Jason Greenblatt, a former Trump administration official who helped broker the Abraham Accords, will be joining The Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs (JCPA), the institute announced on Monday.
Greenblatt served as an international negotiator for the Trump administration, where he worked on key diplomatic issues in the Middle East. He played a role in negotiating the Abraham Accords, one of former President Donald Trump‘s signature foreign policy achievements, the institute wrote in a statement provided to Newsweek. The agreement normalized diplomatic relations between Israel, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain and Morocco. He has also hosted the podcast, The Diplomat, on Newsweek.
He will be the institute’s senior director for Arab-Israel diplomacy. Greenblatt’s work on Middle Eastern issues has earned him praise from an array of Trump administration officials, including the former president, ex-Vice President Mike Pence and former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, according to the statement.
JCPA President Dan Diker celebrated Greenblatt joining the organization, praising his knowledge of the region.
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“We are honored to welcome Jason to the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs as a senior member of our team,” he wrote. “Jason brings with him a wealth of experience and close relations with Arab states across the region including some without normalization with Israel.”
Greenblatt said he is “proud” to join the institute to continue “building on the work I was privileged to do while serving as White House Middle East Envoy.”
“The Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs is not just a think-tank, it’s a ‘do-tank,'” he said in the statement. “Aside from producing top quality research and strategic policy initiatives, JCPA now serves as a convener and communications hub for policy, diplomacy and communications connecting the Arab world, Africa, Israel and the West.”
The JCPA noted that his hiring comes at a “watershed moment” after the institute hosted a security conference last month that brought together Arabic and African institutes in Jerusalem.
Abraham Accords proponents have said the effort fueled economic growth and regional stability in the Arabic world. Greenblatt has praised Trump’s foreign policy, penning the book In the Path of Abraham: How Donald Trump Made Peace in the Middle East—and How to Stop Joe Biden from Unmaking It, which was released last year.
He previously spoke to Newsweek about the negotiations that unfolded to pass the accords.
“There are so many myths about the Israeli-Palestinian and Israeli-Arab conflict, particularly among the establishment and the mainstream media. A lot of what people say is absolutely wrong. Also, it isn’t so black and white. I came into it with a certain viewpoint and was educated a certain way. I’m not saying I agree with the other side, but it was eye-opening to me and deserves a discussion,” he said.