U.S. President George W. Bush, former British prime minister Tony Blair and media mogul Rupert Murdoch are among the 13 heads of states and 3,500 guests expected to attend President Shimon Peres’ Presidential Conference in Jerusalem. The conference, which opens Tuesday, is being held in honor of Israel’s 60th anniversary.

(Details on the Facing Tomorrow Conference are available on Haaretz.com.)

The conference will bring together people from vastly different fields at the capital’s International Convention Center, in what Gil calls “a celebration of Jewish intellect.” Discussion subjects in panels and workshops are to range from medical ethics to “Why the new Middle East is not yet here.”

The conference budget, $21 million, has been entirely provided by Jewish donors from Israel and elsewhere. U.S. billionaire Sheldon Adelson, who is close to MK Benjamin Netanyahu, contributed $3 million and was named honorary conference president.

In the days leading up to the conference, it has been impossible to find any suites in Jerusalem hotels – eight hotels in the city are already fully booked.

The International Conference Center, where the opening ceremony will take place, has undergone a massive remodeling.

Hundreds of attendants have been hired to cater to the distinguished guests’ needs, and a number of special teams have been formed by the Foreign Ministry in order to escort some of the world leaders that will arrive.

Fifty representatoves will be on call to answer the press’ questions, and 400 hotel rooms have been booked for journalists.

The organizers of the conference are hoping that Peres’ stature will not be overshadowed by the investigation against Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.

Olmert is scheduled to speak to the conference twice. It is not clear whether the publication of the suspicions against Olmert will mean a change of plans.

Ex-U.S. diplomat analyzes threats to Israel in run-up to conference

In a run-up to the conference, former U.S. deputy secretary of state and treasury Stuart Eizenstat will present Monday a position paper on Israel’s future to the conference’s participants.

In the paper, Eisenstat analyzes the main geo-political trends that threaten and effect Israel and the Jewish world. The paper includes ways in which to deal with these issues as well.

The first trend Eisenstat discusses is a shift in the world’s economic and political power, as the United States will soon no longer be the lone super power. Eisenstat remarks that other players, such as India, China and Russia, will soon become much more influential.

The second trend Eisenstat writes of refers to both globalization and the “Clash of Civilizations”. The third is the rise of the radical Islam and terror groups. The fourth is on “untraditional” dangers such as nuclear proliferation, global warming and demographics.

The fifth and final trend is the rise of a new form of anti-Semitism which is mixed with anti-Israel sentiments.

“All these main trends will be most challenging to Israel and the Jewish world,” summarizes Eisenstat, “but Israel is in a good position. The economy is strong, Israel has an excellent military and the kind of creativity that turns these challenges into opportunities.”

In order to take advantage of these opportunities, Eisenstat believes Israel must fight the brain drain and invest heavily in education.

He adds that in order for Israel to preserve it’s Jewish and Democratic identity, it must have internationally accepted borders.

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