On March 2 – 2015, a day before PM Netanyahu’s speech at the US Congress, JPC hosted a debate between two speakers who have gained rich experience in the American scene: Amb. Yoram Ettinger, former Consul General of Israel in Houston, Texas and minister to the Congress, and Amb. Alon Pinkas, former Consul General of Israel in New York and advisor to four foreign ministers. Amb. Ettinger argued that President Obama is wrong in general in his approach to the Middle East, and in particular vis-à-vis Iran, and it is not only the right of Mr. Netanyahu but indeed his duty to raise the alarm, even if this alienates the presidents. Amb. Pinkas maintained that going to the Congress is a mistake, because the President dictates foreign policy, and also, by his move Mr. Netanyahu made the support of Israel in the US a partisan one.
Alon Pinkas: With nearly two decades of experience in foreign affairs, Ambassador Alon Pinkas has devoted his career to Israeli international relations. The Consul General of Israel in New York from 2000-04, he served as the liaison between the state of Israel and US national media, national Jewish organizations, public officials, and varied business interests. His job was “to know, analyze, and digest Israel to Americans; and to know, analyze, and digest the United States for Israelis.”
One of the lead negotiators in Israel’s withdrawal of Lebanon in 2000 and a veteran of negotiating sessions around the world, Pinkas is an expert on border issues currently afflicting Israel and the Middle East.
Having presented hundreds of speeches before worldwide audiences, Alon Pinkas delivers an extremely articulate presentation. Discussing all matters of foreign affairs with a special emphasis on Israel and the Middle East, he is an expert on its conflicts and politics, as well as the future of the region. A frequent contributor to Fox News, CNN, and other national news outlets, Pinkas provides an incisive and trenchant analysis of current events around the globe.
Yoram Ettinger: Ambassador Ettinger is an insider on US-Israel relations, mideast politics and overseas investments in Israel’s high tech arena. He is a member of the American-Israel Demographic Research Group (AIDRG), which has documented dramatic flaws behind demographic fatalism on one hand and a Jewish demographic momentum on the other hand.
He is a consultant to members of Israel’s Cabinet and Knesset, and regularly briefs US legislators and their staff on Israel’s contribution to vital US interests, on the root causes of international terrorism and on other issues of bilateral concern.
Ambassador Ettinger’s Op-Ed pieces have been published in Israel and in the US, and he has been interviewed on Israeli and American TV and radio. In addition, he was a speaker at the AIPAC Annual Conference.
Ambassador Ettinger – who did his graduate studies at UCLA and undergraduate at UTEP – served as Minister for Congressional Affairs at Israel’s Embassy in Washington (with the rank of ambassador), as Israel’s Consul General in Houston and as Director of Israel’s Government Press Office. He is the editor of Straight From The Jerusalem Cloakroom and Boardroom, newsletters on issues of national security and overseas investments in Israel’s high-tech.
