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The Second Annual bVIEW conference, Actualizing Visions, has been made possible by the generous support of Mr. Judd Malkin.
Dr. Einat Wilf, former Member of Knesset
Jewish People Policy Institute in Jerusalem
Jewish People Policy Institute in Jerusalem
Dr. Einat Wilf is currently a Senior Fellow with The Jewish People Policy Institute in Jerusalem. As a member of the 18th Knesset she served on the influential Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, was Chair of the Education, Sports and Culture Committee, and Chair of the Knesset Sub-Committee for Israel and the Jewish People.
Previously, Dr. Wilf served as Foreign Policy Advisor to Vice Prime Minister Shimon Peres and prior to that she was a strategic consultant with McKinsey & Company. Born and raised in Israel, she served as an Intelligence Officer in the Israel Defense Forces. A graduate of Harvard University, INSEAD in France and the University of Cambridge, Wilf is the author of three books about Israel, including the most recent It’s NOT the Electoral System, Stupid.
Previously, Dr. Wilf served as Foreign Policy Advisor to Vice Prime Minister Shimon Peres and prior to that she was a strategic consultant with McKinsey & Company. Born and raised in Israel, she served as an Intelligence Officer in the Israel Defense Forces. A graduate of Harvard University, INSEAD in France and the University of Cambridge, Wilf is the author of three books about Israel, including the most recent It’s NOT the Electoral System, Stupid.
Professor Gil Troy
Shalom Hartman Institute and McGill University
Shalom Hartman Institute and McGill University
Professor Gil Troy is a leading presidential historian, and a prominent theoretician of modern Zionism and activist in the fight against the delegitimization of Israel. He is Professor of History at McGill University, and a Research Fellow in the Shalom Hartman Institute’s Engaging Israel Program.
Professor Troy’s writings have appeared in The New York Times, The New Republic, and other major media outlets. He writes a weekly column for The Jerusalem Post, and is Editor-at-Large of The Daily Beast‘s Open Zion blog. Professor Troy has written eight books, including Why I am a Zionist: Israel, Jewish Identity and the Challenges of Today and most recently Moynihan’s Moment: America’s Fight Against Zionism as Racism.
Professor Troy’s writings have appeared in The New York Times, The New Republic, and other major media outlets. He writes a weekly column for The Jerusalem Post, and is Editor-at-Large of The Daily Beast‘s Open Zion blog. Professor Troy has written eight books, including Why I am a Zionist: Israel, Jewish Identity and the Challenges of Today and most recently Moynihan’s Moment: America’s Fight Against Zionism as Racism.
Consul General Ido Aharoni
Consul General of Israel to New York
Consul General of Israel to New York
Ambassador Ido Aharoni has been serving as Israel's Consul General of Israel in New York since August 2010. A member of Israel's Foreign Service since 1991, Aharoni's former positions include Head of Israel's Brand Management Team in Jerusalem, Senior Advisor for media and public affairs to Israel's Foreign Minister and Vice Prime Minister, Policy Advisor to five Director-Generals of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Consul for Communications and Public Affairs at Israel Consulates in Los-Angeles and New York.
During his first term in New York between 2001-2005, Aharoni became familiar with nation-branding methods, which he later introduced to his superiors in Jerusalem. This effort resulted in bringing about a paradigm shift in the perception of Israel’s public image by Israeli officials, in Israel and in the USA.
During his first term in New York between 2001-2005, Aharoni became familiar with nation-branding methods, which he later introduced to his superiors in Jerusalem. This effort resulted in bringing about a paradigm shift in the perception of Israel’s public image by Israeli officials, in Israel and in the USA.
Ambassador Marc Ginsberg
CEO, One Voice Movement
CEO, One Voice Movement
Former Ambassador Ginsberg spent his formative years in the Middle East, particularly in Israel, Egypt, Jordan, and Lebanon, and began his legal career working for a U.S. law firm in Saudi Arabia and Egypt. He served as the Deputy Senior Advisor for Middle East Policy to President Carter and in 1994 he was named U.S. Ambassador to Morocco by President Clinton, making him the first American of Jewish heritage to be appointed to an Arab nation. Throughout his career, Amb. Ginsberg has served on many prestigious public and private panels reviewing U.S. foreign and economic policy in the Middle East, including multiple Council on Foreign Relations task forces and the Brookings Institute Saban Center Islamic Task Force.
Most recently, he was named co-chair of the Center for Strategic International Studies (CSIS) roundtable on Islamic extremism in Europe and he continues to serve as a member of the RAND Corp. Middle East Advisory Board. Amb. Ginsberg has also been active in the private sector, both as the Senior Vice President of APCO Worldwide, a global corporate and communications advisory company, and also as the President of Layalina Productions, the first U.S. philanthropic producer of commercial Arabic language television for broadcasting in the Arab world. Amb. Ginsberg is also a U.S. and Arab media commentator, offering analyses to CNN, MSNBC, BBC, and many other media outlets. His insights are regularly published in several prominent U.S. newspapers and periodicals, including Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, the International Herald Tribune, and the Huffington Post.
Most recently, he was named co-chair of the Center for Strategic International Studies (CSIS) roundtable on Islamic extremism in Europe and he continues to serve as a member of the RAND Corp. Middle East Advisory Board. Amb. Ginsberg has also been active in the private sector, both as the Senior Vice President of APCO Worldwide, a global corporate and communications advisory company, and also as the President of Layalina Productions, the first U.S. philanthropic producer of commercial Arabic language television for broadcasting in the Arab world. Amb. Ginsberg is also a U.S. and Arab media commentator, offering analyses to CNN, MSNBC, BBC, and many other media outlets. His insights are regularly published in several prominent U.S. newspapers and periodicals, including Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, the International Herald Tribune, and the Huffington Post.
Captain (Res.) Aliza Landes
MIT Sloan Program
MIT Sloan Program
Capt. (Res) Aliza Landes completed six years in the IDF this past August, and is currently an MBA student at MIT Sloan. Originally from Boston, she received a dual degree in political science and Middle East studies from McGill University in 2005, after which she made Aliyah (immigrated to Israel) and enlisted in the IDF. Initially assigned to the Foreign Press branch of the IDF Spokesperson's Unit, during Operation Cast Lead in winter 2008-9, she opened the IDF YouTube channel, which lead to the establishment of the IDF New Media Desk. She built up the desk over two years, overseeing social media efforts during events such as the Haiti relief delegation (Jan 2010) and the Gaza Flotilla (May 2010). In 2011 she moved to the Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), a civil-military agency that coordinates with Palestinians and international organizations, to head the Public Information Department.
Professor Larry Sternberg
Visiting Scholar and Former Executive Director of Hillel at Brandeis University
Visiting Scholar and Former Executive Director of Hillel at Brandeis University
Larry Sternberg is a Visiting Scholar at Brandeis’ Hornstein Program for Jewish Professional Leadership and has worked at Brandeis University for over 30 years. He served as Executive Director of Brandeis Hillel, and, as a member of the Brandeis faculty, as Director of the Perlmutter Institute for Jewish Advocacy and as Associate Director of the Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies.
Prof. Sternberg is co-editor of Changing Jewish Life: Service Delivery and Planning in the 1990s and has published articles on Jewish political activism, Jewish social policy, Israel-Diaspora relationships, Jewish identity in America, and intermarriage. He has served as a consultant to Jewish organizations in North America, Europe and Israel, working with professional and volunteer leadership in areas of community planning, intergroup relations, and Jewish and Israel advocacy. Sternberg is a founding board member of the Boston-based Jewish Organizing Fellowship, which provides college graduates with fellowships and training to work in social justice settings and of Congregation Or Atid, a Conservative synagogue in Wayland, Massachusetts.
Prof. Sternberg is co-editor of Changing Jewish Life: Service Delivery and Planning in the 1990s and has published articles on Jewish political activism, Jewish social policy, Israel-Diaspora relationships, Jewish identity in America, and intermarriage. He has served as a consultant to Jewish organizations in North America, Europe and Israel, working with professional and volunteer leadership in areas of community planning, intergroup relations, and Jewish and Israel advocacy. Sternberg is a founding board member of the Boston-based Jewish Organizing Fellowship, which provides college graduates with fellowships and training to work in social justice settings and of Congregation Or Atid, a Conservative synagogue in Wayland, Massachusetts.
