On Thursday, March 31, the Jewish Community Relations Council of Southern New Jersey hosted Dr. Eric Mandel, founder and Director of the Middle East Political Information Network (MEPIN), for a discussion on Israel’s Challenges for 2022: A Pivotal Year for Decisions. The conversation included current topics such as the Iran negotiations, the War in the North (the new Iranian border), and how Ukraine plays into the Middle East.

Dr. Mandel regularly briefs members of the United States Congress about the ever-changing geopolitical situations in the Middle East. He is also the Senior Security Editor of the Jerusalem Report biweekly news magazine and regularly writes op eds for the Jerusalem Post. He also writes for many other publications including a recent article in the Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle in which he discusses how anti-Zionism equates to antisemitism and why this is an important dialogue in our undergraduate schools, colleges and universities here and abroad.

The event with Dr. Eric Mandel culminated a year-long project for the Board of Directors of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Southern New Jersey (JCRC of SNJ). In January 2021, the JCRC of SNJ board created an ad hoc committee to address the implications of a possible return to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) with Iran, resulting in the Ad Hoc Committee paper. Considering both the transition to a new President of the United States and the fourth election in Israel within a two-year period, concerns about Iran were amplified, making it clear that any potential deal with Iran would be of paramount importance to our community. You may read the Ad Hoc Committee paper in its entirety by going to www.jcrcsnj.org/resources and clicking on the blue “JCRC Ad Hoc Committee – JCPOA” button!