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Speaking for Israel: A Speechwriter Battles Anti-Israel Opinions at the United Nations
The exclusive—and explosive—account of the politics of one of the most controversial nations in the world.
According to Aviva Klompas, representing Israel at the United Nations is like volunteering to sell Red Sox paraphernalia outside Yankee Stadium. During her time as the director of speechwriting for Israel’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations, Klompas crafted highly acclaimed speeches that advanced Israel’s policies and informed public opinion.
In Speaking for Israel , Klompas gives readers a glance behind the curtain of international politics and all the drama, intrigue, and conflict that simmer under the surface. During her tenure as Israel’s UN speechwriter, Klompas saw the collapse of four Middle Eastern states, faltering Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, waves of Palestinian terrorism, stop-and-go nuclear negotiations (culminating in the Iran Deal), an attempt to push Palestinian statehood through the UN Security Council, the Palestinians’ bid to join the International Criminal Court, the kidnapping and murder of three Israeli teenagers, and fifty days of war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
Constantly in the thick of things, Klompas’s experience with the Israeli UN delegation is full to bursting with juicy insider stories and a day-to-day look at what it’s like in the top diplomatic echelon. With humor and bite, Speaking for Israel tells her story, one that is both universal and uniquely singular.
According to Aviva Klompas, representing Israel at the United Nations is like volunteering to sell Red Sox paraphernalia outside Yankee Stadium. During her time as the director of speechwriting for Israel’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations, Klompas crafted highly acclaimed speeches that advanced Israel’s policies and informed public opinion.
In Speaking for Israel , Klompas gives readers a glance behind the curtain of international politics and all the drama, intrigue, and conflict that simmer under the surface. During her tenure as Israel’s UN speechwriter, Klompas saw the collapse of four Middle Eastern states, faltering Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, waves of Palestinian terrorism, stop-and-go nuclear negotiations (culminating in the Iran Deal), an attempt to push Palestinian statehood through the UN Security Council, the Palestinians’ bid to join the International Criminal Court, the kidnapping and murder of three Israeli teenagers, and fifty days of war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
Constantly in the thick of things, Klompas’s experience with the Israeli UN delegation is full to bursting with juicy insider stories and a day-to-day look at what it’s like in the top diplomatic echelon. With humor and bite, Speaking for Israel tells her story, one that is both universal and uniquely singular.
- GenresIsraelNonfiction
256 pages, Hardcover
Published September 24, 2019
6 people are currently reading
73 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
September 15, 2021
Having read more than my fair share about books relating to the Middle East and specifically Israel I was expecting much of the same formula when I picked up speaking for Israel. But I was pleasantly surprised, Aviva is able to weave her own personal human at times humorous, frustrating and heartwarming narrative in to the story of the Jewish state at the UN. It’s also really cool to go back and watch videos of some of the speeches (the one with the siren for example) and see it play out on video, but also know the back story.
This is a must read and I would recommend to anyone, regardless if you have an interest in Israel, the UN , global politics or not. It’s a great book, easy to read and very real.
This is a must read and I would recommend to anyone, regardless if you have an interest in Israel, the UN , global politics or not. It’s a great book, easy to read and very real.
August 7, 2025
Hard to rate. Think it would have been 4-5 if the second half was the full book. So overall, if you’ve read a lot on the topic, it’s very much worth reading.
December 9, 2023
This book is a trash, all of the info are lie. The wording are so all over the place, i dont even understand it.
December 9, 2023
Its a garbage, you guys dont even try to read it. Its a trash.
January 2, 2024
End is better than the start, great writer and increasingly relevant post 10.7
April 28, 2020
´I believe Israel is more than just a country. I see it as a living testament to a smal people´s capacity to overcome impossible odds through the sheer force of their commitment to knowledge, freedom and compassion´.
With a major degree in zoology, a Canadian passport and a history of involvement in Jewish causes - like the Birthright trips bringing young Jews from North America to Israel, Aviva Klompas landed a job as speechwriter at the Israel´s UN mission in NYC. Learning to be ´less apologetic, more acerbic´, but also getting to know the very different Israel work and diplomatic culture, she had to learn on the job about diplomacy, how UN and its many committees and bizarre decisions operates, but first and foremost how to properly communicate with her non-conformist chief, ambassador Ron Prosor - also called the ´singing diplomat´ among others.
