About Us
Israel 2048 was founded by Ambassador Michael Oren, historian, author, diplomat and politician. He is joined by founding members from the non-profit and business sectors with diverse religious, cultural, and geographic backgrounds.
The Team
AMBASSADOR MICHAEL OREN
Founder
Ambassador Michael Oren has devoted his life to serving Israel and the Jewish people around the world. During his nearly five-year tenure as Israel’s Ambassador to the United States, he worked to secure funding for the Iron Dome and other military aid, and US loan guarantees to bolster Israel’s economy. He built bridges with diverse communities across the US to fortify the US-Israel alliance. As Knesset member and Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office, he interacted with foreign leaders and defended Israel in the media, and spearheaded efforts to strengthen Israel-Diaspora relations, develop the Golan Heights, and fight BDS.
Michael is the author of several books, including Six Days of War; Power, Faith, and Fantasy; and Ally: My Journal Across the American-Israel Divide, all New York Times bestsellers and recipients of the Los Angeles Times’ History Book of the Year, the National Council of the Humanities Award, and the National Jewish Book Award. His most recent book, The Night Archer and Other Stories, has been nominated for a National Jewish Book Award.
Popular with US and international media, Michael has been interviewed by journalists around the world and served as Middle East analyst for CBS and CNN. He has appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert; Real Time with Bill Maher; 60 Minutes, and The View, among others. Named “One of the best college commencement speakers ever” by NPR, he has been named “one of the 50 most influential thinkers in America” by Politico. The Forward counted him as “one of the five most influential Jews in America;” the Jerusalem Post named him “one of the ten most influential Jews worldwide.”
A graduate of Princeton and Columbia, Michael holds four honorary doctorates and was a visiting professor at Harvard, Yale, and Georgetown universities. He is the recipient of a Statesman of the Year Medal from the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, and the Dr. Martin Luther King Legacy Prize for International Service. He made aliyah in the 1970s, served in the IDF’s Paratrooper Brigade and was an IDF spokesman. A Lone Soldier during his military service (with no family in Israel), he later established the Lone Soldier Caucus in the Israeli Knesset. He currently lives in Jaffa.
ISAAC SAMUEL HASSAN
Advisor and Board Member
Isaac Hassan has extensive experience in management and leadership in the business and nonprofit sectors, having started his career within the UK’s burgeoning telecommunications industry. A serial entrepreneur, Isaac is the founder of many successful businesses, in Israel, Europe and further.
In addition to Israel 2048, Isaac is a Founding Board Member of the UAE-Israel Business Council, which promotes economic cooperation and business partnerships between Emiratis and Israelis. He also serves on the boards of numerous charitable organizations, including Restart, a nonprofit that provides assistance to injured IDF soldiers, and devotes his time to mentoring and advising business owners and entrepreneurs.
ELI OVITS
Advisor and Board Member
Eli Ovits serves on the board of Israel 2048, where he focuses on international relations and organizational development. With two decades of global leadership and management experience, Eli has a solid reputation for building and transforming organizations with strategic planning and clear communications.
With Covid changing the way people connect, Eli launched Altruists, a consultancy that brings together a global network of individuals and companies with meaningful causes to have a greater impact as a group. With positive developments brought about by the Abraham Accords, Altruists works in the Gulf, forging ties with communal leaders, family offices and investors, helping peace become reality.
Eli began his career in public affairs at the Israeli Embassy in the UK, and was appointed the first Global CEO of Limmud, expanding its donor base across 44 countries. He served as Director of Communications for The Israel Project (TIP), a pro-Israel advocacy organziataion based in Washington and Jerusalem, and was COO for OpenDor Media (Jerusalem U). Eli serves as an IDF (Reserve) spokesperson.
RACHEL MOORE
Advisor and Board Member
Rachel Moore is a communications professional and entrepreneur with more than 25 years of nonprofit, public and private sector experience. She currently serves as Director of Public Affairs and Communications at Aish Global, and Founder and CEO of Moore Connected Communications, an international public relations agency.
Rachel is the cofounder of Hub Etzion, the first coworking space located over Israel’s “green line,” and the first location in the West Bank to receive US State Department funding. She sits on the boards of One Family Fund and ImaKadima, an organization that supports career-minded mothers and advocates for family friendly workplaces in Israel.
Rachel is a frequent presenter at conferences where she shares her expertise on communications strategy, crisis management, and public relations. An accomplished writer, Rachel blogs as ima2eight.com, and her articles have appeared in Algemeiner, JNS.org, Jerusalem Post, Times of Israel, eJewish Philanthropy, NES, and The Jewish Press, among others.
Yuval Peretz
Engagement Coordinator
Yuval grew up in Rehovot and currently lives in Tel Aviv. In the IDF, Yuval served as Head of social media for the Navy, creating and producing content for the various platforms. Upon her discharge, she moved to Washington, DC, where she worked as Assistant Naval Attaché at the Embassy of Israel.
Yuval is a third year B.A student for Government, Diplomacy and Strategy at Reichman University, where she interned in the American Public Opinion Toward Israel research lab (APOI) and is now a fellow at the “Argov Fellowship for Leadership and Diplomacy”.
At “Israel 2048”, Yuval is the engagement coordinator. Her role includes researching the numerous challenges facing Israeli society, while interviewing various experts, and overseeing the general research process.
SAAR NERI
Research Assistant
Saar brings a background in law, leadership and diplomacy to his role as Research Assistant for Israel 2048. Previously, he served as a General Assembly Rapporteur at Israel’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations.
Saar studied law and government at Reichman University (IDC Herzliya), and was one of 24 members of the Argov Fellows Honors Program for Leadership and Diplomacy. He was editor-in-chief of IDC Avantgrade Magazine.
Saar served in the IDF’s electronic warfare unit as a team commander.
ALAN H. GILL
Advisor and Amuta Member
Alan Gill is one of the Jewish world’s transformative professional leaders. His vision and career have exemplified the notion of global Jewish responsibility. With more than four decades of Jewish community development, partnership building, global strategy, and financial resource development expertise, Alan played a central role in expanding and revolutionizing the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee’s (JDC) humanitarian operation in more than 70 countries and Israel.
A 25-year veteran of JDC, Alan served as Executive Vice President Emeritus and CEO, and Founder and Executive Director of International Relations. He played a leadership role in launching such landmark programs as PACT – Parents and Children Together, an internationally recognized education program for Ethiopian-Israeli preschool children and their parents; and oversaw the rescue operation of 130 Jews trapped in eastern Ukraine’s war zone, bringing then to safety by and resettling them elsewhere in Ukraine.
In addition to his life-time appointment with JDC, Alan is a mentor and executive-in-residence of the Mandel Institute for Executive Leadership in North America, and serves on the Boards of Directors of the Taub Center for Social Policy.
STEPHANIE MANOPLA
Research Assistant
Stephanie brings her passion and dedication to Israel in her role as researcher for Israel 2048. She made aliyah in 2021 from Panama, where she taught Jewish history at the Albert Einstein Institute, and was a member of Friends of Yad Vashem.
Stephanie also worked as volunteer at the Holocaust Studies School at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem.
