Aziz Abu Sarah is a Palestinian peacebuilder, author and mission-focused entrepreneur whose brother was killed by Israeli soldiers. Along with Maoz Inon, Aziz is leading a movement calling for peace and reconciliation, rejecting vicious cycles of violence. He is a National Geographic Explorer and Ted Fellow, and the co-founder MEJDI Tours, which uses travel as a peacemaking tool, and InterAct International, a non profit advancing sustainability, education, and cross cultural connections. Dr. Sa’ed Atshan is Associate Professor of Peace and Conflict Studies and Anthropology and Chair of the Department of Peace and Conflict Studies at Swarthmore College. He has previously served as an Associate Professor of Anthropology at Emory University, as a Visiting Assistant Professor of Anthropology and Senior Research Scholar at the University of California, Berkeley, and as a Postdoctoral Fellow at Brown University’s Watson Institute for International Studies. He earned a PhD in Anthropology and Middle Eastern Studies and MA in Social Anthropology from Harvard University, an MPP from the Harvard Kennedy School, and BA from Swarthmore College. Atshan is the author of Queer Palestine and the Empire of Critique (Stanford University Press, 2020), coauthor (with Katharina Galor) of The Moral Triangle: Germans, Israelis, Palestinians (Duke University Press, 2020), and coeditor (with Galor) of Reel Gender: Palestinian and Israeli Cinema (Bloomsbury, 2022). Tamar Baruch was born in 1987 in Haifa, Israel. She earned a master’s degree in Documentary Film from NYU’s Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute as a Fulbright fellow, and a bachelor’s degree in Film from Tel Aviv University’s Steve Tisch School of Film and Television and York University’s Film Department in Toronto. Her films—including Gloria (2013), Power of Attorney (2014), Stranger of the Dunes (2017), and Her Name Was Zehava (2024)—have been screened at film festivals worldwide and have won the Best Short Film at the Jerusalem Film Festival, the Best Documentary Short Film Award at the Haifa International Film Festival, the Amazon Most Promising Director Prize at the Montreal World Film Festival, and First Prize at Nòt Film Festival Italy, among others. She has received fellowships from MacDowell, Yaddo, VCCA, and Bogliasco. Amnon Be’eri Sulitzeanu is Co-CEO of The Abraham Initiatives. Previously, he directed marketing and communications for the Jerusalem Foundation and served as an adviser to and spokesman for Israel’s Ministry of Immigrant Absorption. He previously served as the Director of Marketing Communications at the Jerusalem Foundation, where he worked to initiate and develop educational, cultural, and social enterprises in Jerusalem. Prior to that, he worked as the Adviser to the Minister of Immigrant Absorption and as the spokesperson of the Ministry. Among other tasks, he was active in designing public policy during the massive waves of migration from the Former Soviet Union and Ethiopia. Born in South Africa, Alexis worked for the National Geographic Channel, BBC World and PBS Frontline in her early career. In 2014, she won the PGA Award for “We Steal Secrets: The Story of WikiLeaks,” for Universal Pictures. In 2017, Alexis co-directed HBO’s “Bright Lights: Starring Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds”, nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Directing, and an Emmy for Exceptional Merit. In 2019 she directed “Divide and Conquer: The Story of Roger Ailes” (also nominated for an Emmy Award.) Her last film, “Catching Fire: The Story of Anita Pallenberg” was released by Magnolia Pictures in May 2024. Julie Cohen is an Academy Award nominated documentary filmmaker, and winner of the Jewish Film Institute’s 2024 Freedom of Expression Award. Her films include: the Oscar nominated, Emmy winning RBG, and the Peabody winning My Name is Pauli Murray, both directed alongside Betsy West; the Emmy nominated Every Body; and the 10 time Audience Choice Award winning The Sturgeon Queens. Before becoming a filmmaker, Julie was a staff producer for NBC News. Omri Dayan is a London-based filmmaker whose work explores themes of family, mortality, and intergenerational communication, often addressing global issues through intimate, personal narratives. Born to Israeli immigrant parents, Omri grew up in the United States before relocating to London, where he earned a BA in Practical Filmmaking from the MetFilm School. As an emerging voice in cinema, his storytelling bridges cultural and emotional landscapes with depth and sensitivity. Osama lliwat was born in Jerusalem and spent his early childhood there, but the family lost their Jerusalem residency when he was young (as they were not citizens) and were forced to move to the West Bank. As a youth, he lived in Jericho and was involved in the Palestinian resistance. Osama has been a dedicated peace activist for