Next Century Foundation

Next Century Foundation (NCF) is a "is a charity devoted to conflict resolution and works at a second track level to support peace initiatives across the Middle East. The Foundation works to:  Encourage dialogue between opinion formers in areas where a climate of conflict or open hostility has made progress towards reconciliation and peace difficult - and to do so from a non-judgemental perspective. Its wide aim is conflict resolution in the Middle East, and does so by convening dialog groups between civil society members of belligerent states, establishing contacts with civil society in the affected countries, comments on press coverage, lobbies media producers to change or increase coverage, and hands out a panoply of press prizes to journalists.  This organization was founded by Claud Morris in 1990.  NCF can be accurately be described as a glamorized talking shop for British, Jewish and Arab elites. NCF lists a significant number of neocon members, e.g., Alan Mendoza, Jonathan Paris...

Name Change
NCF was originally instituted as the Next Century Foundation for Peace. Around 2004 this name changed to NCF, dropping the reference to Peace. At the same time this paragraph appeared in the NCF home page:
 * It was in this spirit that the Next Century Foundation was started to promote peace and rapproachment between the nations of the Middle East. At the very first meeting Claud Morris emphasised that the aim was not only peace but understanding. "That’s what we’re after. We want to break a deadlock,” he announced. We recognise the value of the late Jon Kimche's insight when he said that, “the stumbling block is defining what people mean by peace. Often they mean a way to achieve without fighting what they couldn’t achieve by fighting.” For us the aim is understanding. We believe that by holding to this aim, the lives of many could be touched producing changes in situations of which even we are not yet aware.

Although Claud Morris had sought to found an organization to promote peace, the focus of the group changed to promoting conflict resolution. And now it features prominently on its website the statement of one of the early board members suggesting that they don't even agree on a definition of what "peace" means.

Critical Assessment
After the beginning of the first intifada (late 1980s) many "dialog" or "rapprochement" groups were formed, ostensibly to promote understanding and dialog. In reality, most of these efforts were elite talking shops with virtually no tangible effects. Zionist groups exploited such organizations to neuter criticism of Israel and to waste time and effort in endless "dialog", i.e., "see it my way". NCP falls into this "dialog" category, but the difference is that it mostly fostered elite interactions. While originally the idea driving NCP might have been a laudable one, i.e., dialog between Israelis and Palestinians, the organization quickly became a talking shop for Israeli government officials, neocons, British Zionists, Arab neocons, "moderate" religious authorities, and British Foreign Office officials. Today NCP pontificates on all "conflicts" in the Middle East, provides a platform for an endless stream of Israeli government officials, Israeli academics, and neocons.

Critical Assessment: journalism prizes
The media prizes favor most of the establishment journalists because the nominating panel is made up of Israelis, Arabs, Westerners, and the "Patrons". Some of the members of the nominating panel: At one of their conferences a panel "Scenarios and Policy Options for the Palestinians" was held. All the discussants were Israelis, including far-rightwing politicians like Ephraim Sneh.
 * Adel Darwish, an Egyptian neocon who used to run Just Journalism, a media flak website.
 * Abigail Fielding-Smith of IB Tauris Books – a publisher of mostly establishment books on the Middle East.
 * June Jacobs, The International Council of Jewish Women
 * Rafik Halabi an Israeli journalist
 * Turi Munthe from RUSI (the principal British military think tank)

Principals and members
In its own words:
 * An executive committee (and Advisory Board) numbering 12 is centred in London and meets every quarter. The committee consists of former diplomats, businessmen, politicians, bankers and editors. The committee will be augmented by coopted working groups of specialists in the region being reported on.

Principals

 * William Morris – Secretary General 2011

Trustees

 * David Alliance
 * Mark Hambley
 * June Jacobs
 * Dalia Salaam Rishani

Board of Directors

 * Lord Stone of Blackheath
 * Harold Walker
 * Ari Rath
 * Walid Khalid Issa Taha
 * Sabah Salman Nasir Al-Obaidi
 * Russell Twisk

Senior Members

 * Rabbi Herschel Gluck
 * Elizabeth Iskander
 * Sheikh Nasser bin Hamad M. Al-Khalifa
 * Sabah Salman Nasir Al-Obaidi
 * David Sasson

Advisors

 * Justin Alexander
 * Anthony Harris
 * Nathaniel Hurd
 * David Kimche
 * Elizabeth McKune
 * Chiho Miyauchi
 * John Mroz
 * Jonathan Paris
 * Neil Patrick
 * Maie Sarraf
 * Claudia Shaffer
 * Robert Stone
 * Source

Initial Members

 * Claud Morris – founder
 * Lord Arnold Weinstock
 * Lord Alliance of Manchester
 * Jhaweed Al Ghussein
 * Lord Goodman
 * Haim Zaidok
 * The Duke of Devonshire

Contact

 * Website: www.ncfpeace.org