Edited by: TJVNews.com

As an accomplished diplomat with years of experience working in the Middle East and the author of the 2022 bestselling book,” In the Path of Abraham: How Donald Trump Made Peace in the Middle East–and How to Stop Joe Biden from Unmaking It,” former Trump administration Israeli envoy, Jason Greenblatt has now joined the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs think tank as its senior director for Arab-Israeli diplomacy, the Jerusalem Post reported on Tuesday.

The report indicated that his crowning achievement was playing a key role in developing the Abraham Accords. This historic treaty, signed in 2020, saw Israel normalize relations with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco, the JPost reported.

Greenblatt also was one of just a select few officials who had insider knowledge of then President Donald Trump’s Middle East peace plan, alongside then US ambassador to Israel David Friedman, Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and Kushner’s aide Avi Berkowitz.

Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs president Dan Diker said on Tuesday that, “Jason brings with him a wealth of experience and close relations with Arab states across the region including some without normalization agreements with Israel,” the JPost reported.

Greenblatt’s joining comes after the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs hosted the first Arab-Israel-Africa security conference, bringing five different Arab policy centers and 25 different African institutes to Jerusalem back in March, according to the JPost report. At this conference, the Israeli think tank signed a memorandum of understanding with Ethiopia’s Institute of Foreign Affairs to collaborate on national security issues, including water and food security, the report continued.

In a statement, Greenblatt said, “The Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs is not just a think tank, it’s a ‘do tank. 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 land the West. I am proud to join JCPA as senior director for Israel-Arab policy, building on the work I was privileged to do while serving as White House Middle East envoy.”

According to a September 21, 2022 report that appeared in the Yeshiva University school newspaper, “The Commentator”, Greenblatt had addressed a student assemblage there and recalled vivid moments from his stint as the Israeli envoy of the Trump administration.

Greenblatt told the paper about the day Trump asked him to join the presidential team in the White House. He explained that “there was a time when Trump was getting hit with many policy questions from the press. One of these was about the settlements (a term Greenblatt personally dislikes using) in Judea and Samaria. Trump had thrown the question over to Greenblatt, demonstrating that he was responsible for questions on that topic. In December, then-president-elect Trump reached out to Greenblatt to join the team officially, and after speaking about it with his family over Shabbat (his daughter was in the audience to confirm), he agreed.”

He also discussed some of the day-to-day aspects of the administrative work, describing daily meetings and late nights on the phone with diplomats from all over the world, the YU Commentator reported. “Everybody is interested in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,” he commented. He added that the job involved traveling to nations like Jordan, the UAE, Morocco and, of course, Israel.

Greenblatt also told the YU Commentator that there was one particularly surreal moment when he met Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu for the first time. Netanyahu was “very charismatic” and had a “very strong stare,” Greenblatt said, The Commentator reported. When the two men shook hands, Greenblatt explained that “it felt like three minutes, and it felt like he knew everything about me.”

He also shared with the crowd a particularly emotional moment: the day Trump recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, as was reported by the YU Commentator. While the press response was intense and the international community was largely against him, Trump still put forward the policy. The YU student newspaper also reported that Greenblatt said that it was deeply important “as a Jew, understanding the impact for the most powerful man in the world to right a historical wrong to recognize a historical reality.” He noted that “even in the end [of the conference], he said that he hoped for peace and prayed for Israel.”