DBWI: Hersh Kissinger immigrates to the USA instead of Israel

We are two weeks away from celebrating the 90th birthday of the German-born Israeli statesman Hersh Kissinger.

After receiving his graduate degree from the Technion, Kissinger entered the Israeli Foreign Ministry soon after the founding of the State of Israel in 1948. His first diplomatic posting was as assistant to Golda Meir during her ambassadorship to the USSR (she was Prime Minister of Israel from 1969 to 1977).

When Abba Eban served as Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations, he served as a mentor to Kissinger. When Eban returned to Israel in 1959 to run for the Knesset, Kissinger succeeded him as Ambassador to the UN. In 1964, he returned to Israel for a stint in academia before he ran and won a seat in the Knesset. A week before the Six Day War in 1966, Kissinger became Deputy Foreign Minister.

After the Yom Kippur War of 1973, Kissinger succeeded Eban as Foreign Minister. In his tenure, Kissinger's shuttle diplomacy resulted in peace treaties with Jordan and Egypt in 1974, and with Lebanon in 1975. After Moshe Dayan succeeded Meir as Prime Minister, Kissinger negotiated a peace treaty with Morocco. A month before Kissinger resigned as Foreign Minister in 1978, Israel and the USSR restored diplomatic relations.

In 1979, Kissinger was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. After serving as President of Israel (1982-1988), Kissinger retired from politics for good.

Suppose Kissinger and his family immigrated to the USA instead of Israel. Had he served as Secretary of State in the Nixon administration, would he have been as successful in negotiating a peace deal in Vietnam? And would Kissinger have succeeded in handling Middle East policy?
 
We are two weeks away from celebrating the 90th birthday of the German-born Israeli statesman Hersh Kissinger.

After receiving his graduate degree from the Technion, Kissinger entered the Israeli Foreign Ministry soon after the founding of the State of Israel in 1948. His first diplomatic posting was as assistant to Golda Meir during her ambassadorship to the USSR (she was Prime Minister of Israel from 1969 to 1977).

When Abba Eban served as Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations, he served as a mentor to Kissinger. When Eban returned to Israel in 1959 to run for the Knesset, Kissinger succeeded him as Ambassador to the UN. In 1964, he returned to Israel for a stint in academia before he ran and won a seat in the Knesset. A week before the Six Day War in 1966, Kissinger became Deputy Foreign Minister.

After the Yom Kippur War of 1973, Kissinger succeeded Eban as Foreign Minister. In his tenure, Kissinger's shuttle diplomacy resulted in peace treaties with Jordan and Egypt in 1974, and with Lebanon in 1975. After Moshe Dayan succeeded Meir as Prime Minister, Kissinger negotiated a peace treaty with Morocco. A month before Kissinger resigned as Foreign Minister in 1978, Israel and the USSR restored diplomatic relations.

In 1979, Kissinger was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. After serving as President of Israel (1982-1988), Kissinger retired from politics for good.

Suppose Kissinger and his family immigrated to the USA instead of Israel. Had he served as Secretary of State in the Nixon administration, would he have been as successful in negotiating a peace deal in Vietnam? And would Kissinger have succeeded in handling Middle East policy?


OCC: An interesting Kissinger alt-dossier; however, given that the POD here appears to be 1938 -Ludwig Kissinger decides to take his family to Palestine rather than to the US- asking specific questions about a specific presidential administration 3 decades after the POD hamstrings the creative process (I think) as it ties us to the OTL 1960s & '70s Henry Kissinger and the Nixon administration and makes it too easy for us to discount/ignore potential 1938-1969 butterflies for each of them.

How does this look;
Suppose Kissinger and his family immigrates to the USA in 1938 instead of Palestine/Israel. Would Henry (his birth name, Heinz, anglicized) become as prominent a politician & diplomat? If so, how would he have served - as Secretary of State or at the UN (is a German-born, Jewish american Secretary general of the UN possible)? How would he have employed his diplomatic skills at the height of the Cold War or during whatever crises erupt in the Middle East during the '60s or '70s? If not, what might his life & career have looked like?
 
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