The Israel Council on Foreign Relations (ICFR

The Israel Council on Foreign Relations (ICFR), which operates under WJC auspices and is headed by Dan Meridor, aspires to stimulate public awareness of world events and insightful discussion of foreign policy issues, particularly regarding Israel, international Jewish affairs, and the Middle East.

In the first months of the reporting period, the ICFR hosted two major annual conferences: one on Sino–Israel relations, in cooperation with SIGNAL (Sino-Israel Global Network of Academic Leadership), and one on Polish–Israeli relations, held in partnership with the Polish Institute of International Affairs (PISM). The opening session of the latter event, convened against the backdrop of the ongoing crisis in relations between the two countries, featured a panel on the challenges of history and memory in bilateral relations, and included Professors Yehuda Bauer, Havi Dreifuss, Andrzej Nowak, and Ambassador Jakub Kumoch. It was the first such exchange of views since Poland’s contentious “history law” was enacted.

The Council also held events on the role of Russia’s imperial ambitions and why shared history and heritage are important in Israel and Central Europe.

As of March 2020, the coronavirus pandemic ICFR President Dan Meridor speaking at the IV Polish-Israeli Foreign Policy Conference, February 2020

Credit: Noam Feiner.

Member of WJC Executive and WJCIsrael/ICFR Board Member Colette Avital moderating panel with Dr. Maya SionTzidkiyahu (Hebrew University) and Mr. Łukasz Kulesa (PISM) at the IV PolishIsraeli Foreign Policy Conference

Credit: Noam Feiner

compelled the Council to move its activities online. Virtual events were held on topics such as developments in Iran and Syria, the Covid-19 pandemic, depedestalization, and Germany’s confrontation with its past.

The ICFR, together with the Israel Office of the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, held an essay-writing contest, aimed at young academics and practitioners of international affairs, on the significance of the pandemic to the international order. The winning texts were published in the The Israel Journal of Foreign Affairs .

The activities of the journal continued apace, with four issues published. Many of the articles and book reviews dealt with WJC core issues such as Holocaust obfuscation and antisemitism. Others focused on climate change and Israel’s relations with the UAE, China, the Visegrád 4, Greece, and Latin America. Journal contributors included Gabriel Gorodetzky, Ebtesam Al-Ketbi, Alon Tal, Jeffrey Herf, Jan Grabowski, Aharon Klieman, Gisela Dachs, Marcos Peckel, and Samuel Kassow. Meetings of the Young Diplomats Forum were paused during the pandemic and replaced with an online program. Sessions were held on topics such as the implications for Israel of the new US administration and the legacy and inner workings of the Knesset. Happily, live events resumed in the spring of 2021 with a session hosted by Swedish Ambassador Erik Ullenhag on climate change.

The ICFR maintains strong partnerships with a number of institutions of international affairs. Of late, a close relationship has been nurtured with the Abu Dhabi-based Emirates Policy Center. ICFR Young Diplomats Forum Policy Talk on climate change at residence of H.E. Erik Ullenhag, Ambassador of Sweden to Israel, May 2021