Date and time: Thursday, July 23, 2020, 2 pm British Summer Time (UTC+1)
Register here [1].
Speakers:
- Nimrod Goren, founder and head, Mitvim – The Israeli Institute for Regional Foreign Policies
- Yossi Mekelberg, senior consulting research fellow, Middle East and North Africa Programme, Chatham House
- Sima Shine, head, Iran Program, Institute for National Security Studies
Moderator: Sanam Vakil, deputy head and senior research fellow, Middle East and North Africa Programme, Chatham House
Following three elections and 18 months of political impasse, a new Israeli coalition government with broad-based support in the Knesset was formed in May. The new government’s immediate task is to prevent a second wave of COVID-19 and to address the economic challenges resulting from the global pandemic. Equally, the new government faces a busy international agenda, particularly in relation to its plans to annex parts of the West Bank – a move that may result in a worsening of relations with EU and Arab countries. In addition, Israel’s concerns about Iran’s role in the region are ever-present in its foreign policy, and are becoming more acute as the expiration of the arms embargo on Iran is nearing. Navigating Israel’s foreign policy may prove even more challenging considering the growing uncertainty around the outcome of the United States’ presidential election in November 2020.
At this webinar, part of the Chatham House MENA Programme online events series, speakers will analyze the above foreign policy challenges and discuss the possible strategies of the new Israeli government in relation to the EU, the Middle East and the United States.