(Courtesy of YI of Fort Lee) Recently, Young Israel of Fort Lee began a new virtual program, The Distinguished Speakers Series. The community has been honored to host interviews with former Congressman Robert Wexler and Israel’s Deputy Head of Mission to the United States Benjamin Krasna. The interviews, facilitated by Rabbi Zev Goldberg, Rabbi of YIFL, were engaging, informative and insightful.
This Tuesday, December 22, at 8 p.m., The Distinguished Speakers Series continues with Jason D. Greenblatt. The topic of the presentation is “Peace in the Middle East: Obstacles, Success and the Path Forward.” Rabbi Goldberg will interview Mr. Greenblatt, with questions focused on the recent developments in the Middle East, including the signing of the Abraham Accords and Israel’s normalization with Morocco.
Mr. Greenblatt is uniquely qualified to address these complex topics. He was appointed by President Trump as an assistant to the president and the White House special envoy to the Middle East. In this role, Mr. Greenblatt served as one of the chief architects of the “Peace To Prosperity” plan between Israel and the Palestinians and between Israel and its Arab neighbors.
During the nearly three years that Mr. Greenblatt worked at the White House he traveled extensively throughout the Middle East, Europe and elsewhere meeting with heads of state, foreign ministers and other political leaders, top business executives, and a large array of other key influencers to re-educate people about the conflict and its complexities and to begin to build the bridge necessary to achieve peace.
He was a key player in laying the foundation for the Abraham Accords, through which the United Arab Emirates, the Kingdom of Bahrain, Sudan and, most recently, the Kingdom of Morocco, have normalized relations with Israel.
Mr. Greenblatt has spoken in front of the United Nations Security Council numerous times about the tremendous bias against Israel at the UN, emphasizing Israel’s absolute right to defend itself, condemning Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad and criticizing the UN for its failure to issue such condemnations and for not making clear that the path to a comprehensive resolution to the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians will only come to pass, if at all, through direct negotiations between the parties.
Prior to joining the White House, Mr. Greenblatt spent 20 years in senior positions at The Trump Organization. Mr. Greenblatt now focuses on creating what he calls a Middle East 2.0, building economic bridges between Israel and its Arab neighbors.
Jason Greenblatt is no stranger to Bergen County. He resides in Teaneck with his wife, Dr. Naomi Greenblatt, and their six children. Mr. Greenblatt’s in-laws, Ella and Elliott Vilkas, are proud members of Young Israel of Fort Lee.
Please email [email protected] for the Zoom information and password to join this program.
