Upcoming Event: Trump’s “Deal of the Century”

The Trump administration’s recently proposed Israeli-Palestinian peace deal, dubbed “the Deal of the Century,” offers a plan to resolve the decades-old conflict all the while declaring Jerusalem as the undivided capital of Israel. Although it calls for an eventual Palestinian state, the Palestinian leadership expectedly rejected the plan. This peace plan has sparked controversy from global leaders, who claim that it allows annexation of Palestinian lands, ignores the right of return for refugees, and runs contrary to international law. Turkey was among the countries who opposed the plan, reiterating its support for a negotiated two-state solution. As the Palestinian Authority cut all relations with the U.S. and Israel including security cooperation, there are worries about increased tensions in the region.

On February 11, The SETA Foundation at Washington DC will host an event to discuss the Trump administration’s “Deal of the Century.” The panel will discuss the details of the plan, its prospects for peace, and its implications should it come to fruition. Please kindly join us for a timely expert panel discussion on these recent developments.

Speakers

Lara Friedman, President, Foundation for Middle East Peace

Khaled Elgindy, Senior Fellow, Director of Program on Palestine and Palestinian-Israeli Affairs, Middle East Institute

Mark Perry, Independent Author and Foreign Policy Analyst

Kadir Ustun, Executive Director, The SETA Foundation at Washington DC

Moderated by Kilic B. Kanat, Research Director, The SETA Foundation at Washington DC

Lara Friedman is the President of the Foundation for Middle East Peace. Prior to coming to FMEP, Lara was the Director of Policy and Government Relations at Americans for Peace Now, and before that she was a U.S. Foreign Service Officer, serving in Jerusalem, Washington, Tunis and Beirut. Lara is a leading authority on U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East, with particular focus on the Israeli-Arab conflict, settlements and Jerusalem, and on the role of the U.S. Congress. She frequently briefs Members of Congress, Administration officials, and others in the foreign policy/national security community, and is regularly published in the U.S. and Israeli press. Lara works closely with Jerusalem expert Danny Seidemann and his NGO “Terrestrial Jerusalem,” participates in various Track II Israeli-Palestinian efforts, and is a non-resident fellow at the U.S./Middle East Project (USMEP).  She holds a B.A. from the University of Arizona and a Master’s degree from Georgetown’s School of Foreign Service, and speaks French, Spanish, Arabic and (rather poor) Italian.

Khaled Elgindy is a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute where he also directs MEI’s Program on Palestine and Israeli-Palestinian Affairs. He is the author of the newly-released book, Blind Spot: America and the Palestinians, from Balfour to Trump, published by Brookings Institution Press in April 2019. Elgindy previously served as a fellow in the Foreign Policy program at the Brookings Institution from 2010 through 2018. Prior to arriving at Brookings, he served as an adviser to the Palestinian leadership in Ramallah on permanent status negotiations with Israel from 2004 to 2009, and was a key participant in the Annapolis negotiations of 2007-08. Elgindy is also an adjunct instructor in Arab Studies at Georgetown University. Khaled’s writings have a appeared in wide range of publications, including The Christian Science Monitor, CNN.com, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, The Los Angeles Times, The National Interest, The Washington Quarterly, and others. He is frequently quoted in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, The Hill, Politico, and other print media, and is a regular commentator on TV and radio, including Aljazeera, BBC, CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, NPR, PBS Newshour and others.
Mark Perry is a foreign policy analyst, historian, and author, specializing in military, intelligence, and foreign affairs. He served as a senior foreign policy advisor for Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation, is a former advisor to PLO Chairman and Palestinian President, Yassir Arafat and is a regular guest commenter on the Middle East for a variety of news outlets.  Mr. Perry is the author of ten books including Four Stars and Talking to Terrorists. His most recent book, The Pentagon’s Wars was published in 2017. He currently serves as contributing editor to The American Conservative. 
Kadir Ustun is the Executive Director at the SETA Foundation at Washington, D.C. Previously, Dr. Ustun was the Research Director at the SETA Foundation at Washington D.C. He currently serves as an Assistant Editor of Insight Turkey, an academic journal published by the SETA Foundation. Dr. Ustun holds a PhD in Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African Studies from Columbia University and a Master’s degree in History from Bilkent University. He has contributed to various SETA reports and his writings have appeared in various publications such as Insight Turkey, Al Jazeera English, Hurriyet Daily News, Daily Sabah, Mediterranean Quarterly, and Cairo Review of Global Affairs among others. He is also co-editor of edited volumes History, Politics and Foreign Policy in Turkey, Change and Adaptation in Turkish Foreign Policy, and Politics and Foreign Policy in Turkey: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives

Kilic Bugra Kanat is the Research Director at the SETA Foundation at Washington DC. He is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Penn State University, Erie where he was awarded the Outstanding Research Award and Council of Fellows Faculty Research Award. Dr. Kanat received his PhD in Political Science from Syracuse University; a Master’s in Political Science from Syracuse University; a Master’s in International Affairs from Marquette University. He participated in Future Leaders Program of Foreign Policy Initiative. Dr. Kanat’s writings have appeared in Foreign Policy, Insight Turkey, The Diplomat, Middle East Policy, Arab Studies Quarterly, Mediterranean Quarterly, Journal of South Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, Journal of Balkan and Near Eastern Studies, and Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs. He is a columnist at Daily Sabah & author of A Tale of Four Augusts: Obama’s Syria Policy.