Middle East Policy Initiative: Publications, Events and More

The U.S.- Israel Relationship

Articles — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 16:30:00 -0500

A New America Event
12/03/2008 - 3:00pm

Please join us for a discussion with Naomi Chazan, President of the New Israel Fund, about fears and hopes pegged to Barack Obama, likely policy changes resulting from Israeli elections, and the future of the stalled peace process.

Four Crises on Obama's Horizon

Articles — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 09:07:00 -0500

No one should be surprised that president-elect Barack Obama's first press conference, three days after his historic November 4th victory, was devoted almost exclusively to the economy. Obama was also quick to remind reporters that there is only one president at a time, and his turn does not begin until January 20. While domestic challenges will dominate his agenda, a not-insignificant list of Middle East crises will confront America's 44th president as well. Here are four of the more urgent issues in which Israel has a keen interest,… more

Daniel Levy in The Jewish Week | 'Iran Policy Now Seen Linked To Meltdown'

Articles — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 09:34:00 -0400

New America in the News:

On the campaign trail, Republican supporters continue to hammer away at what they say is Obama’s naiveté on the subject, claiming he wants to “sit down and have dinner” with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

That’s a “red herring,” said Daniel Levy, director of the Prospects for Peace Initiative of the Century Foundation. “Substantively, the Bush administration has come closer to accepting the basic Obama position -- which is engagement.”

The same pressures that pushed the Bush administration to soften its policy of diplomatic isolation on Iran… more

Daniel Levy in Reuters | 'U.S. Assesses Isolation Policy of Syria'

Articles — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 14:24:00 -0400

New America in the News:

Part of the move to reexamine Syria policy is also to lay the groundwork for the next administration, either led by Republican John McCain or Democrat Barack Obama.

"They want to get involved now so that it does not look like a reversal," said Syria expert Daniel Levy, a senior fellow at the New America Foundation.

"The time was right a long, long time ago to do this ... the policy of isolation has not worked," he added. LINK

Daniel Levy on Foreign Exchange with Daljit Dhaliwal | 'Tzipi Livni'

Articles — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 14:29:00 -0400

New America in the News:

This week Foreign Exchange features a look at potential Israeli prime minister, Tzipi Livni, with Daniel Levy of the New America Foundation. LINK to video

An Alternative to Paralysis

Articles — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 06:43:00 -0400

If Tzipi Livni becomes Israel's next prime minister, she will bring to that office a belief in the urgency of reaching an extensive, two-state solution with the Palestinians. This in itself distinguishes Livni from her two main rivals. Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu disputes the very framework of two viable, independent states, while Labor leader Ehud Barak parts ways on how pressing the need is to get there. Livni will inherit the Annapolis peace process -- and that is where her problems begin. Annapolis is… more

The New Face of Israel?

Articles — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 10:16:00 -0400

On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert handed in his resignation. Israel’s Foreign Minister and the newly elected leader of the Kadima party, Tzipi Livni, has now been formally given the mandate by Israeli President Shimon Peres to build a governing coalition and thereby become prime minister. Olmert has faced ongoing corruption investigations, but the cloudy circumstances did not prevent him from leaving on a playful note. In convening the cabinet to inform them of his resignation, Olmert explained that there were a number of items… more

Benchmarking the Mess and Trauma of Occupation

Communications — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 08:00:00 -0400

A New America Event
09/25/2008 - 10:00am

Jessica Montell, the executive director of B’Tselem, an Israeli NGO dedicated to rectifying what it recognizes as human rights abuses in the Palestinian territories, spoke at the New America Foundation in conjunction with the opening of a satellite office in Washington. The organization seeks to provide credible information on claims of abuse in the Palestinian territories, in part by distributing cameras in the West Bank and Gaza. The group was awarded the Carter-Menil Award for… more

Daniel Levy on Real News Network | 'Livni Poised to be Next Israeli PM'

Communications — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 12:40:00 -0400

New America in the News:

DANIEL LEVY, POLITICAL ANALYST: Tzipi Livni as prime minister on the Palestinian track: Livni has been the head of the negotiation team with the Palestinians. What we can say is that Tzipi Livni is certainly not averse to negotiating with Palestinian leadership, not averse to conducting serious negotiations, not averse to showing flexibility on core issues. But we don't yet know if she can continue to travel to the place where you could actually strike a workable two-state solution. She is unequivocally in support of a two-state… more

Daniel Levy on Livni's victory in the Kadima primaries

Communications — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 05:26:00 -0400

Israel's Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni has just won a primary election for the leadership of the governing Kadima party. Livni will now try to form a governing coalition. Daniel Levy discusses the political process in Israel in the weeks ahead, the coalition vs. election options and what a Livni premiership might mean for regional issues. Daniel Levy is a senior fellow and director of the New America Foundation/Century Foundation Middle East Policy Initiative. To watch a video analysis, please click here. To arrange an interview with Daniel Levy, call Erin Drankoski at (202) 997-8727 or e-mail drankoski@newamerica.net

Additional Information:
Daniel Levy's blog: http://www.prospectsforpeace.com/
Middle East Policy Initiative: http://www.newamerica.net/programs/american_strategy/middle_east_initiative
Daniel Levy's bio: http://www.newamerica.net/people/daniel_levy

The New America Foundation is a nonprofit, nonpartisan public policy institute that invests in new thinkers and new ideas to address the next generation of challenges facing the United States. Headquartered in Washington D.C., New America also has offices in California.

