Abbot Nikodemus Schnabel, OSB

Abbot, Dormition Abbey Jerusalem

Abbot of the Dormition Abbey on Mount Zion since 2023. Doctorate in liturgical studies. Director of the Jerusalem Institute of the Görres-Gesellschaft.

Lahav Harkov

Senior Political Correspondent, Jewish Insider

Covers Israel's domestic and international politics. Former Knesset reporter at The Jerusalem Post. Contributor to BBC, MSNBC, France 24 and others.

Ahmad Mansour

Psychologist & Author, Berlin

Psychologist focusing on democracy, extremism prevention and antisemitism. Columnist for Die Welt. Honorary doctorate, University of Basel 2022.

Oliver Mayer-Rüth

Journalist & Author, ARD/BR Munich

25 years of television journalism. Former ARD correspondent in Tel Aviv and Istanbul. Author of Der Allmächtige? (2023). Currently at ARD/BR Munich.

Wenzel Michalski

Executive Director, Freundeskreis Yad Vashem

Former director of Human Rights Watch Germany (2010–2024). Since May 2025 Executive Director of Freundeskreis Yad Vashem e.V.

Nicholas Potter

Chief Reporter, WELT

Author of 'The New Authoritarian Left' and 'Judenhass Underground'. Published in The Jerusalem Post, Haaretz and The Guardian.

Jenny Havemann

Co-Founder & Director, Media TLV Summit

German-Israeli political analyst, author and entrepreneur. Specialises in German-Israeli relations and the fight against antisemitism.

Susanne Glass

Co-Founder & Director, Media TLV Summit

German war correspondent and ARD studio chief in Tel Aviv and Vienna. Now heads Foreign Affairs at Bavarian Broadcasting.

Jotam Confino

Middle East Correspondent

Danish-Israeli correspondent based in Israel since 2018. Published in The Daily Telegraph, Haaretz, USA TODAY. Regular on BBC, LBC, Times Radio.

Charlotte Knobloch

President, Jewish Community Munich & Upper Bavaria

Holocaust survivor. President of Jewish Community Munich since 1985. Former President, Central Council of Jews in Germany (2006–2010). Honorary Citizen of Munich.

Batsheva Neuer

Historian & ISGAP Postdoctoral Fellow, Tel Aviv University

Historian of Jewish history, Zionism and antisemitism. Winner of the 2024 Bernard Lewis Prize. Published in WSJ, Washington Post and Haaretz.

Colonel Matthias Wasinger

Branch Head, Strategic Communications, Austrian MoD

Austrian Armed Forces officer. NATO, EU and UN missions. Founder of The Defence Horizon Journal. Vice-President, European Military Press Association.

Ksenia Svetlova

Executive Director, ROPES; Former Knesset Member

Former Knesset member and Middle East expert. Associate fellow at Chatham House London. 15 years covering the region at Israeli Channel 9.

Ron Dekel

President, Jewish Students' Union Germany (JSUD)

President of JSUD. Studies Political Science and Sociology at LMU Munich. Landecker-Hillel Leadership Incubator 2024/25.

Katja Wildermuth

Director-General, Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR)

Director-General of BR since 2021, re-elected 2025. Member of the EBU Executive Board. Award-winning documentary producer and journalist.

Barbara Glück

Director, Mauthausen Memorial

Director of KZ-Gedenkstätte Mauthausen for 20 years. Double PhD in history and political science. Torberg Medal recipient.

Uschi Glas

Actress & Author

Iconic German actress and SPIEGEL bestselling author. Co-founder of brotZeit, providing breakfasts to 15,000 children daily across Germany.

Yossi Beilin

Former Israeli Minister; Architect of the Oslo Accords

Architect of the Oslo peace process and the Geneva Accord. Former Israeli Minister of Justice. Global Distinguished Professor at NYU.

Dafna Gerstner

Eyewitness, Hamas Massacre — Kibbutz Be'eri

Survivor of the Hamas massacre of October 7, 2023 in Kibbutz Be'eri. Author of 'Sie kamen, um uns zu töten' (Herder, Sept. 2026).

Michaela Conen

Director, CULTURE PARTNERS; Antisemitism Prevention

Leads antisemitism prevention at Berlin University of the Arts. Partners with UNESCO and Sweden's Segerstedt Institute. University lecturer on democratic discourse.

