Dennis Ross
Dennis Ross | |
---|---|
Director of Policy Planning | |
In office January 21, 1989 – August 23, 1992 | |
President | George H. W. Bush |
Preceded by | Richard H. Solomon |
Succeeded by | Samuel W. Lewis |
Personal details | |
Born | San Francisco, California, U.S. | November 26, 1948
Political party | Democratic |
Education | University of California, Los Angeles (BA) |
Dennis B. Ross (born November 26, 1948) is an American diplomat and author. He served as the
Early life and education
Ross was born in San Francisco and grew up in Belvedere, California.[6] His Jewish mother and Catholic stepfather raised him in a non-religious atmosphere.[7] Ross graduated from University of California, Los Angeles in 1970 and did graduate work there, writing a doctoral dissertation on decision-making in the Soviet Union.[8] He became religiously Jewish after the Six-Day War.[7] In 2002, he co-founded the Kol Shalom synagogue in Rockville, Maryland.[7]
Career
1970s–1993
During
Ross returned briefly to academia in the 1980s, serving as executive director of the
In the administration of
Middle East envoy
Although Ross had worked for outgoing Republican President Bush (even assisting in his re-election effort), incoming Democratic Secretary of State
Ross headed a team of several people in the Office of the Special Middle East Coordinator, including his deputy
Ross was criticized by people on both sides of the conflict. Former Palestinian Foreign Minister Nabil Shaath described him as being more "pro-Israeli than the Israelis."[12] Occasional references to his Jewish ancestry were brought up within the Arab world (although Ross maintains this was not a problem with other heads of state during negotiations), while some conservative Israelis branded him "self-hating"—each questioning his ability to be unbiased,[13][14] though Palestinians involved in the negotiation process would insist that his perceived lack of objectivity had little to do with his religion.[15] Describing Ross, Roger Cohen wrote that "Balance is something this meticulous diplomat [Ross] prizes.” But a recurrent issue with Ross, who embraced the Jewish faith after being raised in a non-religious home by a Jewish mother and Catholic stepfather, has been asked whether he is too close to the American Jewish community and Israel to be an honest broker with Iran or Arabs. Aaron David Miller, after years of working with Ross, concluded in a book that he 'had an inherent tendency to see the world of Arab–Israeli politics first from Israel's vantage point rather than that of the Palestinians.' Another former senior State Department official, who requested anonymity ... told me, "Ross's bad habit is pre-consultation with the Israelis."[16]
Post-Clinton-era activities
After leaving his position as envoy, Ross returned to
During these years he taught classes at Marquette University, Brandeis University, Harvard University's Harvard Kennedy School, and Georgetown University's Walsh School of Foreign Service, where he served as a Distinguished Professor in the Practice of Diplomacy.[7][19] He also wrote frequently for publications like The Washington Post, The New York Times, The Jerusalem Post, The New Republic, USA Today, and The Wall Street Journal and worked as a foreign affairs analyst for the Fox News channel.[20]
Ross was a noted supporter of the
Obama Administration positions
According to The Wall Street Journal, Ross, along with
Ross was appointed Special Advisor for the Persian Gulf and Southwest Asia to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on February 23, 2009.[25] On June 25, 2009 the White House announced that Ross was leaving the State Department to join the National Security Council staff as a Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for the Central Region, with overall responsibility for the region. The Central Region includes the Middle East, the Persian Gulf, Afghanistan, Pakistan and South Asia.[26]
