On September 24, 2019, the WFPG hosted a conversation on Elections in Israel: The Impact on Israel’s Foreign Policy and the Region with career journalist and former Knesset Member Ksenia Svetlova and Carnegie Middle East Program Fellow Sarah Yerkes. Svetlova opened with a brief update on Israel’s September 17th election, in which neither current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu nor his chief opponent Benny Gantz received enough votes to form a government. The discussion covered the ongoing coalition negotiations and possible unity government, what is at stake for Israel, the role that foreign policy played in the election, Israel’s relations with the US and Russia, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and President Trump’s “deal of the century”, as well as security threats from Iran, the conflict in Syria, and relations within the region. The program was held at the offices of DLA Piper in Washington, DC.

Sarah Yerkes of the Carnegie Endowment and Ksenia Svetlova of The Interdisciplinary Center		Ksenia Svetlova discusses the recent election in Israel
Sarah Yerkes of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace		WFPG Executive Director Kim Kahnhauser Freeman
Helena Boguslawska, Delegation of the EU, asks a question during the Q&A		Deb Saxon of AIPAC, Tunisian DCM Abdeljalil Ben Rabeh, and Sandra Bell of DLA Piper
Members and guests during the discussion		Francesca Eremeeva of Mount Holyoke asks a question during the Q&A
Stanley Kober asks a question during the Q&A		Ksenia Svetlova speaks with guests after the program
Sarah Yerkes speaks with guests after the program		Monique Chouraeshkenazi during the program
Shaima Baker speaks with Abdeljalil Ben Rabeh, Deputy Chief of Mission of the Embassy of Tunisia		Sarah Yerkes speaks with Deb Saxon after the program

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