SUNDAY GAZETTE MAIL
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Marc Charles Ginsberg, a former presidential advisor and United States ambassador to Morocco, will speak at B’nai Jacob Synagogue Wednesday evening.
“The Jewish community of Charleston is committed to deepening knowledge of the Middle East by creating opportunities such as these to listen to some of the most important thinkers and experts on the issues affecting Israel and the Arab world,” said Rabbi Victor Urecki.
“We are proud to be bringing someone of the stature as Ambassador Ginsberg,” he said. “I have heard him speak on numerous occasions in Washington and his understanding of the region and ability to explain the complexity of the situation is unbelievable.”
When Ginsberg served as ambassador to Morocco, he was the first Jewish-American to become ambassador to an Arab country.
During an interview with The Charleston Gazette last week, Ginsberg said he plans to discuss the impact recent changes in Egypt, Syria and Turkey will have on Israel.
Ginsberg said he will also talk about how the international community will deal with Iran’s nuclear weapons.
“There is a series of heavy and challenging issues to deal with in a short time. Israel is completely surrounded by challenges one could not have imagined a few years ago.
“My view on Iran is straightforward. From Israel’s perspective, Iran is not only a threat because of its nuclear weapons, but because it has re-armed Hezbollah and supports international terrorism against Israel.
“Iran could be a catalyst for future efforts to undermine Israel through terrorism and support for Hamas. Iran is trying to encircle Israel by supporting its proxy adversaries against it.”
In the immediate future, Iraq will become “more and more of an ally of Iran and its foreign policy in the region,” Ginsberg added. “That is the evolution that is emerging.”
Asked why Russia and China recently vetoed the United Nations security council resolution calling for the Syrian president to step down, Ginsberg said, “Russia adamantly opposes any United Nations resolution that would be a license for regime change in the Middle East.
“Vladimir Putin, who will be the next president in Russia, is determined to reduce American influence in the Middle East. Iran and Russia are working to protect Bashar al-Assad’s regime, because Iran considers the [Syrian] regime to be a proxy for it.
“Russian support for the Assad regime has been a license to kill,” Ginsberg said. “I think someone is probably going to put a bullet in Assad’s head eventually for all the killings he has engaged in. It is hard to tell at this point what will happen.
“The Gulf states and Saudi Arabia support the U.S. They are allied with Israel in that approach. But all of this evolves almost on a day-by-day basis.”
Any attack on Iran could possibly have a negative impact, he said.
“Israel is increasingly fearful of the consequences of an attack on Iran. But they also realize Iran is the number one danger to Israel. If Israel attacks Iran, there will be consequence to Israel’s security and potential retaliation.”
Raised in Israel and the Arab world, Ginsberg believes the key to this year’s events will be “how presidential politics, leading up to the election, will play into the situation in the Middle East.”
Ginsberg was a legislative assistant to the late Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., from 1971 to 1977, and then became Deputy Senior Adviser for Middle East Policy under President Jimmy Carter from 1978 to 1981.
Ginsberg also worked for the presidential campaigns of Bill Clinton in 1992 and Al Gore in 2000.
Wednesday’s program will begin at 7:00 p.m. in the main sanctuary at B’nai Jacob Synagogue, located at 1599 Virginia St. East in Charleston’s East End.
Reach Paul J. Nyden at pjny…@wvgazette.com or 304-348-5164.
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