Dennis Ross' 'Doomed to Succeed' Wins Prestigious Jewish Book Council Award

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Dennis Ross' chronicle of eleven presidents and their relations with Israel — Doomed to Succeed: The U.S.-Israel Relationship from Truman to Obama — captured the top prize in the history category of the 2015 National Jewish Book Awards, the longest-running North American awards program in the field of Jewish literature.

"We are thrilled Dennis' outstanding work received this well-deserved award," said Dr. Robert Satloff, Washington Institute Executive Director and the Howard Berkowitz Chair in U.S. Middle East Policy. "In this fascinating book, Dennis weaves together diplomatic history and personal experience to recount the often stormy story of U.S.-Israel ties from the birth of the state to the present moment. The lessons he draws have powerful resonance in today’s post-Iran-deal world."

"This is a great honor," said Amb. Ross, the Institute's Counselor and William Davidson Distinguished Fellow. "As we enter another presidential election year, I hope Doomed to Succeed will be a useful resource to understand how leaders of both parties have contributed to the U.S.-Israel relationship, even as many have made the same mistakes over and over again in our broader Middle East policy."

From his first days as a young Pentagon planner in the Carter administration to his latest White House tour in the Obama administration, Ambassador Ross has been at the heart of American foreign policy and the U.S.-Israel relationship. During the Reagan presidency he helped create the U.S.-Israel strategic partnership, and he was the U.S. point man on the Arab-Israeli peace process in both the George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton administrations. Most recently, he served as special advisor to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and special assistant to President Obama.

Throughout this period, Ambassador Ross has made The Washington Institute his "intellectual home" when he was not serving in the government. He has been affiliated with the Institute since it was created and wrote its first research paper in 1985.

Doomed to Succeed is available in bookstores and on Amazon.

About the Institute: The Washington Institute is an independent, nonpartisan research institution that advances a balanced and realistic understanding of U.S. interest in the broader Middle East. Drawing on the research of its fellows and the experience of its policy practitioners, the Institute promotes informed debate and scholarly research on U.S. policy in the region.

Media Contact: Ian Byrne, 202-452-0650, email.