Dr. Gershon Baskin should be a household name at this point. Though he is best known as the person responsible for the secret back-channel talks between Israel and the Hamas that successfully negotiated the release of Israeli abducted soldier Gilad Shalit, he is also one of the most well-informed commentators on Gaza and Hamas.
In this recorded conversation, Gershon clues us in on the changes in Gaza since the 2005 disengagement.
Dr. Baskin was the Israeli Co-Director and founder of the Israel/Palestine Center for Research 
and Information (IPCRI) – a joint Israeli-Palestinian public policy think and “do”-tank located in Jerusalem. During the Premiership of the late Yitzhak Rabin, he served as an advisor on the Israeli-Palestinian peace process to a secret team of intelligence officers established by Mr. Rabin. Dr. Baskin was a member of the Jerusalem Experts Committee established by the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office during the Final Status Negotiations in 2000-2001.
He is a member of the steering committee of the Palestinian-Israeli Peace NGO Forum, a member of the Board of ALLMEP – the Alliance for Middle East Peace, a member of the Editorial Board of the Palestinian Israeli Journal, and a member of the Board of One Voice.
He has a regular column in the Jerusalem Post Newspaper and has received numerous awards for his work toward peace. Dr. Baskin speaks Hebrew, English and Arabic.
Since January 2012 Dr. Baskin is working to develop renewable energy projects around the Middle East.
[…] an online conversation with people from Partners for a Progressive Israel, Gershon Baskin shares his unique perspectives on what is going on in Gaza, focusing on […]