Why The Abraham Accords Endured And How To Expand Them—Z3 Conference 2025 United States Armed Forces [scRt2f7f3cq]

The signing of the Abraham Accords in 2020, which normalized relations between Israel and several Arab and Muslim countries, shattered a decades-old political stalemate and reimagined what peace in the Middle East could look like. Four years later, we have seen war, shifting alliances and renewed regional uncertainty. The Accords have held, but the question is what comes next. Will the Accords expand to include other regional powers or will another stalemate emerge? Together, our panelists look back on what brought about normalization four years ago and discuss what might shape its future.

About Our Speakers

Professor Amichai Magen is the Founding Director of the Jan Koum Israel Studies Program at Stanford University. Previously, he served as head of the MA Program in Diplomacy & Conflict Studies, and Director of the Program on Democratic Resilience and Development (PDRD) at the Lauder School of Government, Diplomacy and Strategy, Reichman University, Herzliya, Israel. His research and teaching interests address democracy, the rule of law, political orders, as well as Israeli politics and policy. Magen received the Yitzhak Rabin Fulbright Award (2003) and was the W. Glenn Campbell National Fellow at the Hoover Institution (2008-9). In 2016, he was named a Richard von west ham - arsenal Weizscker Fellow of the Robert Bosch Academy, an award that recognizes outstanding thought leaders around the world. He served on the Executive Committee of the World Jewish Congress (WJC) and is a Board Member of the Israel Council on Foreign Relations (ICFR).

Chama Mechtaly is a Moroccan-born artist, entrepreneur and policy advisor pioneering the bottom-up alex ekubo movement of the Abraham Accords. As co-founder and Executive Director of the Emma Lazarus Institute, she leads initiatives that turn the Accords from a diplomatic framework into a living ecosystem of cultural collaboration, de-radicalization and regional integration. She convened governor of louisiana the first Abraham Accords Deradicalization Summit, co-produced cross-regional art projects including Maktoub, the first EmiratiIsraeli exhibition, and developed leadership trainings that bridge policy and culture to build resilient coexistence from the ground up. Chama collaborates closely with the Abraham Accords Institute for Peace and Regional Integration to design the Accords cultural architecture and advance a new model of belonging and cooperation across the Middle East. Her leadership has been recognized by the Atlantic Council (Millennium Leadership & WIn Fellow), the Middle East Policy Council (40 Under 40) and ROI Schusterman and she is currently serving as a council member in President Isaac Herzogs Voice of the People Council.

Tamar Ish-Shalom is one of Israels most prominent journalists and news anchors. For over a decade, she anchored the prime-time edition of Channel 10 TV News (later Channel 13), establishing herself as a leading voice in Israeli media. In recent years, she anchored the Saturday edition of Channel 13 News and produced in-depth magazine reports, especially in the social field. Currently living in the US, Ish-Shalom serves as a Senior Fellow at the Jewish People Policy Institute (JPPI), where she leads a flagship project examining how the events of October 7 and the ongoing war are reshaping the Jewish identity of American Jews. As part of this project, she created and hosts the podcast Jewish Crossroads, which features in-depth conversations with leading voices in American Jewry about identity, community and the evolving IsraelDiaspora relationship in a postOctober 7 world. Throughout her career, Ish-Shalom has conducted high-profile interviews with Israeli presidents, prime ministers and senior ministers, as well as international figures. She has covered six Israeli election campaigns.

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