39: Jason Greenblatt: Peace to Prosperity in the Middle East: straight to the heart of the deal

Jason Greenblatt is the co-architect of the peace plan which changed the course of the Middle East during 2020.

In January 2017, he was appointed Assistant to the President and Special Representative for International Negotiations.

With presidential advisor and President Donald Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner and US Ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, they drafted “Peace to Prosperity: A Vision to Improve the Lives of the Palestinian and Israeli People”.

Officially he’s left his role as one of President Trump’s chief Middle East peacemakers. But in practice, it’s quite another matter.

“It's like that line from the Eagles' song, 'you can checkout anytime you like, but you can never leave'", says today’s prestigious guest of “Hotel California”.

He admits to still being involved despite leaving the White House in September 2019. The following February, Jason joined the board of Our Crowd, a crowdfunding investment platform aimed at projects in the Middle East, but says he's in regular contact with diplomats, politicians and contacts built up during his years in Washington.

It's a wonderful interview in which we define the hopes and challenges of making an elusive peace to Israel and the Palestinians and he doesn't shy away from the difficult obstacles. He's realistic in his outlook.

Jason is a first-generation American. His parents only arrived in the US in 1941 and 1956 as penniless Jewish immigrants of both Nazism and Communism and he marvels at the opportunities his country has given him.

LISTEN to Jason Greenblatt.

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