The Saban Forum 2011
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The Saban Forum 2011 A U.S.–Israel Dialogue Strategic Challenges in a New Middle East Washington, D.C. December 2-4, 2011 1775 Massachusetts Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20036 Phone: 202-797-6462, Fax: 202-797-2481 www.brookings.edu/sabancenter FRONT COVER: Top (Left to Right): Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta and Chairman of the Saban Forum Haim Saban. Bottom (Clockwise): Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Dan Meridor, Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh, Israeli Leader of the Opposition Tzipi Livni, President William J. Clinton. The Saban Forum 2011 A U.S.-Israel Dialogue U.S.-Israel Relations: Strategic Challenges in a New Middle East Washington, D.C. December 2-4, 2011 Speakers and Moderators Elliott AbrAms rAhm EmAnuEl mArtin indyk nAnCy pElosi nAtAn shArAnsky GAbi AshkEnAzi sAlAm FAyyAd nAssEr JudEh kEnnEth m. pollack Ari shAvit howArd bErmAn thomAs l. FriEdmAn JosEph liEbErmAn itAmAr rAbinoviCh JAmEs stEinbErG hillAry rodhAm Clinton dAn GillErmAn tzipi livni hAim rAmon strobE tAlbott williAm J. Clinton dAvid GrossmAn dAn mEridor ChArliE rosE GEorge tEnEt mEir dagan moshE hAlbErtAl Andrea mitChEll dEnnis ross lEon wiEsEltiEr thomAs donilon JAnE hArmAn lEon pAnEttA hAim sAbAn Amos yAdlin ABOVE: Martin Indyk, President William J. Clinton, Haim Saban, and Cheryl Saban speaking before President Clinton’s remarks at the Gala Dinner. FACING PAGE: Top: Tzipi Livni, Ambassador Daniel Shapiro, and Shai Feldman talk during the first day of the Forum. Bottom: Strobe Talbott speaking at the Folger Shakespeare Library. A Letter from the Chairman . 5 List of Participants . 6 Program Schedule . 17 Keynote Address by Secretary of Defense Leon E . Panetta . 21 A Conversation with President William J . Clinton . 33 A Conversation with Leader of the Opposition Tzipi Livni & Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi: The U.S.-Israel Relationship in a World in Turmoil . 37 He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not, the Future of U.S.-Israel Relations . 41 A Conversation with Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton . 45 To Bomb or to Live with the Bomb: Israel’s Security Dilemma . 49 A Conversation with David Grossman, Author of To the End of the Land.....................................53 Occupy Wall Street! Occupy Rothschild Boulevard! The Social Justice Agenda in the United States and Israel . 57 The Arab Awakenings: A Regional Perspective . 61 A Conversation with National Security Advisor Thomas Donilon . 65 The Arab Awakenings: U .S . and Israeli Perspectives . 69 A Conversation with Deputy Prime Minister Dan Meridor & Dennis Ross, former Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director, National Security Council . 73 Our Forum came a year after protests first erupted in Tunisia and spread across the region, a time when the new landscape of the Middle East was only beginning to take shape and many questions remained . A Letter from the Chairman IN DECEMBER 2011, THE SABAN FORUM CONVENED leading govern- ment officials, journalists, and members of the think tank community for two days of discussions about the challenges facing the United States and Israel in the new Middle East. Our Forum came a year after protests first erupted in Tunisia and spread across the region, a time when the new landscape of the Middle East was only beginning to take shape and many questions remained. We met as developments in the Middle East brought uncertainty for Wash- ington and Jerusalem, and even tested the U.S.-Israel relationship itself. The po- litical strength of Islamist parties in Egypt and Tunisia, and Syria’s descent into civil war elicited concern, but also varying opinions for how to respond, from our two capitals. At the same time, the peace process remained hopelessly stalled after President Mahmoud Abbas sought Palestinian membership to the United Nations and Israel resumed settlement construction in the West Bank. International de- bates over what to do about Iran’s nuclear program became more vociferous, and disagreement between the United States and Israel became more apparent. While there was much to consume our attention abroad, social justice movements at home—Occupy Wall Street and the Rothschild Boulevard protests—raised impor- tant questions about income inequality and the social contract in our two societies. The issues before us demanded careful consideration. In this task, we were helped by Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, who delivered keynote remarks, and President William J. Clinton, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh, Deputy Prime Minister Dan Meridor, Leader of the Opposition Tzipi Livni, and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, who all joined