Haaretz reported that Ross's work as a Middle East aide in the Obama administration was burdened by tension with special envoy George Mitchell, to the point that Ross and Mitchell sometimes refused to speak to each other. This report indicated that the tension was caused, at least in part, by Ross's occasional efforts to conduct negotiations with Israeli government officials without notifying Mitchell. For example, in both September and November 2010, Ross was said to have tried to persuade Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to freeze settlement construction during negotiations with the Palestinian National Authority, in exchange for unspecified private assurances and a major military arms transfer from the United States.[27]
Palestinian officials reportedly viewed Ross as beholden to the Israeli government, and not as an honest broker or even-handed facilitator of negotiations. For a significant period, Ross refrained from meeting Palestinian Authority officials, while continuing to hold talks with Israeli officials during his visits to the region.[27]
On November 10, 2011, Ross stepped down from his post in the
Controversies
In their 2006 paper
Ross's memoir of his experiences,
Ross states in The Missing Peace that he and other American negotiators pushed Israeli Prime Minister
In February 2018, he penned an opinion piece in The Washington Post strongly supportive of the Saudi crown prince
Ross has been criticized for having a strong pro-Israel bias, especially in the context of the Israel-Palestine peace negotiations he was a part of. Aaron David Miller and Ambassador Daniel Kurtzer, two of the most senior officials (and Ross' long time collaborators during the peace process) would later attribute the failures of the peace process to Ross.[38][39]
Affiliations
Ross co-founded the advocacy group
Works
- Acting with Caution: Middle East Policy Planning for the Second Reagan Administration. Policy Papers #1. Washington Institute for Near East Policy. 1985. Archived from the original on 2009-03-05. Retrieved 2007-06-05. – the Washington Institute's first policy paper
- Reforming the Palestinian Authority: Requirements for Change. Policy Focus #43. Washington Institute for Near East Policy. August 2002. Archived from the original on 2009-03-05. Retrieved 2007-06-05.
- ISBN 0-374-19973-6.
- Foreword for: Levitt, Matthew (May 1, 2006). Hamas: Politics, Charity, and Terrorism in the Service of Jihad. ISBN 0-300-11053-7.
- Statecraft: And How to Restore America's Standing in the World. ISBN 978-0-374-29928-6.
- Myths, Illusions, and Peace: Finding a New Direction for America in the Middle East, with David Makovsky, ISBN 978-0670020898.
- Doomed to Succeed: The U.S.-Israel Relationship from Truman to Obama ISBN 978-0-37414-146-2
- Trump and the Middle East: Prospects and Tasks, Fathom, Winter 2016
- Critical Reflections on the Trump Peace Plan, Fathom, April 2019
Awards
- 2015: National Jewish Book Award in the History category for Doomed to Succeed: The U.S.-Israel Relationship from Truman to Obama[43]
Further reading
- Clayton E. Swisher(2004), The Truth About Camp David: The Untold Story About the Collapse of the Middle East Peace Process. New York: Nation Books.
See also
References
- ^ Landler, Mark (2009-02-24). "Negotiator picked for post at U.S. State Dept". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-02-24.
- ^ Lobe, Jim (2011-11-11). "Israel's Inside Advocate" to Leave White House for Pro-Israel Think Tank". Common Dreams. Retrieved 2024-02-13.
- ^ Lobe, Jim (2011-11-12). "'Israel's advocate' to leave White House: Dennis Ross, Obama's strongly pro-Israel Middle East aide, will leave his post for a position in pro-Israel think tank". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 2024-02-13.
- Times of Israel. Retrieved 2024-02-13.
- Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 2024-02-13.
- ^ Dennis Ross flies home to Bay Area to honor mom, jweekly.com, Retrieved 2016-12-19.
- ^ a b c d e f Washington Post "WhoRunsGov" profile on Dennis Ross Archived 2009-03-06 at the Wayback Machine, Accessed March 1, 2009.
- ^ Washington Institute for Near East Policy. Retrieved 28 September 2014.
- ^ James Mann, Rise of the Vulcans: The History of Bush's War Cabinet, Viking, 2004, 79–81.
- ISBN 9780553904741. Retrieved October 6, 2014.
- ISBN 9780374529802. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
- ^ Quoted in Swisher, The Truth About Camp David, p. 32.
- ^ "Tired are the peacemakers: tales from the Arab-Israeli negotiating table" Archived 2006-02-15 at the Wayback Machine, Washington Monthly, September 2004.
