Israeli government insider available to discuss upcoming elections, territorial issues in Israeli-Palestinian conflict

EXPERT ALERT

Jeff Falk
713-348-6775
jfalk@rice.edu

Israeli government insider available to discuss upcoming elections, territorial issues in Israeli-Palestinian conflict

HOUSTON – (Sept. 11, 2019) – On Tuesday, Sept. 17, Israelis will vote in an unprecedented second round of national elections. As these elections near, many questions remain as to how Israel’s next leaders will address the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared Tuesday, for instance, that if he’s reelected he plans to annex portions of the West Bank.

Credit: 123RF.com/Rice University

Gilead Sher, the Brochstein Fellow in Middle East Peace and Security in Honor of Yitzhak Rabin at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, is available for interviews to discuss the Israeli elections and other topics related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and its territorial implications.

Sher recently published a Baker Institute research paper on “The Repercussions of Partial or Full West Bank Annexation by Israel,” which was co-authored by Rice student intern Daniel Cohen. The piece argues that an Israeli decision to annex territory in the West Bank could have lasting consequences, both domestically and in the international sphere.

Sher heads the Center for Applied Negotiations, which he founded in 2013, and is a senior research fellow at the Institute for National Security Studies at Tel Aviv University. Sher was the chief of staff and policy coordinator for Ehud Barak, Israel’s former prime minister and minister of defense. He served as chief and co-chief negotiator from 1999-2001, a tenure that included negotiations at the 2000 Camp David summit and the 2001 Taba talks as well as the 1999 Sharm El-Sheikh Agreement and extensive rounds of covert negotiations.

The Baker Institute has a television and radio interview studio available.

For more information or to schedule an interview with Sher, contact Jeff Falk, associate director of national media relations at Rice, at jfalk@rice.edu or 713-348-6775.

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Related materials:

Sher bio: www.bakerinstitute.org/experts/gilead-sher

Follow Sher on Twitter @GileadSher.

Follow the Baker Institute on Twitter @BakerInstitute.

Follow Rice News and Media Relations on Twitter @RiceUNews.

Founded in 1993, Rice University’s Baker Institute ranks among the top three university-affiliated think tanks in the world. As a premier nonpartisan think tank, the institute conducts research on domestic and foreign policy issues with the goal of bridging the gap between the theory and practice of public policy. The institute’s strong track record of achievement reflects the work of its endowed fellows, Rice University faculty scholars and staff, coupled with its outreach to the Rice student body through fellow-taught classes — including a public policy course — and student leadership and internship programs. Learn more about the institute at www.bakerinstitute.org or on the institute’s blog, http://blog.bakerinstitute.org.