Secretary of State Pompeo’s Speech in Cairo, 2019 CIE+ members only
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo delivers a more muscular vision of the U.S. presence in the Middle East than President Barack Obama offered in the same Cairo venue 10 years earlier.
American and Israeli Jews Still Split on Trump, Polling Shows CIE+ members only
Looking back on a June 10, 2018, article by the Jewish Telegraph Agency, we can see polling data reflect a divide between Israeli and American Jews when it comes to approval of President Trump’s policies.
45 Years Since Camp David: Why It Worked Then and Can’t Work Now (48:26) CIE+ members only
Emory Professor of Contemporary and Middle Eastern History, Political Science, and Israeli Studies and Center for Israel Education President Kenneth W. Stein applies decades of document-based research, interviews and scholarship, including new insights gleaned from the study of detailed minutes in the Israel State Archives, to examine the Camp David Accords 40 years after Egypt’s Anwar Sadat and Israel’s Menachem Begin signed the agreement Sept. 17, 1978, that concluded 13 days of negotiations led by President Jimmy Carter.
Explainer: 13 Days at Camp David 1978 (6:39)
Our second animated white board video covers in detail what took place during the thirteen days of negotiations at Camp David in September 2018. The video begins with Egyptian President Anwar Sadat’s priority on getting back the Sinai Peninsula which Egypt lost to Israel in the June 1967 War and the origins of direct negotiations between Israel and Egypt following Sadat’s visit to Jerusalem in November 1977.
Explainer: Carter’s Search for Middle East Peace (4:15)
In this animated white board video, we explore Jimmy Carter’s efforts at achieving peace in the Middle East.
The Winding Road to the (Camp David) Peace Summit CIE+ members only
Forty years ago this month, President Jimmy Carter convened the Camp David summit between Israeli and Egyptian leaders to push Arab-Israeli negotiations forward in an unprecedented and intensive manner.
The Global Trade War: Scenarios and Significance for Israel CIE+ members only
On July 6, 2018, the first tariffs imposed by the United States and China on one another following the American initiative to reduce its trade deficit with China took effect. Prior to that, the US imposed tariffs on steel and aluminum from the European Union, Mexico, and Canada, which responded with their own tariffs.
Jacob Zack: Language of Diplomacy at Play in ‘West Bank’ CIE+ members only
Ambassador David Friedman nearly changed U.S. policy with a request to use “Judaea and Samaria.”
President Trump Ends U.S. Participation in “Unacceptable Iran Deal,” Details How Iran Must Change Behavior, May 2018 CIE+ members only
President Trump in 2018 enumerates the behaviors Iran must change to enter a deal replacing the JPOA and thus creates a basis for judging his own negotiations with Tehran.
“How the British Left Palestine,” Bernard Wasserstein, 2018 CIE+ members only
By Bernard Wasserstein Included as a 15-page chapter in the 2019 book Serendipitous Adventures With Britannia: Personalities, Politics and Culture in Britain, edited by Wm. Roger Louis and used with permission, this overview of the…
Israel Prime Minister Netanyahu’s Anti-Iran-Deal Speech, 2018 CIE+ members only
With reams of evidence secured by Israeli intelligence, the PM calls out Iran for lying about their nuclear activities both before and since signing the 2015 JCPOA nuclear agreement with six countries.
Vice President Pence’s Speech to the Knesset, 2018 CIE+ members only
Vice President Pence firmly expresses American commitments to Israel’s security and commitment to the Arab-Israeli peace process. Palestinian Authority President Abbas and other Arab officials loudly criticize the speech and refuse to meet with Pence during his Middle East visit because of earlier US promise to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
President Trump’s Speech Recognizing Jerusalem as the Capital of Israel, 2017 CIE+ members only
President Trump’s proclamation to “officially recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel” breaks precedent. In doing so, he incurs bipartisan support in the US congress, but a flurry of criticism from analysts, diplomats and foreign leaders. In his remarks, Trump rebukes claims that he disqualified the US as a “reliable mediator” in future Palestinian-Israeli negotiations.
Remarks by President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu, May 2017 CIE+ members only
After visiting Saudi Arabia, Trump meets with Netanyahu where both assert joint views on the peace process, Iran, regional cooperation, and the long-standing relationship between Israel and the US; Trumps second meeting with Netanyahu since taking office.
President Trump’s Speech to the Arab Islamic American Summit in Saudi Arabia, 2017 CIE+ members only
Backpedaling from previously hardline statements on Islam, President Trump refers to Islam as “one of the world’s great faiths” calling for “tolerance and respect for each other.” He implored Muslim leaders to fight against radical Islam, which he portrayed as a “…a battle between good and evil.”
U.S.-Israel Memorandum of Understanding on Military Aid, 2016 CIE+ members only
The US promises Israel $38 billion in military aid over a decade, the assistance promised despite Jerusalem and Washington periodically differing over matters relating to Iran and the Palestinians.
From Truman to Obama: The Past, Present and Future of U.S.-Israel Relations (1:12:58) CIE+ members only
On August 15, 2016, I had the pleasure of participating in a panel discussion with former Ambassador Dennis Ross for the Foundation of Defense of Democracies (FDD) in Washington, DC.
Secretary of State John Kerry’s Address to the Saban Forum, 2015 CIE+ members only
Kerry states five major objectives for US foreign policy in the Middle East: mobilize partners to defeat ISIS, work diplomatically to end the civil war in Syria, keep it from destabilizing friendly nearby countries, monitor Iranian adherence to the nuclear deal, and seek a two-state solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
Remarks by President Obama on the Iran Nuclear Deal at American University, 2015 CIE+ members only
Vigorously promoting this Iran Deal as a viable way to block and limit Iran pathways to a bomb. While recognizing Israel’s intense trepidation to the deal, he forcefully claims that war remains the only alternative to accepting this agreement, or to any changes to the agreement.
Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) — Containing Iran’s Access to Nuclear Weapons, 2015 CIE+ members only
Under the deal between Iran and five world powers, Iran agreed to dismantle much of its nuclear program in exchange for billions of dollars of sanctions relief. Israel called the deal too lenient. On May 8, 2018, President Trump withdrew the U.S. from the JCPOA, calling it one of the “worst and most one-sided” agreements in U.S. history. Israel’s objectives in attacking Iran in June 2025 focused on the same central features Israel argued a decade earlier were not sufficiently addressed in the JCPOA.
Statement by Deputy Secretary of State Blinken to House Foreign Affairs Committee, March 2015: Blocking or Paving Iran’s Path to Nuclear Weapons? CIE+ members only
Antony Blinken pleads with Congress not to expand sanctions on Iran amid negotiations to contain Tehran’s nuclear program.
Obama Administration Official Testifies on Iran Nuclear Talks, 2015 CIE+ members only
House testimony from a Treasury Department official during the 2015 Iran nuclear negotiations shows that U.S. priorities and nonmilitary approaches toward Iran remain the same in 2026.
College Syllabus: “History of Israeli Foreign Policy” CIE+ members only
“History of Israeli Foreign Policy” Ziv Rubinovitz, Undergraduate, Emory University, Spring 2015 This course analyzes Israel’s foreign relations and examines the tension between Israel’s geographic location in the Middle East and its Western orientation. The…
President Obama Addresses U.N. General Assembly, 2014 CIE+ members only
The U.S. president announces a coalition of countries to fight the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq. His plan calls for limited U.S. military action with supplies provided to others fighting on the ground.
