As we approach six months since the horrendous massacre on October 7, there is no end in sight for the conflict in Gaza. With an incalculable human cost, our Hot Buttons Cool Conversations panel examines if there is another way forward. We look ahead to the time when Israelis, Palestinians and the rest of the world must wrestle with the future Gaza and its relationship with Israel. We examine Israel’s alternative paths and what role the U.S. has to play in managing the crisis.
Joyce Karam is senior news editor at Al-Monitor and an adjunct professor at George Washington University. She has covered American politics and the Middle East for over two decades.
David Makovsky is the Ziegler Distinguished Fellow at The Washington Institute and director of the Koret Project on Arab-Israel Relations. He is also an adjunct professor in Middle East studies at Johns Hopkins University's Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS).
Masua Sagiv is Scholar in Residence of the Shalom Hartman Institute and the Koret Visiting Assistant Professor of Jewish and Israel Studies at the Helen Diller Institute, U.C. Berkeley.
Khalil Sayegh is a political analyst focused on Palestinian Politics and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He is also the Co-founder and president of the Agora Initiative. Khalil lived most of his life in Gaza and the West Bank, where he was involved in political activism and humanitarian initiatives. Khalil’s lived experience, in addition to his academic and professional experience, shaped his knowledge of the region.
Aaron David Miller is a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, focusing on U.S. foreign policy. He has written five books, including The Much Too Promised Land: America’s Elusive Search for Arab-Israeli Peace (Bantam, 2008).
