Ramifications of the Abraham Accords: Normalizing of Relations between the United Arab Emirates and Israel

Date & Time March 12, 2021 12:00pm
Location
Virtual
Program
MERG

The Middle East Research Group (MERG) will be hosting a moderated panel on the Abraham Accords, a novel agreement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates that normalized diplomatic and commercial ties between the two states. This panel will feature officials experienced in academia as well as policymaking and diplomacy. It will also explore the myriad implications of the accord such as national security and ramifications for Palestine. We will be joined by two speakers:

Ambassador Meron Reuben is the Consul General of Israel to New England. He has a diplomatic career spanning over three decades, during which he has served in various positions, including roles at the Israeli embassies in Chile​ and Mexico, and as Ambassador to Paraguay, Bolivia and Colombia. Ambassador Reuben served as Israel’s ambassador to the UN between 2010-2011, and as Israel's Chief of State Protocol from 2015 to 2020. In this post, he was the go-to foreign ministry official responsible for diplomats and visiting world dignitaries. At the end of his tenure, he was behind the scenes when leaders from the United Arab Emirates made a historic visit to Israel as part of the Abraham Accords in 2020. Ambassador Reuben was born in South Africa in 1961, and immigrated to Israel from the UK in 1974, where he studied Diplomacy and International Relations at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. During his military service, Ambassador Reuben was an air traffic controller in the Israeli Air Force.

Ariella Steinreich is a prominent communications professional and strategic advisor in the United States and the Middle East. She is the head of the Middle East division for Steinreich Communications, a multi-national public relations firm, where she creates and implements global communications and media relations programs for leading companies and organizations. She is also a Founding Member of the UAE-Israel Business Council and a Founding Member of the Gulf Israel Women’s Forum. Steinreich has a long track record in the areas of strategic media counseling, media training, communications strategy development, social media strategy, crisis communications/ issues management, financial communications, community relations, and corporate social responsibility. She serves on the boards of several nonprofits and is active in a range of cultural, educational, and social-impact initiatives, in addition to her professional work.

Zoom info: https://tufts.zoom.us/j/99148375146.