AUSTIN Z3 BIOS

Austin Z3 Conference Bios

Dr. Einat Wilf

Oz Party Founder

Dr. Einat Wilf is the Chair of Oz party and a leading thinker on Israel, Zionism, foreign policy, and education. She was a member of the Israeli Parliament from 2010 to 2013, where she served as Chair of the Education Committee and Member of the influential Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.

Born and raised in Israel, Dr. Wilf served as an Intelligence Officer in the Israel Defense Forces, Foreign Policy Advisor to the Vice Prime Minister Shimon Peres, and a strategic consultant with McKinsey & Company.

Dr. Wilf has a BA from Harvard, an MBA from INSEAD in France, and a PhD in Political Science from the University of Cambridge. She was the Goldman Visiting Professor at Georgetown University.

Dr. Wilf is the author of seven books that explore key issues in Israeli society. “We Should All Be Zionists”, published in 2022, brings together her essays from the past four years on Israel, Zionism, and the path to peace; the co-authored “The War of Return: How Western Indulgence of the Palestinian Dream Has Obstructed the Path to Peace”, was published in 2020

Ido Benvenisti

Regional Director, Western US
The Jewish Agency for Israel

Ido was appointed The Jewish Agency’s Regional Director, Western US, in July 2025. In this role, he oversees Shlichim (Israeli emissaries) in the western region of the US and works with Jewish communities on their Israel programming.

Previously, Ido served as Partnership2Gether’s Director of Southern Region and Partnership Relations from 2022-2025, cultivating relationships with Jewish Federations and organizations worldwide and developing new programs to strengthen the partnership network. He took on the position after six years as the Director of the Kiryat Gat-Lachish-Shafir- Chicago Partnership2Gether partnership.

Before joining The Jewish Agency, Ido’s career included roles as program coordinator of Hebrew University of Jerusalem’s Glocal MA in International Development, program manager for Young Judaea’s Year Course and director of its Shlichim program, and volunteer for JDC Jewish Service Corps at the Agahozo Shalom Youth Village in Rwanda.

Ido’s Jewish Agency journey began when he served as a summer camp Shaliach (Israeli emissary) from 2001-2005, followed by three years holding the position of Jewish Agency Educational Shaliach to Young Judaea in New York and New Jersey from 2006-2009. Ido’s time as a Shaliach made him more deeply connected to his Jewish identity and motivated his need to connect Israelis and Jews from communities worldwide and promote the idea of a united Jewish peoplehood.

Ido earned a bachelor’s degree in education from Hebrew University of Jerusalem and a master’s degree in Jewish Peoplehood from Haifa University.

Omri Bezalel

Filmmaker, Novelist, Former Israeli Navy SEAL

Omri Bezalel is a filmmaker, novelist, and former Israeli Navy SEAL (Shayetet 13) who bridges worlds that rarely meet: elite military experience and nuanced artistic vision. Born in Israel and raised for a time in Dallas, Texas, Omri served five years in Israel’s special forces before moving to New York to study dramatic and creative writing at NYU, where he graduated summa cum laude. This unique trajectory has shaped a body of work focused on making the Israeli experience accessible to audiences outside Israel through genuine character-driven narratives.

His debut novel, Silent Waters, based on his own military experiences, delves into the emotional costs of warfare, while his debut film LISTEN examines the impossible moral complexities faced by Israeli intelligence operatives. Now based in Los Angeles with his wife and two children, Omri is the co-founder of Big Swell Entertainment, where he continues to use honest storytelling to bypass ideological barriers and build empathy where words alone often fail.

Dr. Noga Cohavi

Jewish Educator

Dr. Noga Cohavi is an educator in the Israel-Diaspora regions. She leads Jewish peoplehood programs for Israel’s Ministry of Education and contributes to materials on Klal-Yisrael as a network of reciprocal relationships. Her work includes teachers’ training, authoring articles and action plans on Jewish literacy and moral-social- intellectual growth. Her doctoral thesis, publications, and academic work deal with the perception of the Diaspora and the negotiations between generations, perspectives, and arenas.

Over the years, she taught in various schools and engaged in pedagogical management in the formal and informal education system. Dr. Cohavi dedicates her time and skills to promoting Jewish literacy and to nurturing the educator as a scholar who shapes reality in the Jewish world.

In addition, she volunteers in organizations bridging Jewish communities in remote areas. This coincides with her belief that even the tiniest Jewish group creates a great lesson.

Dr. Craig Considine

Senior Lecturer in Sociology, Rice University

Dr. Craig Considine is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Sociology at Rice University, where he has taught with distinction for eleven years and has earned several teaching awards. He is the author of eight books, with a ninth, When Marx Meets Islam – Navigating Radical Ideologies in Defense of the West, forthcoming from Pitchstone Publishing in 2026. He is currently exploring issues pertaining to Islamism (political Islam), the Muslim Brotherhood’s role in civil society, and the Abraham Accords.

Dr. Considine’s commitment to fostering mutual understanding has led to direct collaboration with the Israeli Consulate of Houston, organizing on-campus events including the screenings of Amen, Amen, Amen and October 8. He has presented research globally, including at Oxford University, New York University – Abu Dhabi, the University of Edinburgh, and the inauguration of the Abrahamic Family House in the UAE, underscoring his role in promoting interfaith dialogue. His academic foundation culminated in a PhD in sociology from Trinity College Dublin.