over fifteen years, working with organizations across the field, including the Sulha Peace Project, Interfaith Encounter Association, MJC ( Muslim Jewish conference), Combatants for Peace, and IPCRI. He speaks regularly for organizations and Universities all around the world. When Osama is not working for peace internationally, he helps his community in Jericho, and other communities in the West Bank, supporting them to stay on their land and rebuild homes, parks and schools. He also offers political educational tours in the West Bank and in 2011 he co-founded Visit Palestine, a political tourism company. He taught himself Hebrew in order to connect on the land, and also participates in trauma and healing work to support people on the land. He has participated in many different trauma healing workshops in Israel/Palestine, and around the world, and believes deeply in the importance of creating save space for Israelis and Palestinians to heal on personal, social and political levels. Osama was a speaker for TEDx Jaffa at the beginning of his peace journey, and featured in many television interviews including on the BBC in 2021 and NPR. He has also published an article in The Forward, and his work has been featured in newspapers across the world. He has also been featured in several documentaries, including Objector and The Other. Noa Fort is a Brooklyn based, Israeli born vocalist, pianist, composer, improviser and music therapist. She released two critically acclaimed albums as a band leader and has collaborated with leading figures in the Jazz and improvised music scene, performing on prestigious stages and festivals around the world. Tamara Gayer is an Israeli-American public artist and longtime activist. Her works are installed across North America and she is represented in collections, including that of the Museum of Modern Art. In her activist life she is one of the organizers of Israelis for Peace and the Chair of the NYC Friends of Standing Together. Director Alex Gibney, called “the most important documentarian of our time” by Esquire Magazine has a signature cinematic style that lends itself to penetrating, gripping, and deeply insightful documentaries. His work has been the recipient of an Academy Award, multiple Emmy Awards, a Grammy Award, several Peabody Awards, DuPont-Columbia Awards, Independent Spirit Awards, Writers Guild Awards, and more. Films include Taxi to the Dark Side (2008 Oscar); Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room (Oscar-nominated 2006); triple Emmy award, Peabody award, WGA screenplay award, and Dupont Columbia award winning Going Clear: Scientology & the Prison of Belief (HBO), among many others. Gibney’s most recent work includes the music documentary, In Restless Dreams: The Music of Paul Simon, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2023 and is now available on MGM+. Wise Guys: David Chase & The Sopranos, Gibney’s two-part series on the iconic show, which debuted at the Tribeca Film Festival in June 2024, now available on HBO Max. The feature documentary, The Bibi Files, an inside look into the corruption charges against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, premiered at DOCNYC November 11th and will be available on JOLT starting December 11th. Gibney is currently in production on the documentary Musk about the tech giant Elon Musk and “Knife” a tentatively titled documentary inspired by Salman Rushdie’s memoir “Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder,” published in April. Gibney is the recipient of the 2024 Lifetime Achievement Award from the News & Documentary Emmys. Tamar Glezerman is a narrative filmmaker and anti-occupation activist from Tel-Aviv, living in New York. After losing her aunt on October 7th, Tamar co-founded Israelis For Peace. Miranda Hellmold Stone joined the Inter-Agency Task Force on Israeli Arab Issues (IATF) in 2022. They support IATF’s operations and the development of educational programs and resources. Miranda was a 2022 Gilda-Slifka Intern at the Hadassah-Brandeis Institute and completed research for the Agunah Task Force. Prior, Miranda served as an intern at Los Angeles Review of Books, Persea Books, and Karlitz & Company. Their writing has appeared in New Voices Magazine and Los Angeles Review of Books, and a summary of their archival research on Jewish migration from Meretz, Lithuania to the Boston area lives in the Harvard Library’s Judaica Division. Miranda holds a B.A. in Jewish Studies and minor in History from Smith College. Mo Husseini is Executive Creative Director at TAIT, the global event production company. In the film world, he’s worked as a commercial director and as a visual effects supervisor at Industrial Light and Magic. Over the past year, he’s become a leading voice for Muslim-Jewish peacebuilding, speaking at forums around the U.S. and writing viral essays for Medium and Threads about the