KEYNOTE SPEAKERS
![]()
|
SESSION SPEAKERS |
Historical Events: |
![]() Raphael Danziger’s Breakout Sessions will be: “Founding of the Modern State of Israel” and “History of the Arab-Israeli Conflict” |
![]() Bob Epstein’s Breakout Session will be: “History of Development of the IDF” |
![]() Charles Perkins’s Breakout Session will be: “Israeli Missile Defenses – An Example of U.S./Israel Cooperation” |
![]() Asher Saida’s Breakout Session will be: “Israel’s Political System and its Effects on Israeli Society” |
![]() Jesse Stock’s Breakout Session will be: “The History of the Peace Process and Why No Peace?” |
Support from the Pro-Israel Non-Jewish Communities: |
![]() Robert Dean’s Breakout Sessions will be: “Why is Israel Important to the Christian community?” and “The Interconnection and Interdependence of Christian and Jewish Zionism from 1640 to 1900” |
![]() Fred Maroun’s Breakout Sessions will be: “How Non- Jewish Allies of Israel Can Effectively Support and Advocate for the State of Israel” |
Israel’s Contributions to the World: |
![]() Moty Avisar’s Breakout Session will be: Technion presents “SURGICAL THEATER: From Fighter Pilots to Surgeons; Using Virtual Reality to Perfect the Critical Mission” |
![]() Toba Hellerstein’s Breakout Session will be: “Israel’s Role in Cyber-Security Technology” |
![]() Limor Lahav ’s Breakout Session will be: “Israeli Delicacies – Anyone for shakshuka?” |
![]() Lynne M. Quittell’s Breakout Session will be: “Tikkun Olam Without Borders: Healing the World Through Global Medicine” |
Current Issues: |
![]() Gidon Ariel’s Breakout Sessions will be: “The Settlements and Israeli Politics” and “An Orthodox Jew and Evangelical Christians- How Israel Has Brought Us Together” |
![]() Tal will only speak for Session 1. Live from Israel. Tal Becker’s Breakout Session will be: “The Changing Place of Israel in American Jewish Identity” |
![]() Ryan Bellerose’s Breakout Session will be: “Are the Jewish People Indigenous to the Land of Israel?” |
![]() Rabbi Boxman graduated in 2007 from American University in Washington D.C, with a major in International Relations and a minor in Israel Studies. She continued her studies at Hebrew Union College and was ordained as a rabbi in 2012. Following ordination, Rabbi Boxman enrolled in a Masters of Jewish Education program and in 2013 earned her degree as a Jewish Educator. Ariel Boxman’s Breakout Session will be: “The Portrayal of Minorities (Arab, Ethiopians and the Orthodox) in Israeli Film” |
![]() Yoram Ettinger’s opinions have been published in Israel and in the United States, and is a regular interviewee on Israel and U.S. television and radio news programs. He is the author of the articles published in the highly regarded The Ettinger Report. Ambassador (ret.) Ettinger, an Israeli, is a graduate of UCLA and the University of Texas at El Paso, has served as Minister for Congressional Affairs at Israel’s Embassy in Washington, Israel’s Consul General in Houston and Director of Israel’s Government Press Office. He is the editor of “The Jerusalem Cloakroom” and “The Jerusalem Boardroom” newsletters on issues of national security and overseas investments in Israel’s high-tech industries. Yoram Ettinger’s Breakout Sessions will be: “The Myth of Projected Jewish-Arab demographics: no Arab population time bomb has occurred” and “The Mutually-Beneficial US-Israel relations (What’s in it for the US?)” |
![]() Eric Fox’s Breakout Session will be: “U.S. Role in Maintaining Israel’s Air Superiority in the Middle East” |
![]() Neil will only speak for Sessions 2,3 and 4. Live from Israel. Neil Lazarus’s Breakout Sessions will be: “United We Stand Divided We Fall” and “Crisis in Israel- threats from Iran to chaos in Gaza” |
![]() Eran Lerman’s Breakout Session will be: “The Three Pillars of the Special US-Israel Relationship: Interests, Values, and Politics” |
![]() In this position, Jacob has focused on state anti-BDS legislation. To date, Jacob has assisted, or overseen, successful legislative efforts in almost two-dozen states. In addition to this work, Jacob oversees The Israel Project’s board partnerships and coalitions program. Jacob graduated from the University of Illinois with a degree in History and Political Science and completed graduate studies at the University of Minnesota. Originally from Chicago, Jacob currently resides in Plymouth, a western suburb of Minneapolis. Jacob Millner’s Breakout Sessions will be: “Effect of the Media and Social Media on Israel” and “Attitudes of Different Generations Toward Israel” |
![]() Andrew Pession’s Breakout Session will be: “State of the Campus” |
