When: Friday, December 1 — Sunday, December 3, 2017
Where: https://www.brookings.edu/saban17
What:
From December 1 to 3, the Center for Middle East Policy at Brookings will host its 14th annual Saban Forum, titled “‘America First’ and the Middle East.” The 2017 Saban Forum will feature a video message from Benjamin Netanyahu, prime minister of Israel, and conversations with Jared Kushner, senior advisor to President Donald J. Trump, Ayelet Shaked, Israeli minister of justice, John R. Allen, Brookings president, several U.S. senators and other current and former officials from the United States, Israel, and other countries and international organizations. Much of the Forum proceedings are off the record, but some key events will be webcast on the Brookings website.
As the American administration nears its first anniversary, we are witnessing an approach that is new and different. "America First" naturally raises questions among allies and partners abroad about the scope and depth of U.S. involvement in world affairs. Allies are reassessing their own policies in the face of an America with dramatically different priorities. The Forum’s discussions and webcast sessions will focus on the U.S.-Israel relationship, the future of the Middle East, and much more.
Over the past 14 years, the Saban Forum has become the premier platform for frank dialogue between American and Israeli leaders from government, civil society, business, and the media. The Forum has become a central venue for generating new ideas and shaping the future of the U.S.-Israel relationship.
The Saban Forum has hosted many distinguished leaders in the past, including President Barack Obama, President George W. Bush, President William J. Clinton, Israeli Prime Ministers Ariel Sharon and Benjamin Netanyahu, HM King Abdullah of Jordan, Israeli President Shimon Peres, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, and Secretaries of State John Kerry, Hillary Clinton, and Condoleezza Rice.
Join the conversation on Twitter at #Saban17.
Agenda (all times given in EST)
Friday, December 1
6:00 p.m. -- Welcoming remarks
Martin Indyk, Executive Vice President, The Brookings Institution
Haim Saban, Chairman, The Saban Forum
6:20 p.m. -- A keynote conversation with John R. Allen
John R. Allen, President, The Brookings Institution
Moderator: Yonit Levi, Anchor, Channel 2 News
8:00 p.m. -- Before sunset: The Iran deal and what to do about it
Ehud Barak, 10th Prime Minister and Former Minister of Defense, State of Israel
Moderator: Jeffrey Goldberg, Editor-in-Chief, The Atlantic
Sunday, December 3
8:45 a.m. -- A video message from Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu
9:30 a.m. -- The future of Saudi Arabia and its regional role
Thomas Friedman, Columnist, The New York Times
Bruce Riedel, Senior Fellow and Director, The Intelligence Project, The Brookings Institution
12:00 p.m. -- A keynote conversation with Jared Kushner
Jared Kushner, Senior Advisor to the President of the United States
Moderator: Haim Saban, Chairman, The Saban Forum