Board of Peace hires Biden aide to secure $14 billion in bipartisan backing

The Board of Peace appointed Shelley Greenspan to a senior role to secure bipartisan support for the Gaza peace plan.

Greenspan, who served as President Joe Biden's liaison to the Jewish community, will focus on outreach to Democratic lawmakers. She begins her position next week under senior advisers Josh Gruenbaum and Aryeh Lightstone. Her appointment is part of a wider effort to prevent the 20-point plan and the Board from becoming partisan initiatives that rely solely on Republican leadership.

The Trump administration aims to establish a framework that can survive a change in administration, specifically targeting the 2028 election cycle. Officials want to ensure that a future Democratic president would continue implementing the Gaza plan rather than abandoning it. This strategy mirrors lessons learned from the Abraham Accords, which were announced in 2020 to normalize relations between Israel and several Arab and Muslim-majority nations.

After the 2021 transition, the Biden administration paused efforts to expand the Abraham Accords. It was not until June 2023 that Secretary of State Antony Blinken appointed Dan Shapiro to lead those efforts. The current push for the Gaza plan seeks to avoid a similar stall by securing early commitments from both parties in Congress.

Greenspan brings a mix of policy and management experience to the role. She previously worked at AIPAC, the State Department, and the National Security Council. She also held positions at technology companies, including Amazon, and served on Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign research team. Her background includes a focus on global partnerships during her time at the NSC.

In a statement, Greenspan described the appointment as an opportunity to continue work she started at the State Department. She said she saw how the 20-point plan could deliver tangible results for the people of Gaza and Israel. The Board of Peace noted that Greenspan has earned trust across the political divide through her service in both Democratic and Republican administrations.

Support for the plan has already emerged from prominent Democrats. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton wrote in the Financial Times that the 20-point plan remains the only framework with sufficient leverage and resources to move the parties toward implementation. She acknowledged that it is not the version she would have drafted but supported its potential. Other supporters include former US ambassador to Israel Jack Lew and former senior Biden adviser Brett McGurk.