Thursday, October 22, 2020

Zoom Webinar

The discussion focused on the recent US-brokered normalization deal between the United Arab Emirates, Israel, and Bahrain. Ibrahim Dalalsha and Ehud Yaari will contemplated the impact of the deals and next steps for the Palestinians. Both participants also addressed questions on the impact of a President Trump or Vice President Biden election on their countries and the region. The program included panelist presentations, followed by an audience question and answer session, moderated by UCLA Research Professor and Center for Middle East Development Director, Dr. Steven L. Spiegel. 

Ibrahim Eid Dalalsha is a senior political consultant based in the West Bank. Currently, he heads a private think tank in Ramallah, the Horizon Center for Political Studies and Media Outreach. Mr. Dalalsha's former role as senior political advisor at the U.S. Consulate General in Jerusalem spanned two decades. He has been named the State Department’s Foreign Service National of the Year for outstanding political analysis/reporting and extraordinary networking/outreach three times throughout his career. Dalalsha has played an integral role in peace negotiations across the Middle East, including the 2014 ceasefire negotiations held in Cairo, in addition to other  initiatives in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. 

Ehud Yaari has been a Middle East commentator for Israel's Channel Two television since 1975. He is also a Lafer International Fellow of the Washington Institute and a former associate editor of Jerusalem Report. Among his numerous awards for journalism are the Israeli Press Editors-in-Chief prize for coverage of the peace process with Egypt, the Sokolov Prize for coverage of the Lebanon War, and the Israel Broadcasting Award for coverage of the Gulf War. Mr. Yaari's articles have appeared in respected newspapers and journals such as the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Foreign Affairs, and Atlantic Monthly. He is also the author of eight books on the Arab-Israeli conflict.

Dr. Steven L. Spiegel is a Research Professor and serves as Director of the Center for Middle East Development at UCLA. Through the innovative and informal negotiation techniques he has developed, Professor Spiegel helps produce cutting-edge ideas for promoting Middle East regional security and cooperation through a broad variety of programs and publications.

Sponsor(s): Center for Middle East Development, Burkle Center for International Relations, Younes and Soraya Nazarian Center for Israel Studies, UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs