ATFP President Joins Panel at Israel Policy Forum Symposium

On December 4th, ATFP President Dr. Ziad Asali joined a panel discussion at the Israel Policy Forum's (IPF) Annual Symposium. The panel, entitled "Keeping the Two-State Solution Alive: Israel-Palestine Negotiations One Year After Annapolis," was moderated by IPF National Scholar Dr. Steven Spiegel who presented questions to Dr. Asali and Dr .Yoram Peri, the Head of the Chaim Herzog Institute for Media, Politics, and Society.

Dr. Asali spoke about the necessity of sustained engagement in the peace process from the Obama administration, engagement of the Arab world through the Arab Peace plan, the importance of supporting the Palestinian Authority’s security and economic efforts, and the imperativeness of freezing all settlement activity.

The theme of this year’s symposium was, “A Blueprint for Leadership: How to Achieve Peace and Security in the Middle East." The event featured numerous politicians, diplomats, and academics including Representative Gary Ackerman, Former Congressman and Middle East advisor to the Obama campaign Mel Levin, and Former Ambassador of Israel to the U.S. Itamar Rabinovich. The keynote address was given by Chuck Hagel, the senior Senator from Nebraska and member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

For more coverage of the event, including video and audio, please visit the IPF website [6].