Opening Session Panel: New Leadership, New Directions

Workshop/Panel Topics:

• Will Jerusalem Remain Israel’s Eternal Undivided Capital? The Security, Political and Economic Ramifications of a Divided City Israeli political candidates are expressing opinions over the future of Jerusalem. The election for Jerusalem’s mayor also focused on the boundaries that the new mayor will govern. Those politicians and negotiators who call for Jerusalem’s division usually avoid discussing the practical and even the life-and-death aspects of the city’s political sovereignty, police jurisdiction, economic well-being, health care, and municipal services. What lessons were learned from the 19-year division of Jerusalem between 1948 and 1967?
• Changing of the Guard: The New and Future Leadership of Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, Jordan and the Palestinian Territories Almost all of Israel’s neighbors have seen a change of leadership in recent years with the deaths of Syria’s Hafez Assad, Jordan’s King Hussein and the Palestinian Authority’s Yasir Arafat. The PA’s Mahmoud Abbas is approaching the end of his term. In Lebanon, a Syrian-approved and appointed government recently took office, but Lebanese history suggests that terrorist bombs often replace ballot boxes. Only octogenarians King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia and Hosni Mubarak of Egypt, now in his 27th year of rule, remain in power, but for how much longer? Does the younger generation of leaders bring the prospects of democracy, freedom of the press and Internet, and women’s rights?
• Is Aliya Relevant Today? How Should Israel Deal with the Bnei Menashe, Falashmura, and Western Olim? The emergency rescue of Jews from Arab countries, from behind the Iron Curtain and from Sudanese refugee camps is virtually complete. Today, activists are seeking to bring “long lost Jews” to Israel from the Peruvian Amazon, the jungles of Manipur India, the teeming compounds in Gondar Ethiopia, or the cities of Portugal and Spain. Are they Jews who should be brought “home?”
  
  The Jewish Agency for Israel recently turned over its North American aliya operation to a private organization, Nefesh B’Nefesh. Is Israel reevaluating the national mission of Jewish aliya?
• Threats Facing Israel and the West: “Clash of Civilizations?” The “Cold War” may be over, but new winds of conflict are blowing around the world. Russia is reasserting itself in eastern Europe and the Middle East. Iran seeks to restore the Persian empire, and radical regimes in South America are following Cuba’s well-travelled path and challenging the United States. In the Middle East, Shiite and Sunni radicals and Islamists continue to threaten the Jewish State. Will the West respond?
• Israel’s War Against Corruption and Crime An unprecedented number of Israel’s public figures have been indicted or are under police investigation for corruption. The public seems to be searching for clean and honest leadership. At the same time, the Israeli public is shocked by the violence in the streets perpetrated by organized crime, street gangs, angry spouses and drunk drivers. Is something infecting Israeli society? If so, what is the diagnosis and what is the cure?
• Can Transportation Innovations Solve the Energy Crisis? The world’s largest oil producers include countries often at odds with the West, such as Iran, Saudi Arabia, Russia and Venezuela. Some 40 percent of the world’s oil travels through the volatile Straits of Hormuz, and Iran has threatened to disrupt that supply line. What can be done to wean consumers off of petroleum? Can electric vehicles or hydrogen-fueled buses make a difference? Can alternative fuels meet the demand? And will the plummeting cost of oil postpone the search for alternative fuel supplies?
• The Crisis in the Israeli Judicial System Trials in Israel are often postponed for months and years, and the backlog keeps getting worse. In recent years, the Minister of Justice has barely maintained diplomatic relations with the head of the Supreme Court. Who gets appointed to Israel’s Supreme Court and does the system need a major overhaul? Why are some groups in Israel’s society convinced that the courts are stacked against them?
• Arab/Islamic Internet Sites as Tools of Influence The Internet, perhaps the most prominent feature of globalization and hi-tech society, is also being used to tear them apart. International terrorists and Islamist fanatics use the Internet as a tool for propaganda, recruitment, fundraising, and weapons training. In a recent expose, the Times of London revealed that terrorists masked their communications in pornography on the Internet. Is it possible to fight back? Who will conduct this cyber counter-attack?
• The Global Economic Crisis and Its Ramifications on the Israeli Economy The economic crash of 2008 has triggered one of the worst financial disasters since 1929. Not only banks and businesses are going bankrupt, but even countries are in danger of economic collapse. A worldwide recession will hurt all countries, including Israel. But so far, Israel’s economy and national banks have withstood the maelstrom. What steps should Israel’s economic planners take? Will the economic crisis impact on foreign aid to Israel and the Palestinians?
• Iran Internal and Foreign Policies: Can the Regime Be Shaken? Ramifications of Plummeting Oil Prices In the summer of 2008 the cost of a barrel of oil climbed to a record high of $147, and the coffers of oil producing countries were bursting with riches.. Within months the cost dropped to under $60. The International Monetary Fund claims that in order for the Iranian national budget to stay balanced, Iran must receive at least $90 per barrel to “break even.” An IMF official warned, “Iran would have to tighten their public expenditure policy, and probably cut subsidies, which would be an issue for the government there – the public would not be content.” How stable is Iran? Can the United States and other Western countries take actions to help topple the Ahmadinejad regime?
• The Water Crisis in the Middle East: Will it Fuel the Flames of War? The entire Middle East is plagued by drought. In Israel, the drop in the Sea of Galilee is approaching the danger point. Israel already shares its water with Jordan and Palestinians, and negotiations with Syria will inevitably deal with water on the Golan Heights and in the Sea of Galilee. Palestinian negotiators demand a share of the Dead Sea shore and the aquifers beneath Israel and the West Bank. What can be done to ease the severe and chronic water shortages?
• System of Israeli Governance: Is the System to Blame? Rarely does an Israeli government last its full four year term. The Israeli government system today often requires the formation of a government coalition whose partners are often at odds with each other. The almost universally adopted primary system may have weeded out some of Israel’s “best and brightest” leaders. What can be done to restore faith in the political system, to provide a training ground for future leadership?
• Is Israel’s Defense Forces Ready to Fight and Win? Is The Home Front Prepared as Well? By virtually all accounts the IDF ground and naval forces were ill-prepared and poorly led in the 2006 war in Lebanon. Has the IDF learned the lessons of that war and integrated them into the management and strategies of the future battlefield? Israel’s enemies have also restocked and learned the lessons of that war. Is the IDF prepared, and is the Israeli homefront ready for whatever Israel’s foes launch against Israel’s citizens?
• Will U.S.-Israel Relations Be the Same after the U.S. and Israeli Elections? The last 16 years of a Democratic and a Republic president in Washington have been marked by remarkably close U.S.-Israeli diplomatic and strategic cooperation. Will the new leaders in both countries continue in the same direction? Will changes in the Congress and Knesset impact on the policies of both countries? And what should we expect from those unseen and unelected policy-makers, the diplomats and the advisors to the U.S. President and the Israeli Prime Minister?
• Funding Terrorism and Financial Jihad To carry out their murderous trade, international terrorists require recruits, weapons, safe haven and money. Several major terrorist groups exist through the generosity of state sponsors of terrorism, foremost among them Iran. Are Western countries prepared to use trade and banking sanctions to shut down the transfer of funds? Are Western judiciary systems able to close down the financial pipelines? Will the growing phenomenon of “Sharia Banking” hurt efforts to clamp down on terrorist financing?
• Does the Media Report “All the News that’s Fit to Print?” or only the News that Fits its Agenda? The written and broadcast media in the United States, Great Britain, France and Israel claim a long and proud record of fairness. Do they deserve the reputation? Do they perform their task honorably and impartially? What are the lessons of media coverage of elections in the United States and Israel and the reporting of Middle East news events such as the Intifada and the Second Lebanon War?