The Mediator: Brett McGurk and the October 7 Hostage Crisis
Hosted By: Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
What does it take to negotiate with presidents, spies, and terrorists when millions of lives are on the line?
Join us for an exclusive online event featuring Brett McGurk, the American mediator who spent 15 months in the room negotiating the high-stakes release of the hostages taken on October 7.
From the Oval Office to secret meetings across the Middle East, McGurk will take us inside his gripping new account, Brink. Hear firsthand how he navigated impossible tradeoffs, faced down maximalist demands, and forged an unlikely bipartisan front with Trump’s emissary, Steve Witkoff, to secure a ceasefire and save lives.
McGurk will be in conversation with Hilary Krieger, executive editor of JTA and the New York Jewish Week for this remarkable, behind-the-scenes look at a crisis that reshaped our world.
About our speaker: Brett McGurk served at the highest levels of American national security across four presidential administrations. Most recently, he was Deputy Assistant for National Security Affairs to President Biden, where he coordinated policy for the Middle East and North Africa. He earlier served as Special Presidential Envoy to Presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump, where he led the global coalition against ISIS. Under President Obama, he also led secret talks with Iran to free several American hostages held in Iran’s notorious Evin Prison, later receiving the James Foley Freedom Award for hostage diplomacy. He is currently a Global Affairs Analyst for CNN and a Distinguished Fellow at Harvard’s Belfer Center and the Atlantic Council. He earned a bachelor’s degree with honors from the University of Connecticut and a J.D. from Columbia Law School, after which he clerked for Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist.
