Atlantic Forum of Israel
The Atlantic Forum of Israel was founded in 2004 as a network-based policy organization working with prominent individuals and organizations from Israel, North America and Europe to advance Israel's relationship with NATO.[1]
History
Under the leadership of Ronald Asmus, the German Marshall Fund of the United States and the Atlantic Forum of Israel held meetings and symposia in Israel and Europe in 2004.[1]
A delegation of the Atlantic Forum of Israel and the German Marshall Fund visited NATO Headquarters in September 2004 (shortly after the Istanbul Summit). At a meeting with NATO’s Secretary General, a senior NATO official encouraged those present to ensure that Israel be the first country to submit an individual cooperation program under the terms of the Istanbul Communiqué.[2]
A dedicated session at the Annual Herzliya Conference in December 2004 saw participation by members of the North Atlantic Council, the official executive body of NATO, led by the UK Permanent Representative.[1]
An Israeli initiative to further develop relations with NATO was submitted to the Secretary General in January 2005.[1]
On 16 October 2006, NATO and Israel finalised an Individual Cooperation Programme (ICP) as part of NATO's Mediterranean Dialogue as well as Israel's contribution to the NATO maritime Operation Active Endeavour.[3]
On 23 October 2006, the Deputy Secretary General of NATO Ambassador Alessandro Minuto Rizzo and Israeli Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Tzipi Livni opened a two-day conference on: “NATO’s Transformation, the Mediterranean Dialogue, NATO-Israel Relations", co-sponsored by NATO's Public Diplomacy Division and the Atlantic Forum of Israel in Herzliya.[4]
Rizzo told the conference: that the NATO-Israel individual cooperation programme "is the first of its kind in the Mediterranean Dialogue. It covers many areas of common interest, such as the fight against terrorism and joint military exercises, where Israel’s expertise is very much valued."[5]
- Just a few weeks ago, an exchange of letters between NATO and Israel set the stage for an Israeli contribution to “Active Endeavour”, NATO’s maritime anti-terrorist operation in the Mediterranean Sea. This will be the first contribution from a Mediterranean Dialogue nation and represents another truly significant step forward for both NATO and Israel. The posting of an Israeli Liaison Officer to the NATO Command in Naples is a further indication of the vitality of our cooperation, as was the demonstration of a NATO AWACS plane in Israel. And, last but not least, over the course of this year, Israel has participated in two major NATO/PfP military exercises in Romania and Ukraine."[5]
Livni's speech look towards the inclusion of Israel in NATO's Partnership for Peace programme and concluded: "These threats, aimed at Israel and the western-valued moderate community, position Israel more then ever before on the Euro-Atlantic side. In many ways, Israel is the front line defending our common way of life."[6]
a paper co-authored by Ambassador Dr. Oded Eran, Prof. Uzi Arad, and Tommy Steiner, was commissioned by the German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF) and submitted to the international think-tank conference on “Transforming NATO in a New Global Era”, a companion event to the Riga NATO Summit in November 2006.[1]
A later version of this paper, prepared for the January 2007 Herzliya Conference, argued that "a strategic opening for anchoring Israel to the Euro-Atlantic community, that is, to achieve a comprehensive association with both the North America and Europe across the political, economic, societal and military spectrums."[7]
At the Second NATO-Israel Symposium in 2007, Israeli political leaders went on record calling upon NATO to upgrade NATO-Israel relations and to establish a formal partnership.[1]
There was a special session on the issue at the 2008 Herzliya Conference. Participants included NATO Contact Point Ambassador to Israel, Michael Zantovsky and Rafael Bardaji of Spain.[1]
On July 9 2008, the Forum and the American Jewish Committee submitted a joint note for the record at a hearing on "Europe and Israel: Strengthening the Partnership" before the Sub-Committee on Europe and the Sub-Committee on the Middle East and South Asia of the US House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs.[1]
