David Makovsky (born June 21, 1960) is the director of the

Washington Institute for Near East Policy The Washington Institute for Near East Policy (WINEP), also known simply as The Washington Institute (TWI), is a pro-Israel American think tank based in Washington, D.C., focused on the foreign policy of the United States in the Near East. WINE ...

Project on the Middle East Peace Process."David Makovsky". 28 June 2015. https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/experts/view/makovsky-david he serves as a adjunct professor at

Johns Hopkins University The Johns Hopkins University (often abbreviated as Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1876 based on the European research institution model, J ...

Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies The School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) is a graduate school of Johns Hopkins University based in Washington, D.C. The school also maintains campuses in Bologna, Italy and Nanjing, China. The school is devoted to the study of int ...

(SAIS) in the Middle Eastern studies program. He is coauthor of the book ''Myths, Illusions, & Peace'' with

Dennis Ross Dennis B. Ross (born November 26, 1948) is an American diplomat and author. He served as the Director of Policy Planning in the State Department under President George H. W. Bush, the special Middle East coordinator under President Bill Clinton ...

. Mr. Makovsky's commentary on U.S. policy towards the Middle East and Middle East peace process has been broadcast on the ''PBS NewsHour'' with

Jim Lehrer James Charles Lehrer ( ; May 19, 1934 – January 23, 2020) was an American journalist, novelist, screenwriter, and playwright. He was the executive editor and a news anchor for the ''PBS News Hour'' on PBS and was known for his role as a debate ...

. His writings can be found in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...

'', ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'', and ''

Foreign Affairs ''Foreign Affairs'' is an American magazine of international relations and foreign policy of the United States, U.S. foreign policy published by the Council on Foreign Relations, a nonprofit organization, nonprofit, nonpartisan, membership or ...

''.

Education, career and personal life

David Makovsky received his bachelor's degree from

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

and his master's in

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

studies from

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

. From 1989 to 2000, David Makovsky extensively covered the peace process between

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

and

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

, in his roles as executive editor and editor-in-chief (1999-2000) of ''

The Jerusalem Post ''The Jerusalem Post'' is an English language, English-language Israeli broadsheet newspaper based in Jerusalem, Israel, founded in 1932 during the Mandate for Palestine, British Mandate of Mandatory Palestine, Palestine by Gershon Agron as ''Th ...

'', and diplomatic correspondent for Israel's major daily ''

Haaretz ''Haaretz'' (; originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , , ) is an List of newspapers in Israel, Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel. The paper is published in Hebrew lan ...

''. During this time, he also served as special

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

correspondent to '' U.S. News & World Report'', for which he subsequently served as contributing editor. In 1994 he was awarded the National Press Club's Edwin M. Hood Award for Diplomatic Correspondence, in recognition for his cover story on

PLO The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO; ) is a Palestinian nationalist coalition that is internationally recognized as the official representative of the Palestinian people in both the occupied Palestinian territories and the diaspora. ...

finances that he co-wrote for the magazine. In July of that year, Mr. Makovsky became the first journalist writing for an Israeli publication to visit

Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...

. This had been made possible with the personal intervention of then Secretary of State

Warren Christopher Warren Minor Christopher (October 27, 1925March 18, 2011) was an American attorney, diplomat and statesman who served as the 63rd United States secretary of state from 1993 to 1997. Born in Scranton, North Dakota, Christopher clerked for Supre ...

. Mr. Makovsky would go on to make five trips to Syria. Mr. Makovsky also made history in March 1995 when he was given unprecedented permission, with the help of U.S. officials, to file reports from

Jeddah Jeddah ( ), alternatively transliterated as Jedda, Jiddah or Jidda ( ; , ), is a List of governorates of Saudi Arabia, governorate and the largest city in Mecca Province, Saudi Arabia, and the country's second largest city after Riyadh, located ...

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

, for an Israeli publication.

The Washington Institute for Near East Policy

Currently, David Makovsky is Senior Fellow and the Ziegler distinguished fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy (WINEP), a pro-Israel think tank formed in 1985. At its inception, the Institute's main focus was on Arab-Israeli issues and overall U.S.

policy. In the 1990s, the scope of the Institute's research grew as the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

fell and the first

Gulf War , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...

took place. This expansion included a particular focus on

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

and the rise of Islamic politics in understanding the political trends in the post-Soviet Middle East."Our History". 20 August 2009. http://washingtoninstitute.org/templateC11.php?CID=20&newActiveSubNav=Our%20History&activeSubNavLink=templateC11.php%3FCID%3D20&newActiveNav=aboutUs The range of issues covered by the Institute expanded once again after September 11, this time driven by the focus of the U.S. on the

as a central foreign policy concern. The Institute has thus dedicated new resources to assist the U.S. government in understanding and countering Islamist extremism,

terrorism Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of violence against non-combatants to achieve political or ideological aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violence during peacetime or in the context of war aga ...

, and

nuclear proliferation Nuclear proliferation is the spread of nuclear weapons to additional countries, particularly those not recognized as List of states with nuclear weapons, nuclear-weapon states by the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, commonl ...

