The Meaning of Israel’s Peace Accord with the United Arab Emirates: A Symposium

Last week Israel and the United Arab Emirates announced, to the world’s surprise and (mostly) delight, a deal to pursue mutual peace and normalization, making it just the third peace agreement Israel has come to with an Arab state.

How did this historic deal come about, what does it mean, and what does it portend for the future of Israel’s relations with its neighbors? We’ve invited a handful of serious thinkers to look at the political, cultural, and historical meanings of this moment. Join us this week for a multi-part symposium with contributions from:

• Dore Gold, former Israeli ambassador to the United Nations, on the precursors to the deal

• Ed Husain, author of The House of Islam, on the free mind of the Emirates

• Ron Dermer, Israel’s ambassador to the United States, on his hopes for Israel and her Arab neighbors

• Richard Goldberg, former member of the U.S. National Security Council, on the American angle

• Amos Yadlin, former chief of Israeli Military Intelligence, on motivations and complications

• Hussein Aboubakr, Egyptian-born writer and educator, on the new ideology in the Middle East

• John Bolton, former U.S. National Security Advisor, on the enduring need for American leadership

• Jared Kushner, senior advisor to the president, on how he earned the trust of the region’s leaders