Netanyahu, Herzog lead stellar lineup at ‘Post’ Diplomatic Conference next week
The conference will be streamed live on JPost.com, beginning at 9 a.m. on Wednesday.
By DAVID BRINNHerzog and Netanyahu(photo credit: REUTERS)
Fresh from his meeting with US President Barack Obama in Washington, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be the featured speaker at next week’s fourth annual Jerusalem Post Diplomatic Conference, titled “A Place Among the Nations.”In front of the hundreds of diplomats and members of the diplomatic corps expected to attend, Netanyahu will be making some of his first public statements on his recent trip to the US and his much-touted meeting with Obama following their deep disagreement over the Iran deal.In addition to Netanyahu, next Wednesday’s conference at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in Jerusalem, moderated by Jerusalem Post Editor-in- Chief Steve Linde, will feature speeches by opposition leader Isaac Herzog; Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked; Education Minister Naftali Bennett; National Infrastructure, Energy and Water Minister Yuval Steinitz, Israel Air Force commander Maj.-Gen. Amir Eshel, as well as EU Ambassador Lars Faaborg-Andersen and US Ambassador Dan Shapiro.Netanyahu and his ministers will offer the government’s view of the burning issues facing Israel today – Palestinian terrorism, the future of talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority and the economic challenges facing the country.In an interview with the Post for its special diplomatic magazine which will be presented to all conference attendees, Bennett blamed the Oslo peace process for the recurrent waves of terrorism that Israel has continued to face. “The Oslo [diplomatic] process is the source of all the violence we are seeing now,” he said.“Israel, in its folly, imported terrorists, injected them into Israel, and gave them keys. To fix this huge mistake, we have to say ‘No more.’” In his interview for the magazine, Herzog said the correct response to terrorism is security measures, but they must be paired with diplomatic action.In addition to the speeches, the conference will include a panel on Israel’s natural gas market, featuring Binyamin Zomer, CEO of Noble Energy in Israel, and Yossi Rosen, chairman of the Israel Institute of Energy and Environment, and the Post’s popular columnist Caroline Glick.According to Ronit Hasin-Hochman, CEO of the Jerusalem Post Group, the participation of hundreds of diplomats from around the world enables a diplomatic discourse on the one hand, and on the other, an opportunity to discuss Israeli policy on a variety of issues.“During these difficult days, when Israel is combating murderous terrorism, it’s inconceivable for it also to have to fight for its place in the world and against efforts to enforce an economic and diplomatic boycott against it,” she said.“An event such as this carries immense importance for public diplomacy.”
