ICFR Symposium - The Middle East Vortex: Views from Washington, Moscow and Berlin

In conjunction with the Executive Committee meeting of the World Jewish Congress, the Israel Council on Foreign Relations  (ICFR) held a symposium in Jerusalem on 21 October 2013. The event, entitled 'The Middle East Vortex: Views from Washington, Moscow and Berlin', was addressed by the ambassadors to Israel of Germany, Russia and the United States, as well as by WJC President Ronald S. Lauder. ICFR President Avi Primor opened the event and thanked Ambassador Lauder and the WJC for their unwavering support of the Council and its activities. He paid tribute to Dr. Dave Kimche, ICFR founder, who strongly believed in the importance of parallel diplomacy. Ambassador Primor noted that this was the kind of event he would have loved to chair.  Mr. Lauder stated that the ICFR event was unique in that the ambassadors of the United States, Russia and Germany were to share the same stage. He went on to say that those countries are home to large and vital Jewish communities that play an important role in global Jewish affairs and are well represented in the World Jewish Congress. Turning to the subject of the symposium, Mr. Lauder stated that "the Middle East has always been a very volatile place but never as volatile as it is now." He expressed his delight at seeing so many Young Diplomats, crediting them with an ability to be creative and "think outside the box".

U.S. Ambassador Daniel Shapiro commenced with words of praise for the ICFR's publication, The Israel Journal of Foreign Affairs, which he called an important platform for the exchange of ideas.  He then described America's peacemaking efforts in the region and the reasons why all sides had pledged to avoid leaking the contents of the discussion. During Ambassador Shapiro's talk, the Chatham House rule was upheld and journalists were requested to refrain from reporting on his remarks. The Russian ambassador, Sergey Yakovlev, said his country viewed the talks between the Israelis and the Palestinians as a "giant step forward" . Russia believes that both sides are serious and that there would be results soon. He discussed the situation in Syria and said Russian diplomacy was working toward finding a solution, but was of course still troubled by the human rights situation there. He concluded by saying that the goal was to "help Syrians combat terrorism and extremism." On the nuclear question, Ambassador Andreas Michaelis of Germany stated categorically, "We cannot accept a nuclear program in Iran," noting as well that they were not being naive and expected transparency. He also discussed the EU document on the settlements (the 'Guidelines on the eligibility of Israeli entities and their activities in the territories occupied by Israel since June 1967 for grants, prizes and financial instruments funded by the EU from 2014 onwards'). A spirited Q & A session followed the formal presentations.

The meeting hall was filled to capacity, with some 200 people in attendance, including thirteen ambassadors (from Argentina, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cameroons, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Estonia, Ethiopia Macedonia, Moldova, Philippines and Slovakia) and diplomats from over twenty other countries (including from such diverse places as Egypt, Hungary, Japan, Kazakhstan, Nepal, Poland, Romania, South Africa and Ukraine). Some forty Young Diplomats, members of the ICFR Young Diplomats Forum, were also in attendance, as were many members of civil society, including numerous academics from institutions such as the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.