Nissan Shtrauchler

Europe Correspondent, Israel Hayom

Europe correspondent for Israel Hayom, based in Germany. Former Religion Affairs Correspondent, Yedioth Ahronoth.

Senada Sokollu

Journalist & Podcaster, ARD (SWR)

ARD journalist and host of 'Echo of the Unheard' podcast. Columbia University investigative journalism fellow. Debut book at Leipzig Book Fair 2027.

Farhid Habibi

Chairman, The Munich Circle e.V.

Human rights advocate focusing on Iran. Clear stance against dictatorship, religious extremism and right-wing populism. Uses his voice to connect democratic forces.

Ali Waked

Director, International Branch, i24NEWS

Director of i24NEWS International. Former Ynet correspondent covering Palestinian affairs. Co-writer of 'Bethlehem' (2013), winner at Venice Film Festival and six Ophir Awards.

Stefan Ebner

Secretary General, Hanns-Seidel-Stiftung

Secretary General of Hanns-Seidel-Stiftung since July 2026. Economist, CSU politician and member of the Bavarian state parliament.

Christian Scharpf

Referent for Labor and Economic Affairs, City of Munich

Munich's Referent for Labor and Economic Affairs since March 2025. Former Lord Mayor of Ingolstadt (2020–2025). Doctorate in municipal corporate law.

Ben Salomo

Author, Speaker & Activist

Founder of 'Rap am Mittwoch.' Left the hip-hop scene in 2018 over rising antisemitism. Now author and activist for Jewish life and against antisemitism.

Josef Schuster

President, Central Council of Jews in Germany

President of the Central Council of Jews in Germany since 2014, re-elected 2022. Vice President of the World Jewish Congress and European Jewish Congress.

Joshua Schultheis

Journalist, Jüdische Allgemeine

Journalist and editor at Jüdische Allgemeine. Co-author of 'Worüber Juden reden: Zehn Gespräche aus Deutschland' (Hentrich & Hentrich). Freelance since July 2026.

Sonja Bohl-Dencker

Attorney & Public Advocate, Verden

Mother of Carolin Bohl, murdered by Hamas at Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7, 2023. Now a prominent public voice across Germany and activist for the rebuilding of the kibbutz.

Jin Dawod

AI Researcher & CEO, Peace Therapist

Syrian refugee and founder of Peace Therapist, a digital mental health platform reaching hundreds of thousands across 26 countries. UNHCR Nansen Award winner. Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe.

Paula Kweskin Weiss

Documentary Filmmaker & Human Rights Attorney

Founder of The 49%, making award-winning women's rights documentaries. Films including 'In Protest' featured on Netflix and Amazon, screened at the UN and national parliaments.

Nelly Eliasberg

Spokesperson, WerteInitiative; Host, WI-Talk Podcast

Jewish-German communications strategist and spokesperson for WerteInitiative. Host of WI-Talk podcast. Born in the former Soviet Union, came to Germany as a Jewish refugee.

Elio Adler

Founder & Chairman, WerteInitiative

Son of Holocaust survivors. Founded WerteInitiative in 2014. Ambassador for Democracy and Tolerance (2019), Order of Merit of Berlin (2024). Focuses on Jewish life and German-Israeli relations.

Andreas Büttner

Commissioner for Combating Antisemitism, Brandenburg

Brandenburg's first Commissioner for Combating Antisemitism since June 2024. Former state parliament member and State Secretary in the Ministry of Social Affairs.

Leeor Engländer

Journalist & Media Manager

Former journalist and media manager for Welt. Grandson of Auschwitz and Buchenwald survivors. For twenty years a close companion to Holocaust survivor Margot Friedländer, until her death in 2025.

Josef Braml

European Director, Trilateral Commission

One of Germany's most respected US foreign policy experts. European Director of the Trilateral Commission. Focuses on transatlantic relations and global power shifts.

Shila Erlbaum

Head of Politics & Religion, Central Council of Jews in Germany

Leads the Department of Politics and Religion at the Central Council of Jews in Germany, overseeing antisemitism, education, culture, and memorial work. M.A. in Jewish Studies, Heidelberg and Jerusalem.

Mona Fuchs

Deputy Mayoress, City of Munich

Deputy Mayoress of Munich since May 2026. City Council member since 2020, former chair of the Green Party – Rosa Liste group. Committed to an open, resilient and just Munich.

