This panel event examined various levels of internal dynamics in Israel – divides within the current government and coalition, fissures within Israeli society more broadly, and how these internal dynamics impact the course of the Arab-Israeli conflict and Israel's own relations with the United States.

(Courtesy: NYT)For Israel, the question of peace with its neighbors has always touched on the most sensitive internal divides. As part of a USIP series focusing on domestic politics in Israel and its neighbors, a panel of esteemed experts examined various levels of internal dynamics in Israel – from divides within Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's inner circle to fissures within Israeli society more broadly – and their impact on Israel's regional conflicts and its relationship with the United States.

Speakers:

  • David Makovsky
    Ziegler Distinguished Fellow and Director, Project on the Middle East Peace Process
    The Washington Institute
  • Yoram Peri (USIP Senior Fellow, 2001-2002)
    Abraham S. and Jack Kay Chair in Israel Studies and
    Director of the Joseph and Alma Gildenhorn Institute for Israel Studies
    University of Maryland
  • Shai Feldman
    Judith and Sidney Swartz Director of the Crown Center for Middle East Studies
    Brandeis University
  • Scott Lasensky, Chair and Discussant
    co-author with Daniel C. Kurtzer, "Negotiating Arab-Israeli Peace"
    U.S. Institute of Peace

About this Series

The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: Internal Challenges on the Road to Peace

Certain domestic Israeli and Palestinian concerns – from state institution-building and secular-religious divides, to coalition politics and educational reform – have strong implications for the broader conflict, and for international efforts towards a peaceful resolution. Through a series of panels and related publications over the course of the year, USIP will explore such critical yet oft-neglected internal dynamics.

Learn more about this series

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