Post Event Summary and Resources

Summary

On January 20, President Obama will be stepping in at a time when Arab-Israeli peace efforts have stalled.  Are there "best practices" from prior negotiations that should be adopted by the new Administration?  Has the U.S. "no contact" policy with Hamas proved effective? If not, should it be altered? With elections coming in Israel, what impact will the new Israeli leadership have on peacemaking efforts? How have the Israeli-Syrian "proximity" talks affected progress towards peace, and what are likely outcomes of continuing these efforts. Given realities on the ground, and the leadership on both sides, what kind of progress in peacemaking is possible over the next 6-24 months?  Would a renewed American diplomatic effort improve America's overall position in the region?

Rapporteur Summary Report

• Download and read (.pdf 250KB)

Multimedia

Full Session

• Watch on YouTube
• Video Recording of Session (.mp4 130.49MB)
• Audio Recording of Session (.mp3 29.77MB)
• Photo Gallery

By Speaker

• Moderated by Samuel Lewis, former USIP President and Foreign Service Official
• Daniel Kurtzer
  former U.S. ambassador to Egypt and Israel
  Video Recording of Speaker (.mp4 39.96MB)
• Ziad Asali
  President, American Task Force on Palestine
  Video Recording of Speaker (.mp4 30.11MB)
• David Makovsky
  Director, Project on the Middle East Peace Process, The Washington Institute
  Video Recording of Speaker (.mp4 17.04MB)
• Question and Answer Panel
  Video Recording of Panel (.mp4 32.0MB)

Related Resources

• Transcript of Panel (.pdf)
• Special Report - From Rejection to Acceptance: Israeli National Security Thinking and Palestinian Statehood
• USIP Press Book: Negotiating Arab-Israeli Peace