What will the outcome of the U.S. election mean for U.S. policy in Israel and the Middle East? What will the priorities of the new Administration, House, and Senate be in the coming months? Join the JCRC of Greater Washington for an in-depth conversation with Former U.S. Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro and leading specialist in U.S. defense policy and Middle East affairs Shoshana Bryen, moderated by Ron Halber.
Date & Time
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Location
Online. A zoom link will be provided upon registration
Speakers
Shoshana Bryen Senior Director, Jewish Policy Center
Shoshana Bryen is a leading specialist in U.S. defense policy and Middle East affairs. The former Executive Director and Senior Director for Security Policy at JINSA, Mrs. Bryen was author of the widely republished JINSA Reports. She has worked with the Strategic Studies Institute of the U.S. Army War College and the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv, and lectured at the National Defense University in Washington.
Mrs. Bryen coordinated programs in the Middle East for military professionals that allowed more than 450 American military officers to engage in professional discussions of issues that both unite and divide the United States, Israel and Jordan. She also created a program to take the cadets and midshipmen of America’s service academies to Israel for a three-week work/study program that has permitted hundreds of future officers to have a positive, in-depth experience in Israel. She has also taken Turkish and Israeli military officers to speak at the service academies and has lectured in the academies as well.
Her work has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, the New York Sun and Defense News, among other outlets, as well as in JINSA Reports.
She is a Member of the Advisory Board of the Aleethia Foundation that provides opportunities for wounded veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, and is a Member of the Board of the Naval Academy Jewish Chapel Foundation.
Ambassador Dan Shapiro Distinguished Visiting Fellow, Israel Institute for National Security Studies
Daniel Shapiro is a Distinguished Visiting Fellow At INSS. He participates in several of the Institute’s research programs, including those on Israel-U.S. Relations, Israeli-Palestinian Relations, the Arab World, and Israeli Society and Public Opinion. Ambassador Shapiro is a frequent contributor to leading publications, including Foreign Policy, The Atlantic, Washington Post, and Wall Street Journal and provides his analysis and commentary in many Israel and American media outlets.
Before joining INSS, Mr. Shapiro served as United States Ambassador to Israel (July 2011-January 2017). In that role, he participated in Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, U.S.-Israel discussions on the Iran nuclear agreement, and negotiations on the $38 billion Memorandum of Understanding for U.S. military assistance to Israel Prior to that he was Senior Director for the Middle East and North Africa at the National Security Council at the White House, where he served as a member of Special Envoy George Mitchell's team, led U.S. diplomatic efforts in Syria and Lebanon, and advised President Obama through the early months of the upheavals in Arab states in 2011. He previously served in numerous senior advisory positions in the U.S. Congress. He was a term member at the Council on Foreign Relations.
Ambassador Shapiro has taught at the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service. He holds a B.A. from Brandeis University and an M.A. from Harvard University.
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.