COURSES

1. Ambassador Daniel Ayalon

Since his appointment to the post of Israel's Ambassador to the United States in July 2002, Daniel Ayalon has been at the forefront of developing the strong relationship between the United States and Israel. He served on three Israeli Administrations as Chief Foreign Policy Adviser to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Deputy Foreign Policy Adviser to both Prime Ministers Ehud Barak and Benjamin Netanyahu.

2. Professor Alan Dershowitz

Professor Alan Dershowitz is best known for his role in several high-profile law cases and his commentary on the Arab-Israeli conflict. He is the Felix Frankfurter Professor of Law at Harvard Law School and the author of 27 works of fiction and non-fiction, including Rights From Wrong, The Case For Israel, and The Case For Peace. Professor Dershowitz has also published hundreds of articles in leading newspapers, magazines and journals and has advised presidents, UN officials, prime ministers, and business leaders about legal and political issues.

3. Bassem Eid

Bassem Eid is the Executive Director for The Palestinian Human Rights Monitoring Group (PHRMG). He worked as the senior fieldworker for the Israeli information center in the occupying territories, B’Tselem for seven years. During this time, Bassem Eid earned international recognition for his documentation and publication of a wide range of human rights issues. Bassem Eid is the co-author of the B’Tselem report on the Palestinian Preventive Security Service, “Neither Law nor Justice,” and was involved in research for nearly every B’Tselem publication from 1989 to 1996. In appreciation for his work for B’Tselem and as a journalist, Bassem Eid was awarded the 1992 Emil Grunsweig Human Rights Award by the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI).

4. Rachel Fish

Rachel Fish is a graduate of Harvard University and a senior consultant at The David Project. She was named as one of the "forward fifty" most influential Jews in America in 2003 and 2004 for her work petitioning against funds endowed by United Arab Emirates leader Sheik Zayed. Rachel also produced the documentary film Columbia Unbecoming. She is currently a doctoral student at Brandies University in the field of Israel Studies.

5. Sir Martin Gilbert

Sir Martin Gilbert is Winston Churchill's official biographer and a leading historian of the modern world. He is the author of 81 books, including Churchill: A Life, History of Israel, a three-volume work entitled A History of the Twentieth Century, and The Holocaust: The Jewish Tragedy. Sir Gilbert is an Honorary Fellow of Merton College, University of Oxford, and a Distinguished Fellow of Hillsdale College in Michigan.

6. Caroline Glick

Caroline Glick is Senior Fellow for Middle Eastern Affairs at the Center for Security Policy and deputy managing editor of the Jerusalem Post. A former officer in the Israel Defense Forces, she was a core member of Israel's negotiating team in the Oslo Negotiations under former Prime Minister Rabin. During Operation Iraqi Freedom, Glick was an embedded journalist with the U.S. Army's Third Infantry Division, joining the infantry unit that was first to reach Baghdad. She was awarded a distinguished civilian service award from the U.S. Secretary of the Army for her battlefield reporting.

7. Ambassador Dore Gold

Ambassador Dore Gold is President of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs. From 1997 to 1999 he served as the eleventh Permanent Representative of Israel to the United Nations. Ambassador Gold also served as the Foreign Policy Advisor to Benjamin Netanyahu and advisor to former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. In addition, he was an advisor to the Israeli delegation at the Madrid Peace Conference in 1991. Ambassador Gold has written numerous books and his articles have appeared in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and The Jerusalem Post.

8. Malcolm Hoenlein

Malcolm Hoenlein is the executive vice chairman of the Conference of Presidents of major American Jewish organizations since June 1986. He is the founding executive director of the Greater New York Conference on Soviet Jewry and the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York. Born in Philadelphia, he received his B.A. from Temple University and his Ph.D from the University of Pennsylvania. Malcolm Hoenlein has taught international relations and served as a Middle East specialist at the Foreign Policy Research Institute. He played a key role in organizing the massive National Solidarity Rally for Israel in Washington, D.C. in 2002.

9. Professor Mordechai Kedar

Professor Mordechai Kedar served in Israeli Defense Force Military Intelligence for 25 years. He specializes in Arab political discourse, Arab mass media, Islamic groups, and the Syrian domestic arena. He is currently a lecturer in Arabic at Bar Ilan University.

