Ron Pundak

Dr. Ron Pundak "has served as the Director General of the Peres Center for Peace since mid-2001, leading and overseeing all aspects of the Peres Center's activities. Dr. Pundak's diplomatic, academic and operative experience enables him to serve as an essential link between the grass-roots sector and key policy makers.

"Dr. Pundak played a decisive role in creating the secret track of the unofficial Oslo negotiations at the beginning of 1993. Under the guidance of former Foreign Minister Shimon Peres and his Deputy Dr. Yossi Beilin, and subsequently, under the late Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, Dr. Pundak served as a member of the official Israeli negotiating team in the later stage of the Oslo Process, which culminated in the historic signing of the Declaration of Principles in Washington on September 13, 1993.

"From 1994 through 2000, Dr. Pundak played a central role in the so-called 'Beilin-Abu Mazen Understanding', which provided a blue-print for negotiations and a detailed framework for agreement on all final status issues utilized in the Camp David II and Taba Negotiations. In parallel, and on an ongoing basis since then, Dr. Pundak has led and participated in numerous Israeli-Palestinian track two activities connected to final status issues, both political and professional, including the drafting of the Geneva Initiative, and serving as a member of the Steering Committee of the Geneva Initiative.

"With a view to shaping and influencing governmental policy and building long-term peace, Dr. Pundak has continued to be involved in various peace-related initiatives such as think tanks, working groups, and advisory committees. As Director General of the Peres Center, Dr. Pundak is a member of the Aix Group's Steering Committee, and also serves as the co-Chairperson of the Palestinian-Israeli Peace NGO Forum. Furthermore, he is a member of the Academic as well as Executive Board of the Tel Aviv University Institute for Diplomacy and Regional Cooperation, which was jointly established by the Peres Center and Tel Aviv University.

"Prior to joining the Peres Center for Peace, Dr. Pundak worked in the fields of intelligence, army, and government, and from 1991-1992, he worked as a journalist at Israeli newspaper "Ha'aretz". He also served as Executive Director of the Economic Cooperation Foundation (ECF), an Israeli think-tank dealing with various political and economic issues related to the Arab-Israeli peace process.

"Dr. Pundak holds a Ph.D. in Middle East[ical history from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) of the University of London. He has published numerous academic articles and a book entitled “The Struggle for Sovereignty", which details Jordanian history during the years 1946 through 1951. Furthermore, Dr. Pundak contributes op-ed pieces to the Israeli and International press on an on-going basis.

"Dr. Pundak's public positions include: member of the General Assembly at the Sam Spiegel Film and Television School Jerusalem, member of the Board of Directors of the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, and member of the Exhibitions and Acquisitions Committee of the Tel Aviv Museum of Art. "

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