The Board of Peace has appointed Shelley Greenspan, a former liaison to the Jewish community under President Joe Biden, to a senior role focused on congressional outreach, as part of its ongoing effort to build bipartisan support for its work and for the Trump administration’s Gaza peace plan. Greenspan will begin her new position next week, reporting to senior advisers Josh Gruenbaum and Aryeh Lightstone.
Greenspan brings extensive experience in political, diplomatic, and policy spheres, having previously worked on Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign research team, at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), and held senior roles in technology companies including Amazon. She also served in the State Department and on the National Security Council with a focus on global partnerships. She was appointed Biden’s liaison to the Jewish community in 2022 and is the granddaughter of Holocaust survivors.
In a statement, Greenspan said she was honored to join the Board of Peace at what she described as a critical moment. She emphasized her prior work promoting peace and prosperity in the Middle East through the Biden administration’s initiatives, noting the potential of the administration’s 20-point plan for Gaza to produce tangible benefits for both Gaza and Israel.
The Board of Peace and its backers are aiming to ensure the Gaza plan endures beyond the current administration, seeking bipartisan commitment so that the initiative remains viable regardless of which party controls the White House. This strategy appears designed to avoid the fate of the Abraham Accords, which saw a slowdown in momentum after the transition from President Donald Trump to Biden in January 2021. The accords had secured normalization agreements between Israel and several Arab countries, but new agreements stalled during Biden’s tenure, partly due to the administration’s cautious approach toward the accords’ branding and advancement. It was not until mid-2023 that the State Department appointed Dan Shapiro as a special envoy to promote expansion of the Abraham Accords.
In recent months, several prominent Democrats, including former US ambassador to Israel Jack Levy, former Biden administration adviser Brett McGurk, and Hillary Clinton, have voiced support for the Trump administration’s Gaza peace plan. Clinton acknowledged that while the plan is not ideal from her perspective, it remains the sole framework currently possessing enough leverage, political engagement, and resources to make progress toward peace.
The Board of Peace highlighted Greenspan’s ability to work across the political aisle, noting her trustworthiness among both Democrats and Republicans accrued through her roles in Democratic and Republican administrations. Her appointment underscores the board’s commitment to fostering bipartisan backing to advance its Gaza peace efforts in Congress.