On March 11, the Mid-Coast Forum on Foreign Affairs hosted Ambassador Jake Walles, who spoke to the  on the situation in the Middle East, on Israel-Gaza in particular.  

Ambassador Walles, having served for more than a dozen years in the region — more than half of that in Israel — brought a deep awareness of the current situation to the topic.  

“I was particularly struck by his suggestion of Netanyahu's reluctance to see war come to a conclusion, something I hadn't heard elsewhere,” said Forum board member Tom DeMarco. “He also referred several times to the error of our apparent lost focus on Israel-Palestine from late Obama through all of Trump.”

Click here to listen to the conversation.

The nonprofit Mid-Coast Forum on Foreign Relations was organized in 1983 by a small group of area residents with a special interest in the U.S. role in international affairs.

At its first meeting, the Board of Directors adopted the following statement of purpose: “The purpose of the Forum is to consider all aspects of foreign affairs as they impinge on our national life.  Different and controversial views will not be avoided, but Forum analysis will be conducted in a spirit of open, free inquiry, with tolerance for differing views in the best tradition of our democratic heritage.  The Forum hopes to contribute to increased knowledge of its members and to a vigorous consideration of foreign policy options facing our nation.”

In April, the Forum will host Anne Hall, wo served as the U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Lithuania from September 2016 until July 2019. Prior to that position she served as the Acting Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs.

Her topic will be, “The Baltics: Lessons in Courage.”

To learn more about the Forum, and to listen to previous talks, visit midcoastforum.org