Presentation by Joel Beinin. Why would two countries who have never been at war with each other sign a peace agreement? Does this maneuver have anything to do with advancing peace between Israel and the Palestinian people? Or is this an expression of the decade-long effort to construct a regional anti-Iranian coalition? Joel Beinin is Professor of History emeritus at Stanford University. His research focuses on the social and cultural history of the Middle East. He taught at Stanford from 1983 to 2019. He is the author of a number books and scholarly articles on the Middle East.