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]
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]
In a January 2007 working paper for the Herzliya Conference, written with the Israeli ambassador the EU, Dr Oded Eran, Tommy Steiner and Uzi Arad 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."[3]
The paper's assessment was said to be "based upon more than two years of targeted activities, informal meetings and seminars in Israel, Europe and North America, co-organized by the German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF) and the Atlantic Forum of Israel (AFI)."[3]
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.[4]
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."[4]
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.[4]
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[5]
Notes
- ↑ Statement for the Record, Atlantic Forum of Israel & the American Jewish Congress], 9 July 2008.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 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.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 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.
