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Featured Publications & Tools
USIP’s Lucy Kurtzer-Ellenbogen provides an update on the recent political upheaval in Israel and how that may impact the prospects for peace in the Middle East.
On Monday night, Israelis went to bed with a lame duck Knesset, set to dissolve in advance of early elections in September. They awoke Tuesday morning to an overnight unity deal between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of the ruling Likud party, and Shaul Mofaz, the new leader of Likud’s main rival, Kadima. USIP's Lucy Kurtzer-Ellenbogen assesses how Israel's new coalition government could affect the peace process.
Read about USIP’s on-the-ground and region-specific work aimed at helping prevent conflict in the Middle East, South and Northeast Asia.
Attempts to revive the stalled peace process bore no fruit in 2011. USIP's Lucy Kurtzer-Ellenbogen recaps 2011 and looks ahead to challenges in 2012.
Though there will be no breakthroughs on Middle East peace over the coming American election year, U.S. leaders will need to summon the “political will and determination” to again take up the vexing quest for an Arab-Israeli peace settlement when political conditions in the region allow, former Secretary of State James A. Baker, III, told a conference at USIP on November 2, 2011.
USIP leaders explain the effect that events around the world and here at home will have on the U.S., and the contributions the Institute can and does make during a time of tremendous challenge – and opportunity.
Latest from USIP on Israel and the Palestinian Territories
- September 24, 2012 | Publication
Countries transitioning to democracy must change old models of organizing the police, armed services, and intelligence services, which typically were characterized by mistreatment of the public, for models that stress transparency, accountability, and citizen involvement. Yet each new government in the Middle East and North Africa must tailor its reforms carefully and patiently in order to avoid backlash among security services.
- August 3, 2012 | Publication
The maturing field of religious peacebuilding faces challenges in integrating with secular peacebuilding efforts, engaging women and youth, and working more effectively with non-Abrahamic religious traditions.
- July 20, 2012 | Publication
USIP’s Lucy Kurtzer-Ellenbogen provides an update on the recent political upheaval in Israel and how that may impact the prospects for peace in the Middle East.
- July 2, 2012 | Publication
Read about USIP’s on-the-ground and region-specific work aimed at the prevention of conflict in North Africa, the Middle East, South and Northeast Asia, and our special project on atrocity prevention.
Overview
USIP addresses the Israeli-Palestinian conflict by engaging on the ground in Israel and the Palestinian Territories, and providing analysis and input to U.S. government stakeholders on policy options and approaches.
Current activities include:
Israeli-Palestinian Security Cooperation
Senior Scholar in Residence Neil Kritz spends two weeks per month on the ground in Israel and the West Bank. Working out of the Quartet’s East Jerusalem office, Neil provides assistance to the Palestinian Authority in its efforts to reform and build capacity in the justice and security sectors. He also facilitates Israeli and Palestinian dialogue and cooperation around shared legal and security concerns.
Bridging Internal Divides
USIP is working with Dr. Alick Isaacs, Ms. Sharon Leshem-Zinger, and Dr. Avinoam Rosenak to support the Siyach Shalom “Talking Peace” initiative in Israel. For more than two years, Siyach Shalom has been bringing together prominent and ideologically-disparate members of Israeli Jewish society from the religious leaders of the settlements to secular left-wing peace activists. Through regular facilitated dialogue sessions, these individuals are working together to reconstitute a more inclusive peace movement in the country. In its reach throughout Jewish Israeli society, and in the depth of discussion and cooperation generated, this project is breaking new ground in Israel. Read more about Talking Peace in the Jewish Journal and Haaretz.
Enhancing Conflict-Sensitive Policing
USIP has awarded a grant to the Abraham Fund Initiatives to enhance conflict sensitive police training and practice in Israel. The project will develop models of participation and cooperation with Arab society by including Arabs in police training and developing frameworks for dialogue and partnership. It will also develop curricular materials and conduct training on methods of policing that prevent conflict and build trust in divided societies. Through research, publications and dissemination activities, the project will conduct educational outreach, expanding internationally-relevant knowledge about policing in divided societies. Read USIP’s Grant Highlight on the Arab Society Police Initiative in Israel.
Advising the Policy Community
USIP provides analysis and input on U.S. policy options through a variety of channels. In addition to our experts providing regular briefings to Congressional offices and Administration officials, USIP convenes a Senior Working Group on Middle East Peace, co-chaired by former National Security Advisers Samuel R. Berger and Stephen J. Hadley, and the Study Group on Arab-Israeli Peacemaking, chaired by Ambassador Daniel C. Kurtzer. The study group’s second book, which assesses U.S. policy on and involvement in Arab-Israeli peace negotiations from 1989 to 2011, is forthcoming in fall 2012. The group's first book was Negotiating Arab-Israeli Peace: American Leadership in the Middle East.
Publications & Tools
- Progress in Peacebuilding: Israel, the Palestinian Territories, and the Arab-Israeli Conflict
July 2012 - 2011 Year in Review: Palestine/Israel Outlook
On the Issues with Lucy Kurtzer-Ellenbogen
- Watching from the Sidelines: Israel and the Syrian Uprising
PeaceBrief by Ehud Eiran - Spotlight on the Palestinian Quest for Statehood
USIP Prevention Newsletter - At USIP, Baker Calls for "Determination" on Middle East Peace
News Feature - A Troubled Palestinian Economy
News Feature by Thomas Omestad - The Arab-Israeli Peace Process: Why It's Failed Thus Far
News Feature
Learn more about USIP's Twenty Years After Madrid Conference
(Photo above right: The Bahai Gardens in Haifa, Israel. Photo credit: Lucy Kurtzer-Ellenbogen/USIP.)
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