“I am, as I said, going to Israel to meet with Israeli leaders to affirm the unbreakable bond Israel and the United States have” said Joe Biden ahead of his first visit to the holy land.
David Schenker and Helit Barel heading the US-Israeli bilateral desk discussed the visit, its significance for the Israel-US relations, JCPOA, as well as its success.
David Schenker is the Taube Senior Fellow at The Washington Institute and director of the Program on Arab Politics. Confirmed by the Senate on June 5, 2019, he served as Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs through January 2021. In that capacity, he was the principal Middle East advisor to the secretary of state and the senior official overseeing the conduct of U.S. policy and diplomacy in a region. In policy terms, he led the bureau’s efforts to advance American interests abroad and strengthen U.S. partnerships and alliances across the region. In addition to developing and implementing the U.S. strategy, he worked to heal the Gulf rift between Qatar and neighboring states, resolve intractable conflicts in Libya and Yemen, consolidate the Abraham Accords, and counter malign Iranian influence in the Middle East.
Helit Barel is an expert on foreign policy and national security, Israel-US relations, nuclear deterrence and nuclear proliferation. Barel is the former Managing Director of the Council for Peace and Security and has served in recent years as a member of its executive board. From 2000-2002, Helit served as a Director at the Israel National Security Council, heading the U.S.-Israeli bilateral desk. Prior to that she worked at the Congressional Research Service in Washington DC authoring several reports for Congress on issues related to weapons of mass destruction, and at the Institute for National Strategic Studies at the National Defense University in Washington DC. She is one of the founders of Forum Dvorah.
Photo credits to Kobi Gideon
