In June 2021, Knesset member Mansour Abbas made headlines when he led his small United Arab List (Raam) into Israel’s governing coalition, the first Arab party to do so in the country’s history. Since then, he has been a linchpin of the diverse coalition and a powerful advocate for Israel’s Arab community. In this February 10, 2022, virtual Policy Forum—his first appearance before the Washington policy community—Abbas discusses the key issues on Israel’s domestic and foreign agenda. Following his remarks, Robert Satloff and David Makovsky of The Washington Institute engages him in conversation drawing on questions from the audience.
(An English translation of this event is also available on YouTube.)
Mansour Abbas is Deputy Speaker of the Knesset and chair of the United Arab List. A dentist by profession, he also serves as deputy chair of the Southern Branch of the Islamic Movement and has led several Knesset initiatives to combat crime and violence in the Arab sector.
David Makovsky is the Ziegler Distinguished Fellow at The Washington Institute and director of its Koret Project on Arab-Israel Relations. In 2013-2014, he served as a senior advisor to the State Department’s special envoy for Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.
Robert Satloff has served as executive director of The Washington Institute since 1993. He also holds the organization’s Howard P. Berkowitz Chair in U.S. Middle East Policy.
