Royal United Services Institute for Defense and Security Studies
In his lecture, Dr. Ben-Meir will propose the policy options and hard choices facing both the new governments of the United States and Israel. Though the first meeting between the US President and the newly-elected Israeli Prime Minister was friendly, it became apparent that the two leaders had divergent priorities in the region. Whilst President Obama highlighted the need for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian question, Prime Minister Netanyahu fell short of acknowledging this and instead highlighted the need to confront the Iranian threat. The international community will now observe with keen interest whether this is indeed a new era of diplomacy in the Middle East.