It is a lot of hard work and late hours, not paid at all, she is underpaid and often spending more than 20 hours the day, including during the weekends, connected to her work gadgets and colleagues. But Aviva Klompas is coping with the task in a very professional, diplomatic way: this is her assignment - or rather long list of assignments - and she will go through it, with decency and intelligence. Keeping her wits in the middle of the frequent diplomatic storms that Israel is always the target at the UN, worked in her professional advantage. Elegantly and using her cultural and intellectual connectins, she wrote speeches with battle lines where biblical history meets pop music. When there are so many different - frequently negative - opinions about you, one need to be prepared to answer a wide array of audiences, isn´t it?
Criticism is not an issue, obsession about what Israel is doing - and what not - belongs to a different category of political behavior and unfortunatelly, at the UN level, there are way too many manifestations in this respect - an example being the loud actions of the honorably UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. 72 years after the creation of the state of Israel - by the way, #HappyYomHaatzmaut - there are still political actors spending/wasting their time denying its right to exist. ´Criticizing Israel´s actions or policies is by no means anti-Semitic, but when the condemnation is grossly disproportionate, or Israel alone is repeatedly singled out, or the language of denunciation vile or tinged with libelous stereotype, then it´s hard to see how the action is not discriminatory and anti-Semitic´.
Speaking for Israel by Aviva Klompas can be read though also as part of a larger bibliography covering UN ways to operate and the everyday working of a speechwriter. Writing other people´s public statements, interacting with global and national policies as well as with unique personalities requires patience, humility and a lot of diplomacy. The author´s professional approach in all respects is following facts and figures, her own experiences which are introduced in a matter of fact way, avoiding the drama and black-and-white approaches typical for a political topic like Israel and the UN.
Klompas´ adventures in the world of UN and especialy Israeli diplomacy are funny - not the same hilarious level though as the one shared in the memoir of another Canadian that worked at the Israeli mission to the UN in 2004, Gregory Levey, before working for the then prime minister Ariel Sharon until 2006 as speechwriter for the English-speaking audiences - but with a humour that helps everyone survive the diplomatic real life. Such experiences are good to have in your professional life, even for just a short while.
Disclaimer: Book offered by the publisher in exchange for an honest review
With a major degree in zoology, a Canadian passport and a history of involvement in Jewish causes - like the Birthright trips bringing young Jews from North America to Israel, Aviva Klompas landed a job as speechwriter at the Israel´s UN mission in NYC. Learning to be ´less apologetic, more acerbic´, but also getting to know the very different Israel work and diplomatic culture, she had to learn on the job about diplomacy, how UN and its many committees and bizarre decisions operates, but first and foremost how to properly communicate with her non-conformist chief, ambassador Ron Prosor - also called the ´singing diplomat´ among others.
It is a lot of hard work and late hours, not paid at all, she is underpaid and often spending more than 20 hours the day, including during the weekends, connected to her work gadgets and colleagues. But Aviva Klompas is coping with the task in a very professional, diplomatic way: this is her assignment - or rather long list of assignments - and she will go through it, with decency and intelligence. Keeping her wits in the middle of the frequent diplomatic storms that Israel is always the target at the UN, worked in her professional advantage. Elegantly and using her cultural and intellectual connectins, she wrote speeches with battle lines where biblical history meets pop music. When there are so many different - frequently negative - opinions about you, one need to be prepared to answer a wide array of audiences, isn´t it?
Criticism is not an issue, obsession about what Israel is doing - and what not - belongs to a different category of political behavior and unfortunatelly, at the UN level, there are way too many manifestations in this respect - an example being the loud actions of the honorably UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. 72 years after the creation of the state of Israel - by the way, #HappyYomHaatzmaut - there are still political actors spending/wasting their time denying its right to exist. ´Criticizing Israel´s actions or policies is by no means anti-Semitic, but when the condemnation is grossly disproportionate, or Israel alone is repeatedly singled out, or the language of denunciation vile or tinged with libelous stereotype, then it´s hard to see how the action is not discriminatory and anti-Semitic´.
