One of the many things that have gotten swept out of the news during the Coronavirus economic and health crisis is the possible Israeli annexation of areas in the West Bank. That might sound like some legal jargon, but it has big implications for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the US-Israel alliance, and the stability of Jordan and Egypt.

We talk about the importance of this move and its possible implications with David Makovsky and Amb. Dennis Ross. Additionally, we discuss their recent book, "Be Strong and of Good Courage" (חזק ואמץ/chezek vi'emetz in Hebrew, a biblical reference), and the role of history in Israeli leaders' thinking when they make historic decisions.

David Makovsky is the Ziegler distinguished fellow at The Washington Institute, a former senior advisor to the Special Envoy for Israeli-Palestinian negotiations in the Obama administration, and in the 1990's he reported on Yitzchak Rabin and the Oslo Accords for multiple publications. Our other guest is Amb. Dennis Ross, who is currently the counselor and William Davidson Distinguished Fellow at The Washington Institute, and served as a special advisor to then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. He has been involved in almost all major Israeli-Palestinian negotiations for the past quarter-century.

You can find their new book, "Be Strong and Good Courage," here: https://www.amazon.com/Be-Strong-Good-Courage-Important-ebook/dp/B07MPX7LKR

*The views here are solely my own._____________________________________________

Dennis Ross--Favorite Podcast: The Bill Simmons Podcast

A book that has most shaped your thinking: “Inevitably of Tragedy: Henry Kissinger and His World” – by Barry Gewen

David Makovsky--Favorite Podcast: -Decision Points (Makovsky’s own podcast)-“NYT’s” “The Daily”

A book that has most shaped your thinking: "Churchill: Walking with Destiny" - by Andrew Roberts

________________________________________________Major takeaways from the interview can be found here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-GTijQvIkuSKBy3ofho_e4HZjRenz3gj6TDwoKsHffw/edit?usp=sharing