Published work

David Makovsky is the author of the books ''Making Peace With The PLO: The Rabin Government's Road To The Oslo Accord,'' ''Engagement Through Disengagement: Gaza and the Potential for Renewed Israeli-Palestinian Peacemaking,'' and more recently ''Myths, Illusions, & Peace: Finding a New Direction for America in the Middle East''. ''Myths, Illusions, & Peace,'' coauthored with

, sets out to prove the many myths about the

false, and help set a new course for American foreign policy in the Middle East. In addition, he is the author or coauthor of several Washington Institute monographs, including ''Lessons and Implications of the Israel-Hizballah War: A Preliminary Assessment'' (2006); '' Olmert's Unilateral Option: An Early Assessment'' (2006); ''

Hamas The Islamic Resistance Movement, abbreviated Hamas (the Arabic acronym from ), is a Palestinian nationalist Sunni Islam, Sunni Islamism, Islamist political organisation with a military wing, the Qassam Brigades. It has Gaza Strip under Hama ...

Triumphant'' (2006); ''Engagement Through Disengagement:

Gaza Gaza may refer to: Places Palestine * Gaza Strip, a Palestinian territory on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea ** Gaza City, a city in the Gaza Strip ** Gaza Governorate, a governorate in the Gaza Strip Mandatory Palestine * Gaza Sub ...

and the Potential for Israeli-Palestinian Peacemaking'' (2005); ''A Defensible Fence: Fighting Terror and Enabling a

Two State Solution The two-state solution is a proposed approach to resolving the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, by creating two states on the territory of the former Mandatory Palestine. It is often contrasted with the one-state solution, which is the esta ...

'' (2004). David Makovsky also wrote ''Making Peace with the

: The Rabin Government's Road to the Oslo Accord'' (Washington Institute/Westview Press/HarperCollins, 1996); and contributed to a collection on U.S. involvement in the First

, ''Triumph without Victory'' (Random House, 1992). David Makovsky is also the author of many op-ed pieces, which have appeared in publications such as New York '' Daily News'', ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...

'', ''

'', and ''

''.

Media

David Makovsky's commentary on the

Arab–Israeli conflict The Arab–Israeli conflict is a geopolitical phenomenon involving military conflicts and a variety of disputes between Israel and many Arab world, Arab countries. It is largely rooted in the historically supportive stance of the Arab League ...

have appeared in ''

'', ''

'', the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'', ''

'', the ''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...

'', the ''

International Herald Tribune The ''International Herald Tribune'' (''IHT'') was a daily English-language newspaper published in Paris, France, for international English-speaking readers. It published under the name ''International Herald Tribune'' starting in 1967, but its ...

'', the ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...

'', ''

Foreign Policy Foreign policy, also known as external policy, is the set of strategies and actions a State (polity), state employs in its interactions with other states, unions, and international entities. It encompasses a wide range of objectives, includ ...

'', and ''

The National Interest ''The National Interest'' (''TNI'') is an American bimonthly international relations magazine edited by American journalist Jacob Heilbrunn and published by the Center for the National Interest, a public policy think tank based in Washington, ...

''. Also, he has appeared on ''PBS NewsHour'' with

Charlie Rose Charles Peete Rose Jr. (born January 5, 1942) is an American journalist and talk show host. From 1991 to 2017, he was the host and executive producer of the talk show ''Charlie Rose (talk show), Charlie Rose'' on PBS and Bloomberg L.P., Bloombe ...

, ,

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

C-SPAN Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network (C-SPAN ) is an American Cable television in the United States, cable and Satellite television in the United States, satellite television network, created in 1979 by the cable television industry as a Non ...

Voice of America Voice of America (VOA or VoA) is an international broadcasting network funded by the federal government of the United States that by law has editorial independence from the government. It is the largest and oldest of the American internation ...

, '' Alhurra Free Hour'' and others."Interview Given by David Makovsky". 20 August 2009. http://davidmakovsky.com/category/interview-given-by-david-makovsky/

''Myths, Illusions, & Peace''

Among the areas covered in ''Myths, Illusions, & Peace'' are the Israeli–Palestinian conflict,

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

, and the history behind the current events in these regions.

References

Sources

* * "David Makovsky". 28 June 2015. https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/experts/view/makovsky-david * "Our History". 20 August 2009. http://washingtoninstitute.org/templateC11.php?CID=20&newActiveSubNav=Our%20History&activeSubNavLink=templateC11.php%3FCID%3D20&newActiveNav=aboutUs *"Op-Ed Articles Recently Published by David Makovsky". 20 August 2009. http://davidmakovsky.com *"Interview Given by David Makovsky". 20 August 2009. https://web.archive.org/web/20100906103729/http://www.davidmakovsky.com/category/interview-given-by-david-makovsky *"Myths, Illusions, & Peace: Finding a New Direction for America in the Middle East". 20 August 2009. http://washingtoninstitute.org/templateC04.php?CID=310

External links

The Washington Institute for Near East PolicyDavid Makovsky, Washington InstituteNew Yorker
{{DEFAULTSORT:Makovsky, David 1960 births Harvard University alumni Columbia College (New York) alumni Johns Hopkins University people Living people The Jerusalem Post editors