Crisis in the Middle East – a Conversation with Itamar Rabinovich and Tom Friedman

Middle Eastern Maze: Israel, the Arabs, and the Region offers a unique narrative of the Arab-Israeli conflict and peace process by Itamar Rabinovich, a senior academic historian who has served as Israel’s ambassador to U.S. and as a peace negotiator with Syria. Rabinovich will be joined in conversation with New York Times political commentator and author Tom Friedman. 

Rabinovich places the Arab-Israeli relationship in his larger understanding of Middle Eastern regional and international politics, specifically around Iran, Turkey, and the U.S. He will also discuss the revision process for this most current edition of his book, which covers the signing of the Abraham Accords, newer policies, the Syrian civil war, Russia’s role in Syria, the lengthy domestic political crisis in Israel, and more.

Itamar Rabinovich is a distinguished nonresident fellow at the Brookings Institution. A professor and president emeritus at Tel Aviv University, he served as Israel’s ambassador to the United States and chief negotiator with Syria. He is also the Chair of the Dan David Foundation. His previous book, with Carmit Valensi, is Syrian Requiem (Princeton, 2021).

Thomas Friedman is an American political commentator and author. He is a three-time Pulitzer Prize winner who is a weekly columnist for The New York Times. He has written extensively on foreign affairs, global trade, the Middle East, globalization, and environmental issues.

Watch Here:

This program is made possible in part by support from the Battery Park City Authority.