Arab-Israeli Peacemaking

Study Group on Arab-Israeli Relations'


 * Daniel Kurtzer, Chair and Co-director
 * Scott Lasensky, Co-director

"The United States Institute of Peace is undertaking a study of Arab-Israeli peace negotiations since 1991, focusing on American peacemaking efforts and the role of outside parties. The purpose of this new initiative is to produce a set of practical guidelines for future American negotiators. The study extends the analysis and updates the conclusions presented in the Institute’s highly praised 1991 study, co-authored by Samuel Lewis and Kenneth Stein. The project is chaired by Ambassador Daniel Kurtzer, now a professor at the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton University and formerly United States ambassador to Israel and Egypt. Scott Lasensky, senior research associate in the Institute’s Center for Conflict Analysis and Prevention, serves as co-director.

"In collaboration with a Core Study Group (CSG) the project involves a consultative process of individual interviews with one hundred former and current decision-makers, parliamentarians, community leaders, and leading experts from the U.S., Europe and the Middle East. Members of the CSG include William Quandt (University of Virginia), Shibley Telhami (University of Maryland and the Brookings Institution) and Steven Spiegel (UCLA). Lewis and Stein serve as special consultants.

"This initiative aims to increase understanding of both achievements and missed opportunities in the Arab-Israeli negotiating experience. Similar to the 1990 study, the consultations enable the study group to draw on the reflections and assessments of leading political figures, senior diplomats, and distinguished scholars who have been deeply engaged in the search for Arab-Israeli peace. The findings will be analytical, will focus on "lessons learned," and are intended to assist future American negotiators. The target audience includes foreign policy professionals and political elites in the United States, the international community and the region. The project's findings will be presented to the U.S. Congress and the executive branch. The report of the study group is expected in mid-2007."