Prior to his doctoral work, he earned an MSc in international relations from Royal Holloway, University of London, and a BA in International Relations from American University in Washington, DC. 

Yakir Englander

Senior Director of IAC Gvanim and Leadership Education 

Dr. Yakir Englander is an activist-theologian-scholar serving as Senior National Director at the Israeli-American Council and faculty at the Academy for Jewish Religion. Raised in a Hasidic community in Israel, he later served in an IDF elite unit identifying human remains — an experience that led him to spend over a decade leading Kids4Peace, an interfaith youth movement in Jerusalem and North American cities.

A Fulbright scholar with a Ph.D. in gender studies and Jewish philosophy from Hebrew University, he has been a visiting professor at Northwestern, Rutgers, and Harvard Divinity School.

David Hazony

Director of the Z3 Institute

David Hazony is an award-winning editor, translator, author, and Director and Steinhardt Senior Fellow at the Z3 Institute for Jewish Priorities.

He is the editor of “Young Zionist Voices: A New Generation Speaks Out” (2024) and “Jewish Priorities” (2023), the former editor-in-chief of the journal Azure and was the founding editor of TheTower.org. His book “The Ten Commandments” (Scribner, 2010) was a finalist for the National Jewish Book Award. His translation of Uri Bar-Joseph’s “The Angel” (HarperCollins, 2016) was a winner of the National Jewish Book Award. He has edited two previous anthologies: “Essential Essays on Judaism by Eliezer Berkovits” (Shalem, 2002), and, with Yoram Hazony and Michael B. Oren, “New Essays on Zionism” (Shalem, 2007).

He has a Ph.D. in Jewish Philosophy from the Hebrew University and lives in Jerusalem. 

Hayden Karnes

Junior, Oral Roberts University 

Hayden Karnes is a junior at Oral Roberts University, Mechanical Engineering, Minor in Ministry and Leadership, White Rose Recipient, Caravan for Democracy ‘24-25, ICC Geller Fellow ‘25-26, AIPAC Policy Scholar, and CUFI Holocaust Remembrance.

He serves as the President and Co-Founder of Eagles for Israel, a pro-Israel campus organization. In just one semester, the organization grew into the largest club on campus, expanding its membership to approximately 94 students. Guided by his Christian faith and a deep commitment to the U.S.–Israel relationship, Hayden leads campus-wide initiatives, hosts a diverse range of guest speakers, partners with 12 pro-Israel nonprofit organizations, and actively engages members of Congress in support of pro-Israel legislation.

Hayden was recently awarded a White Rose for his unwavering commitment to stand with the Jewish people.

Andrew Keene

Founder, ESEK

Andrew Keene is the Founder of ESEK, an Israel-based social enterprise that supports small businesses from across Israeli society by connecting their products and stories to individuals and communities around the world. Professionally, Andrew’s background is in technology and digital transformation, most recently leading the national direct response outreach program for Healthcare.gov during the Biden Administration before making aliyah in December 2023.

Andrew grew up in the Reform Movement in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and served as North American President of NFTY, the Reform Jewish youth movement. He has since held numerous lay leadership roles with the American Zionist Movement, the World Zionist Organization, and the Jewish Agency for Israel. He currently serves as Vice Chair of the Memorial Scrolls Trust in London and is a recipient of the Z3 Bridge Builder Award.

Rabbi Moredechai Lighstone

Founder, Tech Tribe
Editor-at-Large, Chabad.org

Rabbi Mordechai Lightstone is the founder of Tech Tribe, a community for Jews in tech and digital media. Through Tech Tribe, he focuses on bridging technology and the soul, including hosting the yearly #OpenShabbat meal at SXSW.

He is Editor-at-Large for Chabad.org and leads the site’s social media team. He lives with his family in Brooklyn, where he happily tweets between sips of coffee from his Chemex.

Ambassador Reda Monsour

Director of Global Resource
Development, Technion

Ambassador Reda Mansour is the Director of Global Resource Development at the Technion. He served for 35 years in the Israeli diplomatic service, holding senior postings as Ambassador to Brazil, Panama, and Ecuador; Deputy Ambassador in Portugal; Consul General in Atlanta; and Consul in San Francisco. At 35, he was the youngest Ambassador in Israel’s history and the first Druze career diplomat.

Mansour holds a Ph.D. in Middle East studies from Haifa University, where he researched modern Syria, and a master’s degree from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. Fluent in five languages, he has served as a visiting professor at Emory University in Atlanta, Haifa University, and Reichman University. Mansour has published several books of Poetry, short stories, and diplomacy.

Barak Sella 

Co-Creator, Tzomet Games

Barak Sella is an educator, researcher, writer, and community organizer, and a leading Israeli-American voice on U.S.–Israel relations and global Jewry. He is a Senior Research Fellow at Harvard Kennedy School’s Middle East Initiative, where he is leading the development of a new Israel Program focused on integrating Israel into broader regional and global frameworks.

Barak is also a co-creator of the Tzomet Games, a strategic foresight platform helping Jewish leaders imagine and plan for the future of Jewish life. He is the editor of Class of 95, a collection of essays and poetry reflecting on the legacy of Yitzhak Rabin, and his writing on Israel-US politics and the Middle East has appeared in The Hill, The Jerusalem Post, The Forward, and other outlets.

Phil Siegel

Tzomet Games