RNC Event: America's Next Foreign Policy

Communications — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 14:00:00 -0400

A New America Event
09/03/2008 - 9:00am

Panelists will discuss the challenges the next president will face in building a new equilibrium in the Middle East.

The dialogue will moderated by Steve Clemons and will be advanced by four short provocations delivered by foreign policy experts.

Light breakfast fare and coffee will be served beforehand.

Ghaith al-Omari and Daniel Levy in the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs | 'Making Sense of the Arab-Israeli Nightmare'

Articles — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 14:46:00 -0400

New America in the News:

In a June 27 panel entitled “Making Sense of the Arab-Israel Nightmare” held at the New America Foundation in Washington, DC, speakers discussed the lessons to be learned from past administrations and prospects for the Bush administration in its final months, as well as prospects for the next administration. Ghaith al-Omari, a former policy adviser to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Daniel Levy, former senior policy adviser in the Israeli prime minister’s office, and Aaron Miller, author of The Much Too Promised Land, addressed the Arab-Israeli conflict largely… more

Daniel Levy in the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs | 'AIPAC’s Role in the 2008 Election'

Communications — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 10:21:00 -0400

New America in the News:

Many prominent Israelis view AIPAC as a negative and counterproductive influence and have joined JStreet’s advisory council. One of these is Daniel Levy, who was part of the Israeli delegation to the January 2001 Taba Summit. “The mainstream pro-Israel camp,” he states, “has decided so brazenly to throw its lot in with neoconservative ideologues within this administration and with the far right dispensationalist Christian Zionists, and this unholy triangle has pulled things so much to the right-wing direction that we… more

Daniel Levy in the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs | 'U.S.-Arab Business Relationships Encouraged at USAEF Conference'

Communications — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 09:39:00 -0400

New America in the News:

“It is neither moral, nor human, nor Jewish, I argue, to maintain this siege,” said Daniel Levy, senior fellow with the New America Foundation and the Century Foundation. Israel’s de-industrializing of Gaza through its unrelenting control of the borders has all but collapsed businesses in the Strip. “What we’ve done to Gaza’s economy in one year may take decades to recover,” Levy said. LINK

Diminishing Returns for Rice in Israel

Articles — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 11:39:00 -0400

US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice just completed her seventh visit to Israel-Palestine since the Annapolis conference nine months ago. You remember Annapolis, when after almost seven years of neglect the Bush administration committed itself to securing an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal during its last year in office and to dramatically improving the day-to-day situation on the ground.

Displaying admirable consistency and tenacity, albeit a disconnect from reality, Rice reiterated that goal during her visit this week. The Israeli and Palestinian leaders she met with were polite in their… more

There Are Better Options

Articles — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 10:32:00 -0400

Israel's response to the Iranian challenge has been out of synch with developing realities for some time. Recently though, it has become dangerously counter-productive, anchored as it is in denial. As Israel intensifies its role as threatener-in-chief, and clings to a "more sticks, bigger sticks" line, events all around are moving on. The supposed logic behind Israel's escalating threats, suggesting it is ready to go it alone militarily, is threefold. It pressures Iran, thereby increasing international leverage in negotiations; a nervous… more

DNC: Can the Next President Make the Middle East Irrelevant?

Communications — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 23:33:00 -0400

A New America Event
08/27/2008 - 9:00am

Panelists will discuss the challenges the next president will face in building a new equilibrium in the Middle East.

The dialogue will be moderated by Steve Clemons and will be advanced by five short provocations delivered by foreign policy experts.

Light breakfast fare and coffee will be served beforehand.

Civil War in Gaza Isn’t in Israel’s Interests

Articles — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 07:57:00 -0400

When a bomb exploded in the Shaja’iyyah district of Gaza last month, killing four Hamas operatives and a 5-year-old girl, Hamas blamed Fatah, and moved violently against its remaining Gazan enclaves. Fatah forces then pursued retribution against Hamas in the West Bank. Another round of intra-Palestinian conflict and bloodletting ensued, with the leading pro-Fatah family in Gaza, the Hilles clan, fleeing to Israel in the hopes of making it to the West Bank.

Think that Palestinians nearing civil war and the ongoing collapse of a central Palestinian governing entity… more

Ghaith al-Omari in the New York Times | 'Israel’s Political Situation Dims Hopes for Peace Deal'

Communications — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 08:42:00 -0400

New America in the News:

“There is zero chance” now, said Ghaith al-Omari, a former negotiator for Mr. Abbas. Mr. Omari said that the best the Palestinians could now expect was that Ms. Rice could manage to preserve something to hand to the next administration.

“The best we can hope for is a stabilization package that will make it easier for the next president to engage the process,” Mr. Omari said. LINK

Ghaith al-Omari in Reuters | 'Olmert Departure Makes Mideast Peace More Elusive'

Communications — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 07:48:00 -0400

New America in the News:

Reflecting the considerable uncertainty brought on by Olmert's decision, Ghaith Al-Omari, advocacy director for the Washington-based American Task Force on Palestine, offered a pessimistic assessment.

"In my view, it seals the fact that there will be no conflict-ending deal by the end of this year," said Al-Omari, who was a member of the Palestinian negotiating team during the failed 2000 Camp David U.S.-backed peace-making effort.

Al-Omari said he did not think Olmert had the moral authority to negotiate a deal and said his chief negotiator and possible successor, Israeli… more