- ^ Avi Shlaim, "The Lost Steps", The Nation, August 30, 2004.
- ^ Swisher, The Truth About Camp David, pp. 148–49.
- ^ Roger Cohen, "The making of an Iran Policy," The New York Times Magazine, July 30, 2009.
- ^ Ross: Risk of war, Ynet, June 7, 2002.
- ^ "Jewish Agency | Encyclopedia Britannica". Retrieved 2024-02-13.
- ^ "Dennis Ross". School of Foreign Service. 2015. Retrieved July 15, 2015.
- ^ Dennis Ross on Fox News Sunday Archived 2009-07-22 at the Wayback Machine, Fox News, April 21, 2002.
- Project for a New American Century ""Statement on Post-War Iraq," March 19, 2003". Archived from the original on August 12, 2007. Retrieved 2017-05-19.).
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: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) and ""Second Statement on Post-War Iraq," March 28, 2003". Archived from the original on August 12, 2007. Retrieved 2007-08-07.{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link - ^ a b Obama's Conservative Mideast Pick, Massimo Calabresi, Time, 16 July 2008.
- ^ Obama's AIPAC speech. Text as prepared for delivery Archived 2008-10-02 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Obama's Mideast Experts Emphasize Talks", Jay Solomon, The Wall Street Journal, June 16, 2008; A7
- ^ U.S. State Department Press release.
- ^ Glenn Kessler, White House Makes it Official on Ross, The Washington Post, June 25, 2009.
- ^ a b "Obama's Mideast Envoy Steps Down Amid Stalled Peace Talks" Haaretz, 10 November 2011]
- ^ "President Obama's Mid-East adviser Dennis Ross resigns". BBC. 2011-11-10. Retrieved 2011-11-10.
- ^ Dennis Ross Archived 2017-02-02 at the Wayback Machine, America Abroad Media
- ^ New York Sun, March 21, 2006. Accessed August 17, 2007.
- ^ Frankel, Glen. "Book Review: So Close and Yet So Far," The Washington Post, August 22, 2004, BW06.
- ^ "Exhausted Are the Peacemakers," The New York Times Book Review, 2004.
- ^ Hirsch, Jordan. "Review of Statecraft Archived 2008-07-08 at the Wayback Machine," Columbia Current.
- ^ The Missing Peace, Dennis Ross interviewed by Nonna Gorilovskaya, Mother Jones October 20, 2004.
- ISBN 0-374-19973-6.
- ^ Dennis Ross tells 'Post' why Obama. The Jerusalem Post. Published Nov 1, 2008.
- ^ America should get behind Saudi Arabia's revolutionary crown prince, Dennis Ross, February 12, 2018, The Washington Post
- ^ Miller, The Much Too Promised Land
- ^ Kurtzer and Lasensky, Negotiating Arab-Israeli Peace
- ^ Perelman, Marc (September 11, 2008). "Broad-Based Coalition Seeks To Prevent a Nuclear Iran". The Forward.
- ^ "Leadership". United Against Nuclear Iran.
- ^ "Leadership". Counter Extremism Project.
- ^ "Past Winners". Jewish Book Council. Retrieved 2020-01-21.
External links
- Appearances on C-SPAN
- Dennis Ross at IMDb
- Living the Peace Process, Interviewed by the Middle East QuarterlyJune 1996
- Council on Foreign Relations Panel Discussion: America and the World: Challenges Facing the Next Administration--Remarks by Ambassador Dennis Ross, October 13, 2004
- Questions for Dennis Ross: Handling Hamas, interviewed by Deborah Solomon, The New York Times February 5, 2006
- Dennis Ross: Myths, Illusions and Peace, The Economist, May 28, 2009
- Trump and the Middle East: Prospects and Tasks - Dennis Ross in BICOM-Jewish News UK panel discussion, November 30, 2016