The U.S.-Israel Relationship: Twenty Years after Oslo

Twenty years after the Madrid Peace Conference and the launch of the Oslo era, and a decade after those hopes for peace were shattered by the Second Intifada, the United States and Israel face unprecedented challenges. From attempts to isolate and deligitimize Israel at the United Nations to Iran’s nuclear ambitions, from suicide bombers to cyber-warfare, the threats are many and increasing. The political situation in the Middle East following the Arab Spring is tenuous at best. In order to meet these threats, the United States must work closely with its allies, above all Israel.

This day-long conference featured some of the country’s top experts to discuss these important issues.

Location: Congressional Meeting Room South (CVC-217)
Capitol Visitors Center
Washington, DC

Schedule:
8:45 am: Registration and Light Continental Breakfast

9:00 am: Welcoming Remarks
• Clifford May, President, Foundation for Defense of Democracies
• Kenneth Weinstein, President & CEO, Hudson Institute

9:15 am: Peace Process: Expectations and Reality
• Elliott Abrams, Senior Fellow for Middle Eastern Studies, Council on Foreign Relations and former Deputy National Security Advisor
• John Hannah, Senior Fellow, Foundation for Defense of Democracies, former National Security Advisor to Vice President Richard Cheney, and senior advisor to Secretary of State Warren Christopher.
• Kenneth Stein, William E. Schatten Professor of Contemporary Middle Eastern History and Israeli Studies and Director of the Middle East Research Program at Emory University
• Moderator: Lewis Libby, Senior Vice President, Hudson Institute; former Chief of Staff to Vice President Richard Cheney and former National Security Advisor

10:30 am: An Ascendant Iran: The Threat to the U.S. and Israel
• Ilan Berman, Vice President, American Foreign Policy Council
• Michael Doran, Visiting Professor, New York University and former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense and Senior Director at the National Security Council
• Jonathan Schanzer, Vice President of Research, Foundation for Defense of Democracies
• Lee Smith, Visiting Fellow, Hudson Institute; Fellow, Foundation for Defense of Democracies; and Senior Editor, The Weekly Standard
• Moderator: Mark Dubowitz, Executive Director, Foundation for Defense of Democracies

12:00 pm: Luncheon Keynote Address
Ambassador Michael Oren, Israeli Ambassador to the United States

1:15 pm: Israel: Value of the Strategic Relationship
• Gary Bauer, Director, American Values
• George Gilder, Senior Fellow, Discovery Institute and author of The Israel Test
• Rep. Peter Roskam (R-IL), co-chair of the Republican Israel Caucus
• Moderator: Hillel Fradkin, Senior Fellow and Director, Center on Islam, Democracy, and the Future of the Muslim World, Hudson Institute

2:45 pm: The Way Forward: Threats and Opportunities
• Peter Berkowitz, Tad and Dianne Taube Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution
• Robert Lieber, Professor of Government and International Affairs, Georgetown University
• Joshua Muravchik, Foreign Policy Institute Fellow, SAIS
• Abram Shulsky, Senior Fellow, Hudson Institute

4:00pm: Dessert Reception at the Conclusion of the Conference