Are Israel and Iran on the brink of a confrontation? Is Israel ready for the next war? Are we seeing an emerging New World Order? If this is the end of the “Two-State Solution,” what happens next? Is Russia really making a comeback? These issues and many more will be discussed by more than 150 participants from around the world, in about 60 plenary sessions, panels, roundtables and debates, at the upcoming Herzliya Conference, on the IDC Herzliya campus, May 8 – 10.
The Middle East’s leading security and policy gathering will feature former Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Advisor to George W. Bush Elliott Abrams; Egypt’s Ambassador to Israel H.E. Khairat Hazem; former Director General of the Indian Defense Intelligence Agency Lt. Gen. VG Khandare; former Senator Mark Kirk (R-Il.); former US Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence Marcel Letter; special presidential envoy to the Global Coalition to Counter ISIS Brett McGurk; Assistant Secretary General of NATO for Emerging Security Challenges Dr. Antonio Missiroli; former Special Assistant to President Barack Obama and White House Coordinator for the Middle East Amb. Dennis Ross; former White House Coordinator for Arms Control and Weapons of Mass Destruction Dr. Gary Samore; and former UK Assistant Chief of Defense Staff Maj. Gen. Jonathan Shaw.
Confirmed participants from Israel will include: Israeli Police Commissioner Roni Alsheikh; Mayor of Jerusalem Nir Barkat; former Director of the Israeli Security Agency Yoram Cohen; IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Gadi Eisenkot; Chairman of the Labor Party (Zionist Camp) Avi Gabbay; Director General of the Prime Minister’s office Eli Groner; Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon; Intelligence and Transportation Minister Israeli Katz; Chairman of “Yesh Atid” party MK Yair Lapid: Chief Rabbi of Israel David Lau; Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman; former head of Mossad Tamir Pardo; former Education and Interior Minister Gideon Sa’ar; State Comptroller & Ombudsman Judge Joseph H. Shapira; former IDF Chief of Staff and former Defense Minister Lt. Gen. (res.) Moshe (Bogie) Ya’alon; and Meretz party chairwoman MK Tamar Zandberg.
The traditional Herzliya Address will be given on the closing night by President Reuven (Ruvi) Rivlin.
The Herzliya Conference, headed by Maj. Gen. (ret.) Amos Gilead, is the flagship of the Institute of Policy and Strategy (IPS) at the Lauder School of Government of IDC Herzliya, addressing Israel’s national agenda by encouraging public debate and influencing the country’s public policy planning.