Discussing Iran and the Middle East at the Peres Conference

Jerusalem was recently host to Shimon Peres’s Presidents conference.

There were numerous panels over the two day event.

In my opinion the most interesting panel was called: “Should We Wait It Out? Israel and a Changing Middle East”.

The panel was described as:

The dramatic upheavals of the “Arab Spring” has significantly changed Israel’s strategic playing field. Experts and policy makers are divided over the political significance of these changes. There are those who claim that, right now, we should dig in and wait for the regional picture to become clearer; others say it would be a mistake to ignore this historic process and that Israel should act and become engaged in shaping the new strategic environment. Is it advantageous for Israel to take diplomatic steps so that it can participate in shaping of the new Middle East? Is Israel’s involvement even possible?

Unfortunately I missed this panel. I arrived on the 2nd day. However I watched the presentations, which not only included Israel’s current strategies, but also the recent elections in Iran.

The discussion was fascinating. Please watch and feel free to share with friends.

Here is Meir Dagan’s opening:

Questions and Answers session: