Our Experts

Dr. Ron Katz, President

Ron Katz is an authority on rhetoric, propaganda, and persuasion. His research and writing have appeared in books, academic journals, and periodical publications. He received his Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley.

Hen Mazzig, Senior Fellow

The New York Times described him as one of the most nuanced online commentators on Israel and Jewish people.

He is a globally recognized speaker, educator, author, and digital influencer. With an audience of over 650,000 followers across his social media platforms and content reaching more than 100 million users, Hen has become a trusted voice on Jewish issues, appearing as an expert in media across four continents, including outlets like BBC, CNN, The Washington Post, SkyNews, New York Times and more.

Named among Algemeiner's Top 100 People Positively Influencing Jewish Life in 2018 and 2021, Top 50 most influential Jewish LGBT voices, Hen recently received CAMERA’s Portrait in Courage Award. His debut book best-selling, The Wrong Kind of Jew, was released in 2022. This year, Jewish News recognized him as one of the Top 20 Young Jewish Creatives in the UK, and he was named among the Top 25 Most Influential Young Jews by The Jerusalem Post.

In 2019, Hen co-founded the Tel Aviv Institute, dedicated to researching and combating online antisemitism.

Shanni Suissa, CEO at Jews Talk Justice

Shanni Suissa is the CEO of Jews Talk Justice, a Tel Aviv Institute project focused on growing, nourishing, and educating the Jewish community in the diaspora. Shanni is the host of The Shanni Show, a podcast about everything and anything. She also moonlights as the Podcast and Social Media Director at the Jewish Journal where she co-hosts JJ Live and The David Suissa Podcast. Shanni graduated from IDC, Herzylia with a Bachelor's in Communication specializing in Visual Content. When Shanni's not helping save the Jewish people, you can probably find her painting a beautiful mural or jamming out to psytrance music.

Dr. Olga Kirschbaum-Shirazki, Visiting Fellow

Dr. Olga Kirschbaum-Shirazki is a historian and co-founder of the Tel Aviv Review of Books. She has a PhD in modern European history from NYU. As a researcher and translator she has collaborated with numerous  authors and organizations on the topics of Jewish history, inter-religious encounters and the universal in Judaism.  She is also the co founder and editor of Tel Aviv Review of Books, an online review that presents the entire spectrum of views from and about Israeli culture, religion, and politics to an international audience.

Dr. Matthias J. Becker, Visiting Fellow

A linguist whose research focuses on discrimination in mainstream society and the construction of implicit hate speech. Since 2020, Dr. Becker leads the international research project “Decoding Antisemitism”. In this 3-year pilot project, 9 researchers analyze antisemitism on mainstream news websites and social media platforms in Germany, France, and in the UK based on a mixed-methods approach, also integrating AI technology. who analyze antisemitism on news sites and social media using AI.

Yseult Polfliet Mukantabana, Research Fellow

Yseult Polfliet Mukantabana is Rwandan, Jewish and a queer woman. She is an author, creative director and social and art advocate. Mukantabana is the Co-founder of Kinswomen, sits on the Board Committee of POWarts, an organization meant to uplift professional womxn in the art industry, Ted Speaker and designer/ co-founder of YOAH, a gender-free children’s’ brand created with her brother Noah Polfliet. Her unique approaches to matters of race issues are global, located mainly in New York, she speaks four languages, lives and travels between Kigali, Paris and Tel Aviv.

Mukantabana has done consulting in anti-racism for small and large groups, her clients have ranged from corporate America, high profile art institutions and prestigious American universities such as Columbia and Yale. She has a distinct way of intersecting spaces and people. Her work aims at making the conversation possible and practical. She makes it available for people to build a realistic plan of action to be impactful and empowered in their advocacy.

