9:30 - 10:00 AM Bagels and coffee
10:00 - 11:30 AM Program
Z3 Project is happy to co-sponsor with Israel Policy Forum and ICC@JCC a candid conversation with two exceptional and pragmatic experts committed to pursuing a more peaceful and secure future for Israelis and Palestinians alike. Please join IPF board member and past Oshman Family JCC President, Daryl Messinger, in dialogue with Dr. Shira Efron, Diane and Guilford Glazer Foundation Senior Fellow at Israel Policy Forum, and Manal Zeidan, former advisor to the Office of the Prime Minister of the Palestinian Authority.
Shira and Manal will cover a range of key issues, including the Palestinian political arena, Israeli and Palestinian public opinion, the future of UNRWA, and what the new Trump administration may mean for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. You can expect a conversation that reflects their candor, pragmatism, and deep commitment to pursuing a more peaceful and secure future for the peoples of the region. We’ll be sure to leave plenty of time for your questions.
About Our Moderator
Daryl Messinger is a board member of Israel Policy Forum. She currently serves as the chair of the Association of Reform Zionists of America (ARZA) and is a past chair of the Union for Reform Judaism (URJ). She was the first woman to hold these positions in the Reform movement. In addition to her extensive involvement in the Reform movement, she currently is chair of Leading Edge, an organization seeking to improve leadership, talent and culture throughout the Jewish nonprofit sector. Daryl is a past president of the Oshman Family Jewish Community Center in Palo Alto, California and of Congregation Beth Am in Los Altos Hills. She is an alumna of the Wexner Heritage Program. Prior to retiring in 2009, Daryl had various roles in both communications and investment management organizations. Daryl and her husband Jim Heeger live in Palo Alto, CA,. Jim also has significant lay leadership involvement on several Jewish boards.
About Our Speaker
Dr. Shira Efron is The Diane and Guilford Glazer Foundation Senior Fellow at IPF. Over the last year, she has been focused on the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, day-after planning for Gaza, and the reform of UNRWA, the United Nations Relief and Work Agency for Palestine Refugees. She also serves as a special climate change advisor to Israel’s Ministry of Defense and the co-chair of the subgroup on regional cooperation of President Herzog’s climate forum. Shira has spent over 15 years in U.S. think tanks, including the RAND Corporation, where she founded and led the Israel program between 2016-2022, the Center for American Progress, and Middle East Institute, and the Tel Aviv based Institute for National Security Studies. She was previously a consultant with the U.N. country team in Jerusalem, where she focused on access and movement issues in Gaza. She has a PhD and MPhil in policy analysis from RAND’s Graduate School, an MA in international relations/international business from New York University, and a BSc in biology (major) and computer science (minor) from Tel Aviv University.
About Our Speaker
Manal Zeidan is an intercultural communication specialist and an independent consultant who has worked in both advisory as well as executive roles in government, non-profit organizations and private consultancy firms. She previously served as advisor to the prime minister/ director of international relations at the Office of the Prime Minister of the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah for six years (2007-2013) after which she worked as the director of advocacy and outreach at Future for Palestine non-profit organization, where she established and oversaw sustainable social and economic development programs to empower women and grassroots organizations throughout the West Bank. Manal holds a B.A. and M.A. degrees in communication studies from California State University, Fullerton.