Mr. Uri Blau
Niemen Fellow, Harvard University and Ha'aretz Newsaper
Niemen Fellow, Harvard University and Ha'aretz Newsaper
Uri Blau is an investigative journalist specializing in military and political affairs for the Tel Aviv-based Haaretz newspaper. In 2012, he became the first journalist in Israel to be charged and convicted under the country’s Espionage Act for possession of classified information after exposing that the Israeli Defense Forces conducted and covered up unlawful targeted assassinations in the West Bank. Blau has reported on a wide range of topics, uncovering a number of corruption scandals involving top government and military officials. He also has worked as an analyst for Japan’s Fuji TV, Britain’s Channel 4 and other international media outlets. Blau will study entrepreneurial models for a sustainable, independent nonprofit investigative news platform in Israel and how that could form a base for cooperation among journalists from the Middle East.
Ms. Daniel Desta
Israel at Heart
Israel at Heart
Daniel Desta is a Fulbright Scholar at Brandeis University studying non-profit management, and an activist for Israel at Heart, an organization dedicated to promoting a better understanding of Israel and its people.
Ashraf Hussein
Brandeis Slifka Scholar
Brandeis Slifka Scholar
Ashraf Hussein ’13 is a recent Brandeis University graduate and a Slifka scholar for Arab-Jewish co-existence. As an undergraduate student, Ashraf majored in economics and business and had a minor in peace, conflict, and coexistence studies. He earned his master’s degree in finance and graduated with distinction. Upon his graduation, he joined the KPMG Valuations team in Boston. Previously, he worked at the Center for Jewish-Arab Economic Development in Herzliya, at the Jerusalem Interest Free Micro-Finance Fund in Jerusalem, and was an investment analyst at Highfields Capital in Boston.
Ashraf is a recipient of the Slifka Scholarship for Peace and Coexistence between Jews and Arabs Palestinians in Israel. He is also a Hassenfeld fellow and a recipient of the Global Leadership Award from the Brandeis International Business School. In the future, he aspires to return to Israel after gaining a few years of work experience in the finance sector. He dreams of facilitating cooperation between Arabs -especially Palestinians - and Israelis though investments, business, and economic development.
Ashraf is a recipient of the Slifka Scholarship for Peace and Coexistence between Jews and Arabs Palestinians in Israel. He is also a Hassenfeld fellow and a recipient of the Global Leadership Award from the Brandeis International Business School. In the future, he aspires to return to Israel after gaining a few years of work experience in the finance sector. He dreams of facilitating cooperation between Arabs -especially Palestinians - and Israelis though investments, business, and economic development.
Ohad Elhelo
Brandeis Slifka Scholar
Brandeis Slifka Scholar
Ohad is a sophomore Slifka scholar for Arab-Jewish co-existence at Brandeis University, originally from Ashdod, Israel. He is pursuing a major in Economics and works as a Business Development Analyst at an Israeli entrepreneurial company. At 18, Ohad enlisted in the IDF Special Forces unit, Egoz, to be later promoted to a commanding position in the Counter-Terrorism unit. He was then chosen to attend Officers’ School, and in 2010, became a combat intelligence officer and served in northern Israel and the West Bank. During his last months in the army, he led a project that was nominated for the Head of Intelligence Prize.
Completing his 4.5 years of military service, Ohad moved to Tel Aviv and worked as a campaign manager at Taykey, an international online advertising startup. He simultaneously completed one year of studies at IDC Herzliya, before transferring to Brandeis as a recipient of the prestigious Slifka Israeli Coexistence Scholarship. Ohad, who is still an active reserve officer, was called to duty in Operation Pillar of Defense, Israel's most recent operation in Gaza.
Completing his 4.5 years of military service, Ohad moved to Tel Aviv and worked as a campaign manager at Taykey, an international online advertising startup. He simultaneously completed one year of studies at IDC Herzliya, before transferring to Brandeis as a recipient of the prestigious Slifka Israeli Coexistence Scholarship. Ohad, who is still an active reserve officer, was called to duty in Operation Pillar of Defense, Israel's most recent operation in Gaza.