![]() Lillian Pinkus currently serves as AIPAC Board Chair, having recently completed her term as AIPAC President. Lillian has been a pro-Israel advocate for decades. She was an active letter writer to the Dallas Morning News. She and her husband taught about Israel and the U.S. -Israel relationship in multiple Methodist and Presbyterian Churches for a number of years. Currently, Lillian is involved in pro-Israel politics, both locally and nationally. Lillian holds a BA from Brandeis University and an MEd from Harvard University. She began her professional career in youth work at Temple Emanu El in Dallas. Lillian and Jon have two sons, Jared, married to Samantha and Aaron married to Pamela. They also have two grand daughters Tara Rose and Chandler Drew. Best club ever! Lillian Pinkus’s Breakout Session will be: “The Criticality of Bi-Partisanship to the U.S./Israel Relationship” |
![]() Niv Rabino’s Breakout Session will be: “Israel on the Disaster Forefront – IsraAID’s Global Humanitarian Aid Agency” |
![]() Prof. Steinberg founded NGO Monitor following the 2001 UN World Conference Against Racism in Durban South Africa, where powerful NGOs, claiming to promote human rights, hijacked the principles of morality and international law. NGO Monitor provides information and analysis, promotes accountability, and supports discussion on the reports and activities of NGOs claiming to advance human rights and humanitarian agendas. In 2013, Professor Steinberg accepted the prestigious Menachem Begin Prize on behalf of NGO Monitor, recognizing its “Efforts exposing the political agenda and ideological basis of humanitarian organizations that use the Discourse of human rights to discredit Israel and to undermine its position among the nations of the world.” In 2017, Professor Steinberg accepted the Nefesh b’Nefesh Bonei Zion prize on behalf of his in recognition of his and NGO Monitor’s contributions to the State of Israel. Steinberg is a member of Israel Council of Foreign Affairs; the Israel Higher-Education Council, Committee on Public Policy; advisory board of the Israel Law Review International, the research working group of the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI), and participates in the Inter-parliamentary Coalition for Combating Antisemitism (ICCA). He also speaks at a variety of high-level government sessions and academic conferences worldwide. Publications include “NGOs, Human Rights, and Political Warfare in the Arab-Israel Conflict” (Israel Studies); “The UN, the ICJ and the Separation Barrier: War by Other Means” (Israel Law Review); Best Practices for Human Rights and Humanitarian NGO Fact-Finding (co-author), Nijhoff, Leiden, 2012, and “Filling in the Blanks: Documenting Missing Dimensions in the UN and NGO Investigations of the Gaza Conflict”, 2015. His op-ed columns have been published in Wall St. Journal (Europe), Financial Times, Ha’aretz, International Herald Tribune, Jerusalem Post, and other publications. He has appeared as a commentator on the BBC, CNN, MSNBC, Al Jazeera, and NPR. Gerald Steinberg’s Breakout Session will be: “Human Rights Hijacked for Hate: Fighting the Campaigns to Delegitimize Israel” |
![]() Chaim Sukenik’s Breakout Sessions will be: “Torah to Technology – The Role of Jerusalem College of Technology” and “Getting Under-represented Populations to Fully Participate in the Start-up Nation” |
![]() Prior to joining NGO Monitor, Dov was a hi-tech entrepreneur for over 20 years. He was one of the founders of Unicorn Solutions, a company that develops software for metadata management. Dov was responsible for managing their global Information Technologies and Administration. In 2006, Unicorn Solutions was bought by IBM. After leaving IBM, Dov desired to return to the “start-up” world, and was intrigued by the opportunity to apply his business experience and the logic of the high-tech industry to the relatively new organization, NGO Monitor. Upon joining NGO Monitor, Dov filled a much needed void, aiding the organization in growing from a six person team to an organization of over 25 full-time staff. Dov’s leadership has led NGO Monitor to become recognized around the world for its unique work in monitoring human rights organizations’ activities and donors in the context of the Arab-Israeli conflict. Dov has always been active in community service and leadership positions. After completing college, Dov moved to Israel from Australia in 1988 and served in the Israel Defence Force. Dov holds a certificate in Business Entrepreneurship from Hebrew University. Dov Yarden Breakout Session will be: “Stopping BDS at the Source: A Behind the Scenes Look at Cutting NGO Funding” |