Israelis and Palestinians: A New Paradigm?
with David Makovsky & Ghaith Al-Omari

As the Middle East chaos has focused elsewhere, the Israeli and Palestinian issue has been largely sidelined. Negotiated peace, the classic paradigm for the last few decades, has been put aside. What will take its place? What new paradigm can offer peace to both sides and put aside this tragic conflict? What can the US do?

David Makovsky:
David Makovsky, Ziegler Distinguished Fellow and Director of the Project on the Middle East Peace Process at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, is the co-author with Ambassador Dennis Ross of the 2009 Washington Post bestseller, Myths, Illusions, and Peace: Finding a New Direction for America in the Middle East. He is also an adjunct professor in Middle East studies at Johns Hopkins University's Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) and recently concluded an almost ten-month stint as a senior advisor on Secretary of State John Kerry's peace team. Between November 2013 and September 2014, David Makovsky advised Secretary of State John Kerry as part of an elite team charged with seeking an historic peace agreement between Israelis and Palestinians. Makovsky's firsthand account of what it's like to work behind the scenes on the most difficult diplomatic issues of the last century provides a riveting view of the issues, the personalities, and the prospects for peace moving forward.

Ghaith Al-Omari:
A senior fellow at The Washington Institute, al-Omari is the former executive director of the American Task Force on Palestine. Previously, he served in various positions within the Palestinian Authority, including Director of the International Relations Department in the Office of the Palestinian President, and advisor to former Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas. In these capacities, he provided advice on foreign policy -- especially vis-à-vis the United States and Israel -- and security. He has extensive experience in the Palestinian-Israeli peace process, having been an advisor to the Palestinian negotiating team throughout the permanent status negotiations.

Two programs.  Both are free and open to the public
3pm at Williams College, Bernhard Music Center, 54 Chapin Hall Drive, Williamstown, MA
7:30pm at Tina Packer Playhouse, Shakespeare & Co., 70 Kemble Street, Lenox, MA

Sponsored by The Jewish Federation of the Berkshires in cooperation with Williams College