Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs President Dan Diker and senior JCPA Fellows Brig. Gen. (res.) Yossi Kuperwasser, Aviram Bellaishe, and Khaled Abu Toameh met on January 31, 2024, in Jerusalem with former U.S. administration officials.

They included Joel Rayburn (former National Security Council Senior Director for Iran, Iraq, Syria and Lebanon), Marshall Billingslea (former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Negotiation Policy and Assistant Secretary for Terrorist Financing), and Russell Berman (Director of the Working Group on the Middle East and Islamic World, who previously served as State Department Policy Planning Advisor in the Trump administration).

The two sides discussed a variety of issues related to the Middle East as well as Iran’s role in destabilizing security and stability. They also discussed the rising antisemitism in the U.S. and other countries. The JCPA team briefed the guests on the situation in Israel in the aftermath of Hamas’ October 7 massacre.