us for our discussion sessions. We were honored to have them with us. The Forum has become a unique venue for leaders from around the world to engage each other in honest, frank dialogue. In order to promote a candid ex- change of ideas, we hold the Forum under the “Chatham House Rule,” meaning that participants are free to use the information discussed, but neither the identity nor the affiliation of the speakers may be revealed. What follows is our summary of the discussion, as well as the transcript of Secretary Panetta’s keynote address. I hope these proceedings offer insight into not only the strategic challenges in the new Middle East, but also some of the policy options available to officials in Washington and Jerusalem. Haim Saban U .S .-I srael relations: strategic challenges in A new middle east 5 S a b a n F o r u m 2011 American Participants ELLIOTT ABRAMS WILLIAM J. CLINTON Senior Fellow for Middle Eastern 42nd President of the United Studies, Council on Foreign States; Founder, William J. Relations; Former Deputy Clinton Foundation. National Security Advisor. ALAN BATKIN ROBERT DANIN Vice Chairman, Eton Park Capital Eni Enrico Mattei Senior Fellow Management; Former Vice for Middle East and Africa Chairman, Kissinger Associates, Studies, Council on Foreign Inc.; Honorary Trustee, The Relations; Former Head of the Brookings Institution. Jerusalem Mission of the Quartet. HOWARD BERMAN THOMAS DONILON United States Representative National Security Advisor. (CA-28); Ranking Member, Committee on Foreign Affairs. DANIEL BYMAN MIchaeL DORAN Director of Research, Saban Roger Hertog Senior Fellow, Center for Middle East Policy Saban Center for Middle East at Brookings; Professor, Security Policy at Brookings. Studies Program of Georgetown University. ADAM CheSNOFF MIchaeL EISNER President and Chief Operating Founder, The Tornante Company, Officer, Saban Capital Group, Inc. LLC; Former Chairman & CEO, The Walt Disney Company. HILLARY RODhaM CLINTON KhaLED ELGINDY Secretary of State. Visiting Fellow, Saban Center for Middle East Policy Brookings. 6 THE SABAN FORUM: A U .S .–ISRAEL DIALOGUE S a b a n F o r u m 2011 American Participants (continued) RahM EMANUEL JEFFREY GOLDBERG Mayor of Chicago. National Correspondent, The Atlantic. DAVID GOLDER ALFRED ENGELBERG Trustee, The Engelberg President and Treasurer of the Foundation; Trustee, The Golder Family Foundation; Brookings Institution. Former Founder and President of Lightfall Interactive Media. JANE HARMAN EDITH EVERETT Director, President, and President, The Everett CEO, The Woodrow Wilson Foundation. International Center for Scholars; Former United States Representative. ShaI FELDMAN ROGER HERTOG Director of Crown Center President, Hertog Foundation; for Middle East Studies and Chairman, Tikvah Fund; Professor of Politics, Brandeis Member, Foreign Policy University. Leadership Committee, The Brookings Institution. DAVID IGNATIUS THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN Foreign Affairs Columnist, The Columnist, The Washington Post. New York Times. FRED GLUCKMAN MARTIN INDYK Senior Vice President and Chief Convener of The Saban Forum; Financial Officer, Saban Capital Vice President and Director of Group, Inc. Foreign Policy at Brookings; former U.S. Ambassador to Israel. U .S .-I srael relations: strategic challenges in A new middle east 7 S a b a n F o r u m 2011 American Participants (continued) BENjaMIN R. JacOBS SUZANNE MALONEY Senior Advisor and Founder, JBG Senior Fellow, Saban Center for Companies; Trustee, The Brookings Middle East Policy at Brookings. Institution; Member, Foreign Policy Leadership Committee, The Brookings Institution. EDWARD LAMONT DAVID MENTON Chairman, Lamont Digital Managing Partner, Synova Systems; Member, Foreign Policy Capital. Leadership Committee, The Brookings Institution. STUART A. LEVEY ANDRea MITcheLL Adjunct Senior Fellow, Council NBC Chief Foreign Affairs on Foreign Relations; Former Correspondent. Undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, U.S. Department of Treasury. JOSEPH I. LIEBERMAN VALI NASR United States Senator (CT). Senior Fellow, The Brookings Institution; Professor, the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University; Former Senior Advisor to Ambassador Richard Holbrooke. NITA LOWEY LEON PANETTA United States Representative Secretary of Defense. (NY-18). DAVID MAKOVSKY NANCY PELOSI Ziegler Distinguished Fellow Democratic Leader, United States and Director of the Project on House of Representatives; United the Middle East Peace Process, States Representative (CA-8). Washington Institute for Near East Policy. 8 THE SABAN FORUM: A U .S .–ISRAEL DIALOGUE S a b a n F o r u m 2011 American Participants (continued) KENNETH M. POLLacK KARIM SADjaDPOUR Director, Saban Center for Associate, Middle East Program, Middle East Policy at Brookings. Carnegie Endowment