David Christopher Kaufman, Adjunct Fellow

David Christopher Kaufman is a New York-based journalist. His work focuses on the intersections between politics, culture, media, and identity across the globe. Currently at the New York Post, he previously served as an editor at The New York Times and Global Digital Director at Architectural Digest, Kaufman regularly contributes to publications ranging from The Financial Times, The Guardian, and The Wall Street Journal, to Monocle, AirMail, The Telegraph, Tablet, and The Forward. Kaufman studied at Brandeis University and received a graduate degree in Journalism from New York University. He is co-author of the book "Pride: 50 Years of Parades and Protests.”

Lucia da Silva, Teen Fellow

Lucia is an eight grade student from Washington who enjoys soccer and basketball. Following her Bat Mitzvah at the Kotel in Jerusalem she decided to devote her time to work for equality and inclusivity in the Jewish community.

Cathy Heller

The host of the podcast "Don't Keep Your Day Job," which has been featured in Forbes, HuffPost, Business Insider, NY Times, and Inc Magazine’s “top 9 podcasts”, and has over 28 million downloads. Cathy has heart-to-heart conversations with trailblazers such as Matthew McConaughey, Rachael Ray, Bobbi Brown, Malcolm Gladwell, Rob Lowe, Oscar-winning producer Brian Grazer, Shark Tank’s Barbara Corcoran, and Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz. Cathy’s book Don’t Keep Your Day Job was released in 2019 with Macmillan.

Sabrina Miller, Digital Producer

Sabrina is a freelance journalist and campaigner based in Britain. She specialises in British politics, student issues and antiSemitism, and has written for The Telegraph, Mail +, and The Independent and has appeared on GBNews and the BBC. She holds a degree in English Literatrue after graduating from the University of Bristol.

Daniella Rabbani, Actress

An actress known for her roles as Rabbi Zoe on CBS’ God Friended Me, Jane in HBO’s Scenes from a Marriage, and extensive stage work with The National Yiddish Theater Folksbiene. She hosts the podcast Mom Curious, a safe space to ask moms of all stripes what the real deal is. BFA: NYU Tisch. She sheps nachas over her two kids Ness and Paz + advocates for a better world.

Shoshanna Keats-Jaskoll, Associate

Raised in New Jersey, Shoshanna lives in Israel. She takes on child sex abuse, women in Judaism, Israel-Arab conflict, and general human stupidity. She is a founding member of Chochmat Nashim, a organization dedicated to positive change in the Jewish community. Shoshanna writes for Times of Israel, Jerusalem Post, Jewish Chronicle, JTA and more.

Tova Ricardo, Digital Producer

The 2015 Oakland Youth Poet Laureate, Tova is a Black Orthodox Jewish writer and a recent graduate of Columbia University. She's invested in Torah, Israel advocacy, and uplifting American Jewish communities of color. Her writing has been featured in Hillel International, Jewish Journal, Jews of Color Initiative, Jewish Federations of North America, and UJA-Federation of NY.

Noah Shufutinsky (Westside Gravy,) Digital Producer

A hip hop recording artist and producer who shares stories pertaining to collective narratives of Black and Jewish communities. Through unapologetic songs like Yahud (2021) and 40 Acres (2021), Westside represents his roots and communicates the history of his people. He’s performed across the globe: in Tel Aviv, London, San Diego + the AIPAC conference main stage.

Matthew Nouriel, Digital Producer

The Empress Mizrahi, aka Matthew Nouriel, is a non-binary advocate of LGBTQ+ rights within the Iranian & Jewish communities, who combats antisemitism online. They have taken on leadership roles in JDC Entwine and JQ International. In 2021 they were the recipient of the TrailBlazer Award at the JQ International annual Impact Awards.

Debbie Lechtman, Associate

writer, educator, and content creator • Los Angeles, USA

Debbie Lechtman is a Jewish, Israeli, and Latina writer, educator, and content creator. She is a sitting board member at Indigenous Bridges, writes educational content and curriculums on Jewish history and identity for the Anti-Defamation League, Creative Community for Peace, Honest Reporting, and more, and works as a research assistant for a top Israeli journalist.

Alex Woscoff, Associate

artist, painter, graphic designer • Los Angeles, USA

Painter and Graphic Designer. Alex utilizes his skills to help the Jewish community undo harmful beliefs that have been internalized over years of poor representation. His mission is to tell the Jewish story honestly and empower the Jewish community to take command of our narrative through art.

Jade Tailor, Associate

actress • Los Angeles, USA

Jade Tailor is an American actress. She is known for her regular role as Kady in the Syfy television series The Magicians (2015–2020), and for starring in the 2018 film Higher Power.

Hallie Abrams, Associate

fashion stylist • Cleveland, USA

You don’t have to be a movie star walking the red carpet to benefit from a professional stylist: Hallie is a fashion stylist, styling real people for real life.

Daniel Spaulding, Associate

stand-up comedian • New York, USA

Daniel Spaulding is an internationally touring stand-up comedian based in Europe. He has performed in over 45 countries worldwide and has appeared on numerous talk shows.

Avigail Collins, Associate

stylist, designer • London, UK

Avigail Collins is a stylist and designer whose work has been featured on the pages and covers of Italian Vogue, Vanity Fair, Interview, iD, Hunger, Twin, Dazed, and in advertising campaigns for Tula, Nike, Sony, Braun, Coca-Cola, Max Factor, Bape, Hannah Martin, and others.

Liz Rose, Associate

content creator • Atlanta, USA

Using her platform she has been able to share stories thoughts and comments about Jewish life, the current situation in Israel and Gaza, and being a mom with young children. She is real, she’s to the point, and she cares about sharing Jewish life and traditions.

Ari Axelrod, Associate

artist • New York, UK

Through acting, singing, directing, teaching, consulting, and public speaking, Ari crafts stories to open hearts and minds, so people feel seen, heard, and validated. He recently debuted his Jewish Broadway cabaret.

Ella Sisso, Associate

content creator • London, UK

A plus size content creator with a love of fun colorful style and self-love.

Emmanuelle Chriqui, Associate

actress • Los Angeles, USA

Emmanuelle Chriqui is a Canadian Jewish-American actress. She is known for playing Sloan McQuewick on HBO's Entourage, Claire Bonner in Snow Day, Dalia in You Don't Mess with the Zohan, Lorelei Martins on CBS's The Mentalist, and Lana Lang on The CW's Superman & Lois.

Hannah Jacqueline Kaye, Associate

artist • Los Angeles, USA

Hannah knows firsthand the horrors of hatred. She’s a survivor of the 2019 synagogue shooting in Poway, near San Diego where a gunman killed one woman and injured three others during a Passover service. That one woman was Hannah’s mother, Lori Kaye.

Amelia Adams, Associate

writer • New York, USA

Amelia Adams is a freelance writer and an avid meme enthusiast actively speaking out against antisemitism online.

Liorah Tchiprout, Associate

artist • London, UK

Liorah Tchiprout is an artist based in London. She is represented by Marlborough Gallery London, and Marlborough Graphics for prints.

Jen Cohn, Associate

producer, actress • New York, USA

Jen Cohn is a mom, wife, actress, voiceover for Pharah in Overwatch, performer, trend scout, fashion and branding consultant, copywriter, producer, and story editor. Besides Overwatch, she has done work for other games like World of Warcraft, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Red Dead Redemption, and Grand Theft Auto. Jen is also known for her roles in films The Wrestler(2008) and Turbo.

Irit Landgraf, Associate

artist • Vienna, Austria

From medicine to art and back again - former MD turned intuitive watercolor and mixed media artist helps artists find joy in their creative process and paint intuitively with Watercolor.

Ari Dayan, Associate

songwriter, actress • Los Angeles, USA

Channeling influences of Bette Midler, Stevie Nicks, and Sia, Dayan is a prolific songwriter as well as an actress working with numerous producers in both fields in LA, London, and beyond.