the ambassador. He is expected to formally fill the post later this year.

Kurtzer, born and raised in Elizabeth, New Jersey, graduated from Yeshiva College in 1971. He received two Masters degrees and his Ph.D. in Middle East history f rom Columbia University. He currently resides with his wife and their three sons in Silver Spring, Maryland, a quaint suburb of Washington D.C.

Kurtzer's Foreign Service career began in the United States Bureau of International Organization Affairs. In 1977, Kurtzer temporarily left the State Department when he was tapped to become the Dean of YC. At 28, he was the youngest college dean to ev er serve the University. He was reappointed to the Foreign Service in 1979. Despite earlier indications that his identity as a Jew might preclude service in the Arab world, Kurtzer's perseverance was rewarded with an assignment to the post of Second Secre tary for Political Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Cairo. In 1982, Kurtzer was transferred to the position of First Secretary for Political Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv.

Kurtzer returned to Washington in 1986 to begin a stretch of service in the United States Department of State that spanned three presidential administrations. He then joined Secretary of State George Shultz's elite corps of policy advisors on Middle Ea st affairs under the Reagan administration. During this time, he began service as Deputy Director for Egyptian Affairs and later served as a speechwriter and member of the Secretary's Policy Planning Staff.

During the Bush administration Kurtzer worked closely with that president's Secretary of State, James Baker. In 1989, he was appointed as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Near Eastern Affairs with responsibility for the Middle East peace process and U.S. bilateral relations with Israel, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, and the Palestinians. Kurtzer's advance continued through the Clinton presidency. In 1994, he accepted the appointment to become Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Intelligence and Re search and became the Acting Assistant Secretary in May 1997.

U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright decided to give outgoing U.S. Ambassador to Egypt Edward Walker the coveted Tel Aviv assignment to head off political machinations that she anticipated would result in the nomination of a candidate unacceptabl e to her. This left Egypt open for Kurtzer's October 2 appointment.

On October 28, then Ambassador-Designate Kurtzer appeared before the Senate Foreign Relations committee for his nomination hearing. In his remarks, Kurtzer touted the importance of the relationship that the United States shares with Egypt. He focused o n the regional benefits of this "partnership," calling it "the catalyst for significant progress toward a comprehensive peace settlement in the Middle East."

The following is the text of an exclusive Commentator interview of United States Ambassador to the Arab Republic of Egypt, Daniel Charles Kurtzer:

Commentator: What aspects of your experience at Yeshiva as both an undergraduate student and the dean of Yeshiva College were most relevant to your subsequent career in foreign service?

Kurtzer: The compelling underlying philosophy of Yeshiva University--Torah U'madda--has been a driving force in my life. The philosophy invariably drives one toward tikkun olam, which I have attempted to actualize in my professional caree r in diplomacy dedicated to the peaceful resolution of disputes. As a student in the late 1960's, I was also influenced by the swirl of events underway in the United States and the Middle East--the war in Vietnam, the civil rights movement, and the June 1 967 War. Dr. Ruth Bevin, my mentor in political science, imbued with both the capacity for independent thought and appreciation for the importance of maintaining focus during periods of upheaval.

Commentator: Do you expect United States diplomacy in the Middle East to take a more active role than it has under the tutelage of U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright in facilitating advance of the moribund peace negotiations between Isra el and her Arab neighbors during the remainder of President Clinton's final term?

Kurtzer: The United States has been a very active player in Middle East diplomacy for nearly thirty years, and is likely to remain so. The pursuit of a peaceful settlement of the Arab-Israel conflict in a manner that safeguards the security and well-being of Israel and its Arab neighbors is a fundamental U.S. interest. The Clinton administration has articulated its strong interest in advancing the peace process. Secretary Albright's speech on the Middle East several months ago and her trip to th e region signal that she intends to keep this issue near the top of her agenda.

Commentator: There has been discussion of your Judaism in the Arab Press (most notably, a recent article in Al-Hayat) and its pertinence to your position as the United States intermediary with Egypt, a state that has traditionally served in a le adership role in the Arab Middle East. Do you believe this focus is a necessary consideration in appraising your ability to perform satisfactorily in your appointed post?

Kurtzer: No. I think my appointment as the United States Ambassador to Egypt speaks wonderfully of the willingness of the both the Clinton administration and the Egyptian government to look at the individual and his merits rather than issues suc h as religion. Some opposition elements are likely to try to focus on my being Jewish as a means of attacking the United States. In this, they are misguided, and I hope they allow time to judge me on what I accomplish as Ambassador.

Commentator: Does the recent wholesale shuffling of top posts in the United States Department of State (former U.S. Ambassador Martin Indyk's moved to a ranking State Department position with the outgoing U.S. Envoy to the Middle East Dennis Ros s coupled with the transfer of Edward "Ned" Walker from the U.S. ambassadorial post in Cairo to Tel Aviv) portend any significant policy alterations with regard to American diplomacy in the Middle East? If so, what are the implications for the position yo u will present in your role U.S. Ambassador to Egypt?

Kurtzer: Senior State Department and diplomatic positions traditionally turn over every several years to allow for fresh thinking and perspectives and to avoid stagnant policy. There is nothing unusual in the timing of these changes now.

Commentator: Although your period of most pronounced diplomatic maturation appears to have taken place under the aegis of Republican mentors ( former Secretaries of State George Schultz and James Baker), your current appointment was undertaken a t the hands of a Democratic administration. Does this pose any partisan concerns for you vis-a-vis alternate party conceptions of diplomatic approach to mediating Middle East conflicts?

Kurtzer: Our Middle East policy has enjoyed an exceptional degree of bipartisan support over the years, and those working on the policy have traditionally been immune to inter-party squabbles. As a U.S. foreign service officer, I serve loyally the President and the Secretary of State; it is equally my responsibility to keep the Congress informed of what we are doing and to take Congressional views into account.

Commentator: How do you balance your identity as an observant Jewish diplomat with your responsibility to represent the national interests of the United States? Does a conflict exist?

Kurtzer: I see no conflict whatsoever between my being an observant Jew and my public service career. Indeed, I hope my career choice has contributed to the tikkun olam goal I set for myself years ago. We are blessed to be citizens of a c ountry which has been Israel's main supporter; periodic differences in policy or tactics should not obscure this fundamental reality. Thus, not only is there no conflict between my religious observance and my profession, I believe the two are complementar y. To be sure, challenges exist within the State Department to religious observance just as they exist throughout the business and professional worlds. I hope the success I have enjoyed in my career is convincing to those who are thinking about public ser vice that one can be observant and do one's duty to country.

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