Implications of Israel's Recent Peace Agreements and The Road Ahead

A month after the historic signing of the Abraham Accords between Israel, UAE, and Bahrain, the JCRC will host Ambassador Barbara A. Leaf, Lapidus Fellow at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy and former Ambassador to the UAE and Maj. Gen. (ret.) Amos Yadlin, Executive Director of Tel Aviv University’s Institute for National Security Studies (INSS), for a discussion moderated by the JCRC's Ron Halber on the accords and what we can expect in the Middle East in the near future.

The webinar will focus on implications of the recent Israeli normalization agreements with the UAE and Bahrain and possibly others to follow, the relationship between Israel and the Arab/Muslim world, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and what impact it may have on the US-Israel relationship.

Date & Time

-

Location

Online. A zoom link will be emailed to you upon registration



Speakers

Amb. Barbara Leaf

Ambassador Barbara A. Leaf

Ambassador Barbara A. Leaf, former U.S. ambassador to the United Arab Emirates from 2014-2018, is the Ruth and Sid Lapidus Fellow at The Washington Institute and director of the Beth and David Geduld Program on Arab Politics. She served in high-level positions at Foggy Bottom and abroad, including deputy assistant secretary of state for the Arabian Peninsula in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs and as deputy assistant secretary of state for Iraq. Ambassador Leaf also served as the department’s first director of the Office of Iranian Affairs and has held postings in Rome, Sarajevo, Paris, Cairo, Tunis, Jerusalem, and Port-au-Prince. Ambassador Leaf departed government as a member of the Senior Foreign Service and has received numerous Superior Honor and Meritorious Honor Awards throughout her career. She is a graduate of the College of William and Mary, holds a master's degree in foreign affairs from the University of Virginia and speaks 5 languages; English, Arabic, French, Italian, and Serbo-Croatian.

Amos Yadlin

Maj. Gen. (ret.) Amos Yadlin

Maj. Gen. (ret.) Amos Yadlin was named Executive Director of Tel Aviv University’s Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) in November, 2011, after more than 40 years of service in the Israel Defense Forces, nine of which he was a member of the IDF General Staff. He served as the IDF’s chief of Military Intelligence, the IDF attaché to the United States, commander of the IDF Military Colleges and the National Defense College and a former deputy commander of the Israel Air Force. He also served as Head of the Israeli Air Force Planning Department, while accumulating about 5,000 flight hours and flying more than 250 combat missions behind enemy lines. He participated in the Yom Kippur War (1973), Operation Peace for Galilee (1982), and Operation Tamuz – the destruction of the Osirak nuclear reactor in Iraq (1981). Maj. Gen. (ret.) Yadlin holds a B.A. with honors in economics and business administration from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and holds a Master's degree in Public Administration from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

Ron Halber

Ron Halber (rhalber@jcouncil.org) Executive Director

Ron Halber is the Executive Director of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington and a highly-sought-after speaker on Israel and Jewish affairs, both locally and nationally. 

Having served as executive director since 2001, and in previous roles at the JCRC since 1997, Ron has developed a wide range of strategic initiatives and partnerships to position JCRC as the leading voice on Jewish advocacy and fighting antisemitism in the Washington, D.C. region. An expert in strategic organizational planning and widely respected for his sharp political acumen, Ron has received numerous awards for professional excellence and community impact.

Under Ron’s innovative leadership, the JCRC has secured tens of millions of dollars for local Jewish agencies, successfully advocated for the passage of state and local legislation, planned and executed several new pro-Israel initiatives and bolstered relationships with other faith and community organizations. His fundraising efforts have enabled the JCRC to dramatically expand its staff and footprint throughout the region, making it one of the most influential and respected Jewish advocacy organizations in the nation.

Ron has had numerous op-eds published and is frequently interviewed by local, national and international media outlets on a range of topics facing the Jewish community, including current events in Israel and the Middle East, the rise of antisemitism and security needs for Jewish institutions, and legislative and political affairs at the local, state and national levels.

Ron previously worked in politics and political campaigns, including a stint as an aide to U.S. Senator Charles “Chuck” Schumer. He holds a master’s degree from Georgetown University and bachelor’s degree from the University of Albany in New York.

Ron and his wife, Michelle, live in Germantown with their three children.