Israel/Palestine conflict including “50 Completely True Things.” Libby Lenkinski (she/her) is the founding President of Albi and serves as Vice President for Public Engagement at the New Israel Fund, where she has led all aspects of NIF’s public efforts in the United States for the last decade – including communications, digital, programs, events, leadership, community partnerships and engagement, New Generations and fellowships. Prior to joining NIF, Libby lived and worked in the Israeli non-profit field for almost a decade. Libby currently serves on the board of American Friends of the Batsheva Dance Company and Heeb Magazine, and is on the Advisory Committee for the Inter-Agency Task Force on Israeli Arab Issues, Ayin Press, Schlepp Labs, and Diaspora Alliance. Libby is based in NYC and travels to Israel-Palestine frequently. Ofer is a journalist with over 15 years of experience in a wide range of Israeli media outlets, including radio, internet content, and newspapers. Ofer’s journalism has focused on politics, economics, sports, and film in Israel’s most prestigious news outlets. Ofer worked for national papers Haaretz, Maariv, and Yediot Ahronot as well as local papers, such as Jerusalem’s Kol Hair and Tel Aviv’s Ha’ir. He was also a political radio show host in the “Voice of the Campus” radio. In addition to journalism, Ofer was a part of the communications team at the New Israel Fund for three years, where we worked on communications research and strategy and created their current website. Ofer is a Film Studies graduate from Beit Berl College. He has worked as a writer and director on a number of short films and was on the film faculty in Beit Berl College. Outside of work, he is also working on a documentary film of his own. Ofer grew up in Jerusalem, and currently lives in Tel Aviv with his wife and daughter. Joy Sela is a Jewish Israeli-American Director/Filmmaker based in New York. She spent Joy launched We Uncover Films in 2017- telling stories that disrupt belief systems, Shahira Shalaby is Co-CEO of The Abraham Initiatives. She is the former Deputy Mayor of Haifa, a former city councilor, and was among the founders of the Palestinian Feminist Movement in Israel. She has established several initiatives and organizations working to improve the status of Arab women in Israel and has consulted for social change organizations on issues of leadership, strategic thinking, teamwork, developing and managing resources, and community work. She is also a group facilitator, specializing in dialogue, conflict resolution, and facilitator training. She holds a master’s degree in religious studies and a bachelor’s degree in social work. Esther Takac is an award-winning filmmaker and author, and a child and adult psychologist. Her recent documentary The Very Narrow Bridge has screened at over thirty international film festivals and won a range of awards (for Direction, Outstanding excellence, Women filmmakers, Audience awards.) She is currently working on a number of other film projects and was recently commissioned and completed a suite of seven short films about Jewish life in Australia. As an author Esther has published three books (UN National Jewish Book Award, Sydney Taylor Award.) As a psychologist she is in private practice, has worked as a consultant with The Lighthouse Institute and Monash University, and delivers training on trauma. She has also been consulting in the paediatric department of a Jerusalem hospital and has developed ‘My Journey to Hospital Land’ a therapeutic program for Israeli and Palestinian children and their families. Eliezer Yaari (born 1949) is an accomplished Israeli journalist and filmmaker. He started his career at the Israel Broadcasting Authority (1977-1998). He served in a wide range of positions including director of programming, field producer of documentaries, chief editor and anchorperson of news magazines. Eliezer is active on a variety of platforms including radio, photo-journalism and electronic media. His recent documentaries: “The Optimists” (2018) and “The Checkpoint Women: Memories” (2023).
Fort is also a co-organizer at Israelis for Peace.
15 years in Digital & Experiential Marketing before pivoting to producing films. She
started her own agency in 2011 where she currently serves as Creative Director. In
2016, Joy founded the Non-Profit, ‘Positive Disruption Fund’ alongside the Positive
Disruption Brand, creating & supporting projects that inspire Positive Disruption.
challenge collective conditioning & explore transformation of self & society. She filmed,
directed and produced her first feature documentary, ‘The Other’ from 2017-2024. ‘The
Other’ won Indie Spec Best Documentary at a sold-out premiere in April 2024 and has
gone on to win multiple awards, including another Best Documentary award in Rome.
The Other is currently screening in festivals.
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