Speakers
Ambassador Chas W. Freeman, Jr.
Retired American Diplomat and Foreign Service Officer; Writer; Former Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs; Former US Ambassador to Saudi Arabia
Noura Erakat
Human Rights Attorney and Legal Scholar; Professor in the Department of Africana Studies and the Program in Criminal Justice, Rutgers University
Jasmine El-Gamal
Founder and Director, Mindwork Strategies; Creator and Host, The View From Here Podcast; Former Pentagon Middle East Advisor; National Security and Middle East Expert
Nader Hashemi
Director of the Alwaleed Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding and an Associate Professor of Middle East and Islamic Politics at the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University
Josh Paul
Co-Founder and Director, A New Policy; Former Director in the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, US Department of State
Ishaan Tharoor
Foreign Affairs Columnist and Anchor of Today’s WorldView Column, The Washington Post
Moderator
ACW Excellence Award 2025 Honoree
Mehdi Hasan is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Zeteo, a media company dedicated to independent journalism and unfiltered news. He hosts Head to Head on Al Jazeera English, writes as a columnist for The Guardian, and hosts Mehdi Unfiltered on Zeteo. Previously, he hosted The Mehdi Hasan Show on MSNBC, was a Senior Contributor at The Intercept, presented the Al Jazeera program UpFront, and served as a Political Director at The Huffington Post UK.
Hasan is the author of Win Every Argument: The Art of Debating, Persuading, and Public Speaking (2023) and Ed: The Milibands and the Making of a Labour Leader (2012). He received the Services to Media Award at the British Muslim Awards (2014), was named one of the 100 most influential Britons on X, and is included in The Muslim 500: The World’s Most Influential Muslims. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (PPE) from Christ Church, University of Oxford.
About the Conference
Arab Center Washington DC’s 10th Annual Conference critically examines the policies of the second Trump administration toward the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and their implications for democracy, human rights, international law, and regional stability. The conference discussions situate these policies within broader global debates on authoritarianism, self-determination, and the rule of law, with attention to their impact on both local populations and international norms.
In the first months of President Donald J. Trump’s second administration, US policy toward the MENA region has combined elements of continuity with striking departures. These include closer security and economic cooperation with authoritarian governments, recalibrated approaches to US force posture, developments in key bilateral relationships, shifts in US sanctions and aid policies, and evolving policies toward conflict zones. These developments raise pressing questions about the prospects for democratic governance, accountability for human rights violations, adherence to international humanitarian law, and the future of a constructive US involvement in the region.
This half-day conference convenes leading scholars, policy experts, and prominent voices on MENA politics to assess the administration’s early decisions, explore their legal and normative dimensions, and develop informed realistic policy recommendations. The conference also marks Arab Center Washington DC’s 10th anniversary, and to commemorate this milestone, the program will feature a special anniversary luncheon with a cultural program and awards ceremony honoring contributions to academic scholarship, advancements in media and information, and the promotion of democracy and human rights in the Arab world.
Conference Agenda
9:00 AM – Registration and Breakfast
9:30 AM – Welcome and Introduction
Khalil E. Jahshan, Executive Director, Arab Center Washington DC
Tamara Kharroub, Deputy Executive Director and Senior Fellow, Arab Center Washington DC
9:35 AM – Opening Keynote Address
Ambassador Chas W. Freeman, Jr.
Retired American Diplomat and Foreign Service Officer; Writer; Former Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs; Former US Ambassador to Saudi Arabia
10:15 AM – Panel Discussion
Noura Erakat, Human Rights Attorney and Legal Scholar; Professor in the Department of Africana Studies and the Program in Criminal Justice, Rutgers University
Jasmine El-Gamal, Founder and Director, Mindwork Strategies; Creator and Host, The View From Here Podcast; Former Pentagon Middle East Advisor; National Security and Middle East Expert
Nader Hashemi, Director of the Alwaleed Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding and an Associate Professor of Middle East and Islamic Politics at the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University
Josh Paul, Co-Founder and Director, A New Policy; Former Director in the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, US Department of State
Shibley Telhami, Anwar Sadat Professor for Peace and Development and Director of the Critical Issues Poll, University of Maryland; Member of the Academic Advisory Board, Arab Center Washington DC
Ishaan Tharoor – Moderator
Foreign Affairs Columnist and Anchor of Today’s WorldView Column, The Washington Post
12:30 PM – Lunch
1:00 PM – ACW at 10 Years: Anniversary Luncheon and Award Ceremony
Khalil E. Jahshan, Executive Director, Arab Center Washington DC
Tamara Kharroub, Deputy Executive Director and Senior Fellow, Arab Center Washington DC
Laurie King, Member of the Board of Directors, Arab Center Washington DC; Teaching Professor, Department of Anthropology, Georgetown University
George R. Salem, Member of the Board of Directors, Arab Center Washington DC; Legal Expert on Labor and Middle East Issues, Law Offices of George R. Salem PLLC; Strategic Advisor with DLA Piper
Presentation of the ACW Excellence Award 2025
Honoring
Mehdi Hasan
Award-winning Journalist, Broadcaster, and Author; Editor-in-Chief and Founder of Zeteo
For Commitment to Media Excellence and Journalistic Integrity
2:00 PM – Reception
3:00 PM – Adjournment
Featured image credit: Flickr/The White House