Speaking for Israel by Aviva Klompas can be read though also as part of a larger bibliography covering UN ways to operate and the everyday working of a speechwriter. Writing other people´s public statements, interacting with global and national policies as well as with unique personalities requires patience, humility and a lot of diplomacy. The author´s professional approach in all respects is following facts and figures, her own experiences which are introduced in a matter of fact way, avoiding the drama and black-and-white approaches typical for a political topic like Israel and the UN.
Klompas´ adventures in the world of UN and especialy Israeli diplomacy are funny - not the same hilarious level though as the one shared in the memoir of another Canadian that worked at the Israeli mission to the UN in 2004, Gregory Levey, before working for the then prime minister Ariel Sharon until 2006 as speechwriter for the English-speaking audiences - but with a humour that helps everyone survive the diplomatic real life. Such experiences are good to have in your professional life, even for just a short while.
Disclaimer: Book offered by the publisher in exchange for an honest review
April 22, 2020
Who would have thought a memoir about a speechwriter could be so fascinating – as this entertaining and amusing book certainly is. Aviva Klompas was Director of Speechwriting for Israel’s Permanent Mission to the UN, writing speeches and other papers for the Israeli UN Ambassador Ron Prosor. This was a high-pressure position, involving tight deadlines and long hours. The book is as fast-paced as her real life was during these turbulent years as she faced the challenge of presenting Israel’s point of view to an often hostile audience. Klompas is 100% pro-Israel and makes no bones about it. She accuses the UN of being consistently unfair and biased towards the country and imbued with anti-Semitism. She really is “speaking for Israel” throughout the book, convinced as she is that Israel is always in the right, and the country’s actions and policies always justified. So don’t go looking here for a balanced or impartial view. The Palestinians are 100% the villains here and always to blame for Israel’s response. She saw her role as defending Israel on the world stage and did this to the best of her ability, through the speeches she wrote for Prosor. It’s a wonderful glimpse behind the scenes of the inner workings of the UN and a valuable insight into Israel’s thinking. You don’t have to be either pro or anti-Israel to enjoy this book. It is what it is –a deeply compelling account of diplomacy and politics written by an insider. Highly recommended.
May 16, 2020
Dry and analytical her book is inspiring. I’m always looking for ways to repackage the anti-Semitism that hides beneath the anti-Israel that is hiding in plain sight wrapped up in left-wing discourse.
And I am leftwing. And I support Israel. Her/our right to exist. The fact that this perfect world of ours could turn on something as small as a virus reminds me I could become an alien. Just like that.
It’s happened before. Not in my lifetime. But I’ve sat with men and women, the tattoos on their arms faded and hidden in folds of soft skin. I held my father-in-law's hand as he died at 94. When he was 34 he lost everything. His family – parents, siblings, aunts, uncles. Everyone. He lost his name, his business, and his friends. He lost his country. And he lost his poetry. Before, in Warsaw, he was a well-known poet. After Shoah, he scribbled little ditties in Latin on scraps of paper. Enough said.
And I am leftwing. And I support Israel. Her/our right to exist. The fact that this perfect world of ours could turn on something as small as a virus reminds me I could become an alien. Just like that.
It’s happened before. Not in my lifetime. But I’ve sat with men and women, the tattoos on their arms faded and hidden in folds of soft skin. I held my father-in-law's hand as he died at 94. When he was 34 he lost everything. His family – parents, siblings, aunts, uncles. Everyone. He lost his name, his business, and his friends. He lost his country. And he lost his poetry. Before, in Warsaw, he was a well-known poet. After Shoah, he scribbled little ditties in Latin on scraps of paper. Enough said.
October 17, 2019
I recently finished reading “Speaking for Israel” by Aviva Klompas. Ms. Klompas is obviously a talented writer. Her description of her experience as a speechwriter for the Israeli ambassador to the UN well as her descriptions of the personalities she worked with make the reader almost feels like they know them. I enjoyed reading the excerpts from some of her speeches but I especially loved her creative ending.
I was impressed by her resilience; it was certainly a quality that someone in her role required. As an added bonus, I learned more about the functioning of the U.N.
I was impressed by her resilience; it was certainly a quality that someone in her role required. As an added bonus, I learned more about the functioning of the U.N.
