Background:

For more than twelve years, Ambassador Dennis B. Ross played the leading role in shaping U.S. involvement in the Middle East peace process and in dealing directly with the negotiations. He was instrumental in assisting the Israelis and Palestinians in reaching the 1995 Interim Agreement, and he successfully brokered the Hebron Accord in 1997.  Ambassador Ross facilitated the Israeli-Jordan peace treaty and worked intensively to bring Israel and Syria together.

A scholar and diplomat with more than two decades of experience in Soviet and Middle Eastern policy, Ambassador Ross worked closely with Secretaries of State James Baker, Warren Christopher and Madeleine Albright.

Prior to his service as special Middle East coordinator under President Clinton, Ambassador Ross served as director of the State Department's Policy Planning office during the Bush administration. In that position, he played a prominent role in U.S. policy toward the former Soviet Union, the unification of Germany and its integration into NATO, arms control negotiations, and the development of the Gulf war coalition. He served as director of Near East and South Asian Affairs on the National Security Council staff during the Reagan administration, and as deputy director of the Pentagon's Office of Net Assessment.

Hillel at The George Washington University is one of the most active and rapidly growing Jewish campus communities in North America, offering a wide array of opportunities for Jewish students of all backgrounds and interests to plug-in to Jewish life at GW.

**Media interested in attending, please call Eric Solomon at (202) 994-3087** 
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