Adviser to four US presidents to speak in Sydney

An adviser to no fewer than four US presidents will speak in Sydney next month.

In his only address in Sydney, Ambassador Dennis Ross will deliver the ADC Gandel Oration on Tuesday evening July 11 at an event to be co-hosted by the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies.

An expert on Middle East politics, diplomat and author renowned for his intensive involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, Ross served as Special Assistant to President Barack Obama, Director of Policy Planning under President George HW Bush, Special Middle East Co-ordinator under President Bill Clinton and Director of Near East and South Asian Affairs under President Ronald Reagan. He is currently a counsellor at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy and co-chair of the Jewish People Policy Institute – a think tank based in Jerusalem.

“This is an unparalleled opportunity for the community to hear from one of the world’s foremost experts on the Middle East,” Board of Deputies CEO Vic Alhadeff said. “He operated at the heart of American policy on the Middle East for three decades and brings unprecedented insights into the workings of four US administrations – two Democrat, two Republican. We urge members of the community to avail themselves of this rare opportunity to hear from a true White House insider.”

Born in 1948 and raised in a secular household by his Jewish mother and Catholic stepfather, Ross became observant after the Six Day War. He co-founded the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, sponsored by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, and in 1993 was named Middle East envoy by Clinton. He facilitated the 1994 Israel-Jordan peace treaty, as well as the 1995 Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

Ross has published extensively on the Middle East. His most recent book, Doomed to Succeed: The U.S.—Israel Relationship from Truman to Obama, released in 2015, comprehensively chronicles the personalities, policy debates and evolution of Israeli-American diplomatic relationships from the time of Israel’s founding through to the Obama administration.

Wrote Tom Donilon, former National Security Advisor to Obama, of the book: “No US diplomat has known the key policy makers in the Middle East for as long as or as well as Ross. Doomed to Succeed is destined to be an important work for a long time to come.”

The 2017 ADC Gandel Oration will be held on Tuesday 11^th July at Moriah College at 7:30pm. There is no charge, but registration is essential. To book tickets, email [email protected]