Book Talk: Tomorrow Is Yesterday by Robert Malley and Hussein Agha
On October 8, 2025, the Yale Law School community welcomed Robert Malley, senior fellow at the Yale Jackson School and co-author (with Hussein Agha) of Tomorrow Is Yesterday: Life, Death, and the Pursuit of Peace in Israel/Palestine, for a conversation exploring decades of diplomacy and the enduring challenges of peacemaking in the Middle East.
In a wide-ranging discussion with Professor Samuel Moyn, Kent Professor of Law and History at Yale University, Professor Aslı Ü. Bâli, Howard M. Holtzmann Professor of Law and President of the Middle East Studies Association, and Michael Hanna, U.S. Program Director at the International Crisis Group, Malley—who previously served as U.S. Special Envoy for Iran and held senior positions in both the Obama and Clinton administrations—reflected on his years of experience negotiating in the region and the insights that shaped his new book. The panel discussed the limits of diplomacy, the burdens of historical memory, and the ethical and strategic choices that continue to define efforts toward peace.
The event drew a packed audience of students and faculty, who engaged the speakers in a thoughtful discussion on the lessons learned from of a career spent at the center of Middle East negotiations.
The event was co-sponsored by the Yale Council on Middle East Studies, the Yale Law National Security Group, and the Center for Global Legal Challenges.