10. Aaron Klein

Aaron Klein is a Jerusalem-based author, journalist, columnist and U.S. radio and television commentator known for his close contacts with Middle East leaders. He is the Jerusalem bureau chief for WorldNetDaily and a columnist for The Jewish Press. Aaron is also the author of the critically acclaimed book Schmoozing with Terrorists. He has regular segments on top American radio programs and is a frequent guest on cable news networks, including Fox News and Al Jazeera.

11. Professor Bernard Lewis

Professor Bernard Lewis is the Cleveland E. Dodge Professor Emeritus of Near Eastern Studies at Princeton University. He specializes in the history of Islam and the interaction between Islam and the West. He is also well-known for his works on the history of the Ottoman Empire.

12. Professor David Luchins

Professor David Luchins is the chairman of the political science department at Touro College. He has also served as the Vice President of the Orthodox Union since 1976 and was a senior aide and advisor to Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan for 20 years. Professor Luchins has always been at the forefront of communal social justice, serving on the Executive Committee of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, the National Commissions of the Anti-Defamation League and the Jewish Fund for Justice.

13. Elliot Mathias

Elliot Mathias is the founder and director of Hasbara Fellowships. He also serves as an advisor for media watchdog HonestReporting.com. Elliot has dedicated his life to Israel advocacy and Israel activism on campus and travels to colleges across the country to educate and prepare students to be pro-Israel leaders. He has a degree in Political Communications from Northwestern University.

14. Natalie Menaged

Natalie Menaged is the Managing Director of the Hasbara Fellowships, an organization that trains, educates and inspires students to stand up for Israel on over 100 campuses across North America. Natalie was a participant on the very first Hasbara Fellowships and was the founder and president of Gators for Israel at the University of Florida. Upon graduation Natalie worked for Hasbara Fellowships as a Campus Coordinator, and then lived and learned in Israel for a year. Natalie has helped to train over 1500 student activists, and is dedicated to the important mission of building Israel activism skills and Jewish leadership among university students.

15. Jessica Montel

Jessica Montel is the executive director of B’Tselem, the Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories. Through her work at B'Tselem, she aims to change Israeli policy in the Occupied Territories and ensure that government protect the human rights of residents there. Jessica has three young children and currently lives in Jerusalem.

16. Dr. Daniel Pipes

Dr. Daniel Pipes is the director of the Middle East Forum and the Taube distinguished visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution of Stanford University. His website, DanielPipes.org, is the single most accessed source of information on the Middle East and Islam. Dr Pipes has served in various capacities in the U.S. government, including two presidential appointed positions, vice chairman of the Fulbright Board of Foreign Scholarships and member of the board of the U.S. Institute of Peace. He was also director of the Foreign Policy Research Institute from 1986 to 1993. Dr. Pipes is a frequent guest of popular television programs and his columns have appeared in hundreds of newspapers and websites worldwide.

17. Professor Marina Solodkin

Professor Marina Solodkin is a member of the Israeli Knesset representing the Kadima party. She was born in Moscow and has a Ph.D. in Economic & Social History from Moscow University. Professor Solodkin moved to Israel in the early 1990's and was elected to Knesset in 1996. She served as Chairperson of The Committee on the Status of Women from 1996-1999 and the Lobby for Immigrant Youth from 2003-2006.

18. Rabbi Ken Spiro

Rabbi Ken Spiro graduated from Vassar College with a BA in Russian Language and Literature and pursued his graduate studies at the Pushkin Institute in Moscow. He also received an MA in History from The Vermont College of Norwich University. Rabbi Spiro is licensed by the Israel Ministry of Tourism as a tour guide. He has appeared on numerous radio and television programs, including B.B.C. Radio and TV and The National Geographic Channel.

19. Shachar Zahavi

Shachar Zahavi is the Director of ISRAAID, The Israel Forum for International Humanitarian Aid. ISRAAID is a coordinating body of Israeli and Jewish NGOs and other organizations that are active in development and relief work and concerned about global issues.