April 23, 2025
I read this for insight on UN speechwriting and the UN Israel mission. honestly though, for someone who wrote for a living, this is not well written at all. the toxic and chaotic workplace is alarmingly handwaved, and Klompas retains to this day (see her X account) many of the hackneyed writing "tics" her former boss favoured. I would say give this a miss.
October 16, 2019
An important read for anyone interested in the always in the news Middle East and the workings of the United Nations.
Written in an easy to read, engaging style, this important book is amusing, interesting and very enlightening.
Highly recommend
Written in an easy to read, engaging style, this important book is amusing, interesting and very enlightening.
Highly recommend
April 18, 2019
Interesting and engaging book. Read my full review at:
https://journalingonpaper.com/2019/04...
https://journalingonpaper.com/2019/04...
November 24, 2019
If I hadn't already known all about the UN's anti-Israel obsession I would have given this four or five stars. But I already knew most of what Klompas covers.
April 24, 2020
An interesting perspective
December 9, 2023
This book is trash, the whole book was a lie, so its better to not even publish it on the first place.
December 9, 2023
So bad
December 9, 2023
It's so fake. That's full of propagandavs. Terrorists brain wash.
December 10, 2023
Not recommend.
December 18, 2023
Very biased
January 27, 2025
highly recommended
This book is both entertaining and informative about the unique challenges of being a speechwriter for Israel at the UN.
This book is both entertaining and informative about the unique challenges of being a speechwriter for Israel at the UN.
October 14, 2024
Well-written and interesting! Liked it very much!!!
December 10, 2023
I need to say this but the content of this book has so many false meanings. You can't promote peace while oppressing other people just for you to have a right to exist. It's not worth it better to read another book that don't have bias at all.
April 8, 2019
I requested Undiplomatic: The Inside Story Of Israel at the United Nations from #netgalley because Aviva Klompas' story, of a Canadian writing speeches for the Israeli representative to the United Nations (and for many others as well), really appealed to me. Aviva worked hard, this is extremely clear, but she also got to meet so many great people, and got the satisfaction of sticking up for Israel, in the face of so much opposition. She has so many stories to tell, and I really enjoyed reading it all. When people ask her why she would have left a comfortable job working for the government in Canada to work like a "mishuganeh" for the Israeli government (the most hated country at the UN), she explains:
1) "Representing Israel means representing the Jewish people & giving voice to our history and dreams."
2)"The voice of this nation deserves to speak and be heard in the family of nations."
3)"Being part of a family means having one another's backs through good times and challenging times."
4) "Israel isn't just another state, its the world's one and only Jewish state."
5) "Israel is a bright spot of freedom and stability and opportunity."
"I look at Israel and see a country aspiring to elevate its citizens, its society and its global contributions...it's the embodiment of the values I stand for and am proud to give voice to.I could not be prouder to have represented Israel."
Thanks for sharing your story Aviva Klompas. 4.5 stars! #undiplomatic
1) "Representing Israel means representing the Jewish people & giving voice to our history and dreams."
2)"The voice of this nation deserves to speak and be heard in the family of nations."
3)"Being part of a family means having one another's backs through good times and challenging times."
4) "Israel isn't just another state, its the world's one and only Jewish state."
5) "Israel is a bright spot of freedom and stability and opportunity."
"I look at Israel and see a country aspiring to elevate its citizens, its society and its global contributions...it's the embodiment of the values I stand for and am proud to give voice to.I could not be prouder to have represented Israel."
Thanks for sharing your story Aviva Klompas. 4.5 stars! #undiplomatic
December 9, 2023
How can you give 5 stars review when you read a book written by someone who passionately support the killing of children and genocide. It's disgusting and humiliation for the mind
December 9, 2023
I dont even understand about this book .
April 7, 2019
The author's painstaking research and attention to detail is obvious in the writing of this book. The author laid out the information in a manner that allowed the reader to form their own opinion.
May 3, 2019
This is an absolutely beautiful book about a speechwriter who choses to speak for Israel at the United Nations and why she chooses to do so. She presents a very compelling argument and shows us why Israel is important.
I would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy free of charge. This is my honest and unbiased opinion of it.
I would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy free of charge. This is my honest and unbiased opinion of it.
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews