On June 20, the final event of this year's Sylke Tempel Fellowship took place at the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Politik (DGAP) in Berlin and via Zoom. The event, entitled "Security Policy in Transition: New Perspectives on Israel and the Middle East", marked the conclusion and highlight of the fifth Sylke Tempel Fellowship program.
Brigitte Zypries, former German Federal Minister of Justice and Chairwoman of the Board of Trustees of the Future Forum, opened the event. Following her, Nadav Tamir, Executive Director of J Street Israel and Director of Government Policy and International Affairs at the Peres Center, delivered the keynote speech. He emphasized the importance of the international community for revitalizing a peace process and achieving a two-state solution.
Afterwards, Martin Bialecki, editor-in-chief of the magazine Internationale Politik, held a conversation with the Sylke Tempel Fellows. They discussed their experiences in the fellowship program, the impact of the events of October 7 on their research projects, and their perspectives on Israel. Together, they introduced the special issue of the journal Internationale Politik, entitled "Values in Security Policy", featuring the work of the fellows.
The event concluded with a panel discussion featuring Sarit Zehavi, founder and president of the Alma Research and Education Center, Hesham Youssef, former Egyptian diplomat, and Ralf Fücks, founder and director of the Center for Liberal Modernity. The discussion, moderated by Sara Bazoobandi, Marie Curie Fellow at the GIGA in Hamburg, focused on Israeli security policy after October 7, peace agreements, and the role of Iran in the Middle East.
After the event, our many guests gathered for drinks and food. It was a special pleasure to finally welcome our seven fellows to Berlin and to celebrate the conclusion of the Sylke Tempel Fellowship 2023/2024 with them.
The event was organized in cooperation with AJC Berlin, the magazine Internationale Politik, and WIIS.de.