2008 NATO visit
On 8 December 2008 the NATO Public Diplomacy Division organized a visit to NATO Headquarters by a high level delegation from the Atlantic Forum of Israel.[8]
Amon the issues discussed were "NATO’s transformation and outreach to the Mediterranean and the Middle East region, NATO’s relations with Russia, NATO’s military cooperation under the Mediterranean Dialogue (MD), NATO’s Public Diplomacy efforts, and NATO’s current political agenda."[8]
Among those who met the delegation were the Deputy Secretary General, Ambassador Claudio Bisogniero, and Ambassador Štefan Füle, Representative to the North Atlantic Council from the Czech Republic which serves as the NATO Contact Point in Israel.[8]
People
- Uzi Arad - former chairman
- Tommy Steiner - former executive secretary
December 2008 Nato visit delegates
- Brig. Gen. (res.) Asaf Agmon, Managing Director, Fisher Brothers Institute for Air and Space Strategic Studies
- Mr. Yehonatan Ben-Menahem, Senior Journalist and Former Director "Voice of Israel" Radio Station, Israel Broadcasting Authority
- Brig. Gen. (res.) MK Efraim Eitam, Member, Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee; Former Minister of Housing and Construction
- Ms. Ruth Avnon-Gross, Former Director for External Affairs, Prime Minister's Office
- Brig. Gen. (res.) Shlomo Mashiah, CEO, MSI Consulting
- Adv. Ilan Shalgi, Former Minister of the Environment
- Prof. Ruth Shalgi-Harsina, Gabriel Pinkas Professor, Sakler Faculty of Medicine, and Former Vice President and Dean of Research, Tel Aviv University
- Mr. Thomas Steiner, Executive Secretary, Atlantic Forum of Israel
- Ms. Atalya Rosenbaum, Former Director-General, Ministry of Science and Technology
- Prof. Ephraim Ya'ar, Head, Evens Center for Conflict Resolution, Tel-Aviv University
- Mr. Matthew Mark Horn, International Advisory Board of the Atlantic Forum of Israel , Acting Co-Executive Director and National Policy Director, American Jewish Congress
- Ms. Shirley Salzman, German Marshall Fund
- Ms. Avivit Bar-Ilan, First Secretary, Mission of Israel to the European Communities[9]
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Statement for the Record, Atlantic Forum of Israel & the American Jewish Congress], 9 July 2008. Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "AJCAFIstatement" defined multiple times with different content Cite error: Invalid<ref>tag; name "AJCAFIstatement" defined multiple times with different content Cite error: Invalid<ref>tag; name "AJCAFIstatement" defined multiple times with different content Cite error: Invalid<ref>tag; name "AJCAFIstatement" defined multiple times with different content Cite error: Invalid<ref>tag; name "AJCAFIstatement" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ Oded Eran, Tommy Steiner and Uzi Arad, Anchoring Israel to the Euro-Atlantic Community: Further Upgrading and Institutionalizing NATO-Israel Relations, The Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya, Lauder School of Government, Diplomacy and Strategy, Institute for Policy and Strategy, Submitted for the Herzliya Conference, January 21-24, 2007, p.7.
- ↑ NATO/Israel Cooperation in the framework of the Mediterranean Dialogue, NATO press release, 16 October 2006.
- ↑ NATO Public Diplomacy Conference in Israel, NATO, 23 October 2006.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Keynote dinner speech by NATO Deputy Secretary General, Alessandro Minuto Rizzo, NATO, 23 October 2006.
- ↑ Address by Foreign Minister of Israel, Tzipi Livni, NATO, 23 October 2006.
- ↑ Oded Eran, Tommy Steiner and Uzi Arad, Anchoring Israel to the Euro-Atlantic Community: Further Upgrading and Institutionalizing NATO-Israel Relations, The Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya, Lauder School of Government, Diplomacy and Strategy, Institute for Policy and Strategy, Submitted for the Herzliya Conference, January 21-24, 2007, p.2.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 High level opinion leaders from the Atlantic Forum of Israel visit NATO, NATO, 18 december 2008.
- ↑ Visit to NATO of High Level Opinion Leaders from the Atlantic Forum of Israel - 8 December 2008 -List of Participants, NATO, 8 December 2008.
