Israel’s Shimon Peres and Palestinian Authority’s Mohammed Dahlan Find Common Ground at MESG Dinner Forum
On April 6, the Institute’s Middle East Strategy Group (MESG) gathered a group of top Israeli and Palestinian leaders for a public forum and benefit dinner at the US Chamber of Commerce in Washington, DC. The events followed a day of intense meetings at the Institute’s DC headquarters, with discussion focusing on the group’s mission, investing in specific civic and business projects to create stakeholders for peace and make Israel’s disengagement in Gaza a successful building block in the larger peace process.
The forum, moderated by Institute President and CEO Walter Isaacson, featured Israeli National Security Advisor Maj. Gen. Giora Eiland (ret.); Yasser Abbas, a prominent Palestinian business leader and son of President Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen); Palestinian Minister of State Hind Khoury; and Israeli Knesset member Ephraim Sneh of the Labour Party. After the forum, the audience proceeded into the Chamber’s Hall of Flags for a benefit dinner. Speakers included Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Chuck Hagel (R-NE) and former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright—all of whom are among MESG’s co-chairs. Each expressed hope that the group could help the conflicted region take advantage of the climate of opportunity that has emerged following Yasser Arafat’s death. “Cynical people,” said Albright, “do not change the course of history.” Dinner was followed by a stirring dialogue between Israeli Vice Premier Shimon Peres and Palestinian Minister of Civil Affairs Mohammed Dahlan. Also moderated by Walter Isaacson, the dialogue illustrated the potential for communication between Israeli and Palestinian leaders, but also revealed the powerful and deep-seated undercurrents of emotion and division that make the peace process so complex and fragile.
View an April 15 update from Mohammed Dahlan to Aspen Institute president Walter Isaacson.
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