Hédi Bouden

Art Director, Architecture of Hope

Art Director of "Architecture of Hope." Cultural Officer at the Helmut-Schmidt-Gymnasium Hamburg and Yad Vashem school partnership coordinator. Hamburg Education Prize laureate.

Annika Schach

Vice President, Hannover University of Applied Sciences and Arts

VP for Teaching, Diversity & International Relations at Hannover UAS. Professor of public relations. Co-founder of segmenta futurist:a. Fighting antisemitism in higher education.

Mirjam Eisele

Managing Director, Stiftung Jugendaustausch Bayern

Managing Director of the Bavarian Youth Exchange Foundation since 2021. Overseeing Israel-focused youth exchanges. Former head of Invest in Bavaria's Tel Aviv office.

Aziz Abu Sarah

Palestinian Peacebuilder; Co-Executive Director, InterAct International

Palestinian peacebuilder, National Geographic Explorer, TED Fellow. Co-executive director of InterAct International. Speaker before U.S. Congress & European Parliament.

Maoz Inon

Israeli Peace Activist & Entrepreneur; Co-Executive Director, InterAct International

Israeli peace activist and founder of the Jesus Trail, Fauzi Azar Inn, and Abraham Hostel. Franco-German Human Rights Prize laureate. Co-author of The Future Is Peace.

Manfred Otzelberger

Editor, BUNTE Magazine

Editor at BUNTE, Europe's largest people magazine, since 2007. Author of political biographies. Known for making the person visible behind the office.

Volker Beck

Managing Director, Tikvah Institute; Former MdB

Managing Director of the Tikvah Institute. Former Bundestag member (1994–2017). President of the German-Israeli Society (DIG) since 2022.

Prof. Dr. Guy Katz

Professor of International Management; Founder, Bavaria-Israel Partnership Accelerator

Israeli-German economist and Professor of International Management. Founder of the Bavaria-Israel Partnership Accelerator and DACH gegen Hass; board member of the Jewish community of Munich.

Regina Potomkina

Visual Artist & Graphic Designer

Visual artist and graphic designer, born 1993 in Ukraine. Studies Fine Art at the Kassel School of Art; her work explores Jewish life, migration, and identity.

Vera Schneevoigt

Entrepreneur, Author & Investor; former CDO, Bosch

Entrepreneur and investor; former Chief Digital Officer at Bosch. Runs boutique consultancy Guiding for Future GmbH and co-organized the Female Tech Tour to Israel.

Lukas Mandl

Member of the European Parliament (ÖVP)

MEP (ÖVP) since 2017. Leads the cross-party Abraham Accords Network in the European Parliament and serves as President of the Assembly of European Regions.

Thomas Goiser

Business & PR Consultant; Security Communication Expert

Business and PR consultant in Austria, specializing in risk, security, and crisis communication. Board member of the Austrian Center for Intelligence, Propaganda and Security Studies.

Nathan Goldenzweig

Photographer

German-Argentine documentary photographer selected by VII Photo Agency as one of its "20 Storytellers of Tomorrow." His work captures the immediate, the accidental, and the human moments of everyday life.

Yaar Harell

Filmmaker & Assistant Director

Filmmaker and assistant director; son of Jewish emigrants from Israel. His documentary "Endlich Tacheles" screened at the Human Rights Watch Film Festival in New York and was nominated for the Grimme Prize.

Michael Thaidigsmann

EU Correspondent, Jüdische Allgemeine

Journalist and EU correspondent for Jüdische Allgemeine, based in Brussels. Former director of media relations for the World Jewish Congress and founding director of NGO EU Watch.

Ellie Hochenberg

Founding Anchor, i24NEWS; MPP Candidate, Princeton

Bilingual broadcast journalist and policy strategist. Founding Chief Anchor at i24NEWS, former Head of the Diplomatic Desk. MPP candidate at Princeton; MA in Counter-Terrorism and Homeland Security.

Till Rüger

Reporter & Correspondent, BR and ARD

Reporter and correspondent for BR and ARD covering Germany and the Middle East. Former ARD TV correspondent for Austria and Southeast Europe. Writer for KONTROVERS, Report München, DokThema, and ARTE.

Gady Gronich

CEO & Chief of Staff, Conference of European Rabbis Foundation

CEO and Chief of Staff to the President of the Conference of European Rabbis Foundation (CER). Decades of experience in Jewish communal leadership, event management, and fundraising across Europe.