City University London’s Olive Tree Middle East Forum presents ‘Israel in the Changing Regional Context: Pressures and Prospects’.

The effects of the Arab uprisings of 2011-12, the devastating war in Syria and the mass displacement of the Syrian population are posing unprecedented challenges for governments and communities across the region and beyond. In the background, the US Secretary of State John Kerry has chosen this moment to restart peace negotiations between the Israelis and Palestinians.

We invite you to come and discuss the implications of these developments for Israel in particular. Is this a last chance to resolve the conflict with the Palestinians and forge a ‘two-state solution’ and if so, what would this mean for the political geography of the region, for the Israeli political leadership, state-society relations, the security establishment, the settlers and peace activists?

In the Chair:

Prof Rosemary Hollis, Director of the Olive Tree Programme and Professor of Middle East Policy Studies.

On the panel:

Dr Ahron Bregmanserved in the Israeli army for six years, including taking part in the 1982 Lebanon War, and reached the rank of Major. He left the army after the war to work at the Knesset as a parliamentary assistant, and then to study, completing a doctorate in the Department of War Studies at King’s College London where he is now a Teaching Fellow.

Lior Frankiensztajn is co-founder and Executive Director of the Shades Negotiation Program, with previous experience in security consultancy and the IDF Foreign Relations Department Gaza.

Noam Rabinovich Following service in the IDF Combat Intelligence Unit, Noam was awarded an Olive Tree Scholarship to study at City University (2008-11), following which she worked in political campaigning in Israel and then worked in international relations and advocacy at B’Tselem for 2 years, before taking up a scholarship for postgraduate study on Human Rights at LSE. She is also working in resource development and fundraising with the New Israel Fund UK.

ALL welcome. To register, no charge, please contact: olivetree@city.ac.uk.

For more information please click here or download a flyer here.

Advance notice: There will be another Forum on 4 December 2013 entitled: All Change in the Middle East: Implications for the Palestinians.