Daniel Levy writes:

Jared Kushner’s long-awaited “Peace to Prosperity” gathering at the Manama Four Seasons Hotel in Bahrain generated just about the level of serious coverage that it merited—precious little. For all its borderline pantomime-style imbecility (Kushner himself put in a performance as someone pretending to care about the Palestinians), this convening actually matters.

Coming at a time in the region when the U.S. is inching closer to an armed confrontation with Iran and endorsing Israel’s permanent annexation of more Palestinian territories, the Bahrain workshop offered an important exposé of just how consequential the flaws in this administration’s approach to the region might prove to be. The gathering certainly brought into focus their shallow grasp of the Israel-Palestine portfolio. (One very senior participant privately confided that while it is nice that this U.S. team prides themselves on thinking outside the box, it would be good if they first understood what was actually inside the box.) It was also a jaw-dropping display of how completely they are being played by various regional actors in ways highly detrimental to American interests. More on that in a moment, but first, here are five reasons why Kushner’s show was such a risible enterprise even on its own terms. [Continue reading…]