Israel’s Relationship with the Arab World

More than a quarter-century of fitful, failed and abandoned attempts to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict blocked efforts to formally widen the circle of Arab–Israeli peace after the Jordanian–Israeli treaty of 1994 — although under-the-table contacts and cooperation, mutually beneficial to Israel and key Arab states, were maintained.  Shifting US policies, shared concerns about common enemies and recognition of potential opportunities created a different dynamic in recent years, culminating in the 13 August announcement of UAE–Israel normalisation. We’ll look at the long road to that milestone agreement and what might lie beyond it.

This public talk was conducted online via Zoom on 2 October (Friday), from 9.00am to 10.30am (SGT).

About the Speaker(s):

Mr Jason Isaacson is the chief policy and political affairs officer for the Global Jewish Advocacy (AJC). He has played a central role in shaping the organisation’s diplomatic and political profile since assuming the position of director of Government and International Affairs in Washington, DC, in 1991, after serving in senior staff positions in the US Senate and House of Representatives and after a decade in journalism.

 In addition to his broader policy responsibilities, he has focused particular attention on the Middle East — beginning with his participation as AJC’s observer in the Madrid Peace Conference in October 1991 and the launch of the multilateral Middle East peace process in Moscow the following January.

For more than a quarter century, Mr Isaacson has maintained close contact with officials and civil society leaders across the Middle East and North Africa, breaking down barriers of misunderstanding, forging common agendas, and advancing the cause of Arab–Israeli reconciliation and cooperation.