The Israeli-American Council (IAC) is yet another node in a vast network of pro-Israel and Israel-linked organizations known as the Israel Lobby. As opposed to American Jewish groups which might embrace Zionism, the IAC is openly operated, and in apparent violation of FARA laws, by Israelis on US soil.
The IAC was created in 2007 by Israel's Consul General, Ehud Danoch, and it immediately began recruiting dual (Israeli-American) nationals, primarily with backgrounds in American business. In 2013 the IAC obtained additional financial support from casino mogul and Trump donor Sheldon Adelson and his wife Miriam, as well as Hollywood producer/investor and Biden donor Haim Saban. In 2014 a third billionaire and convinced Zionist, Adam Milstein, was appointed its chairman.
To say the IAC's politics are far-right is an understatement. On September 19, 2024 the IAC convened its three-day National Summit at the Washington DC Hilton, and it had all of the features of a MAGA Republican CPAC Hungary conference — militarists, authoritarians, enemies of civil liberties, propagandists, Christian Zionists, and even a wannabe dictator — two if we count Donald Trump's surprise appearance at the event.
The DC Summit featured three days of workshops, among which the following were offered:
"Taking Antisemitism to Court" featured speakers from the Brandeis Center, the Lawfare Project, the National Jewish Advocacy Center, and IAC Action, which coordinates its efforts with right-wing Republicans.
"The IHRA Definition: A Tool for Fighting Antisemitism" hosted MAGA Republican legislators from Georgia, South Carolina, and Arkansas sharing tips with two Israelis from IAC for Action.
The "Civic Engagement" workshop was a hodge-podge of miscreants that included: Elise Stefanik, who represents Israel more reliably than her own Congressional district; Trump defender Alan Dershowitz; Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi of Falls Church, Virginia, son of Iran's brutal Shah, who now supplements his CIA stipend by hitting the conference circuit; Shabbos Kestenbaum, who sued Harvard for not doing enough to shut down free speech; Christian Zionist actress Patricia Heaton; and several other nobodies from stage, screen, and television.
At "Head of the Snake: The Global Terror Network and Iran's Leadership Role" Israeli defense analyst Yoav Limor moderated a discussion with: Elliot Abrams, war criminal, convicted felon, Gulf War cheerleader, and now one of Biden's national security advisors; Victoria Coates, another warmongering American neocon and former National Security Advisor under Trump; and two Israeli terrorism "experts" — Boaz Ganor and Anat Berko.
"Tragic Awakening Documentary Film & Conversation" was a film screening by its director, Rabbi Raphael Stone, founder of the Clarion Project, which the Southern Poverty Law Center classifies as a hate group because of its Islamophobic focus.
"The US-Israel Alliance Now and Tomorrow" was moderated by Israeli broadcast journalist Yuna Leibzon and included: Ofir Akunis, Likudnik and Israeli Consul General of New York; former Middle East envoy and "Israel's Lawyer" Dennis Ross; former NSC advisor Victoria Coates; and Michael Oren, Israel's former Ambassador to the U.S.
And, finally, for those who needed to hear justifications for the carpet bombing of civilians, there was "Ethics in Combat and the Law of Armed Combat" featuring: Alon Ben David, who specializes in "International communications" at Bar-Ilan University; Colonel Richard Kemp of the Gatestone Institute, a far-right Islamophobic advocacy group founded by Nina Rosenwald and funded by billionaire megadonor Rebekah Mercer, whose more recognizable members include John Bolton, Alan Dershowitz, Daniel Pipes, R. James Woolsey, Dutch fascist Geert Wilders, and Amir Taheri, who has repeatedly been accused of fabricating stories about Iran.
A partial list of participants
Alan Dershowitz
defender of torture, apologist for Trump, all-round disappointing excuse for a humanAlon Ben David
Senior fellow at the Center for International Communications at Bar-Ilan University, writes for a variety of military magazines
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alon_Ben_DavidAlyza D. Lewin
President of the Louis D. Brandeis Center, a "lawfare" outfit that sues its enemies
https://brandeiscenter.com/president/Alyza D. Lewin
President of the Louis D. Brandeis Center
https://brandeiscenter.com/president/Anne Bayefsky
Fox News opinion writer; Director of the Touro College Institute on Human Rights and the Holocaust; the neoconservative Hudson Institute; UN Watch, which slams the United Nations; the Israel-based Ariel Center for Policy Research, a Likud Party-affiliated organization; and writes for right-wing publicans including the Weekly Standard.
https://militarist-monitor.org/profile/anne-bayefsky/Brooke Goldstein
founder and executive director of the Lawfare Project
https://www.thelawfareproject.org/who-we-areColonel Richard Kemp
Senior Distinguished Fellow at the Gatestone Institute, a far-right, Islamophobic advocacy group founded by Nina Rosenwald and funded by billionaire megadonor Rebekah Mercer, whose easily recognizable members include John Bolton, Alan Dershowitz, Daniel Pipes, R. James Woolsey, Dutch fascist Geert Wilders, and Amir Taheri, who has repeatedly been accused of fabricating stories about Iran.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gatestone_InstituteDaniel Edelson
Israeli journalist covering the US "antisemitism" beat, particularly universities that offer courses analyzing settler-colonialism
https://www.ynetnews.com/article/hjmpfse0cDennis Ross
a former Middle East envoy, advisor to both Clintons, now Distinguished Fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy (WINEP), which Palestinian scholar Rashid Khalidi described as "the fiercest of the enemies of the Arabs and the Muslims [and] the most important Zionist propaganda tool in the United States." Former Palestinian Foreign Minister Nabil Shaath described Ross as being more "pro-Israeli than the Israelis."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dennis_Ross
https://www.timesofisrael.com/not-above-the-fray-how-the-us-israel-alliance-is-now-part-of-american-partisan-politics/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Washington_Institute_for_Near_East_PolicyDouglas Murray
Rightwing British racist, anti-immigrant zealot, and Islamophobe
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_Murray_(author)Dr. Brandy Shufutinsky
Trumpy Director of Education and Community Engagement with the Jewish Institute for Liberal Values, literally sees DEI and critical studies as a conspiracy, wants to dismantle the federal Department of Education and send in the National Guard to break up college protests.
https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-809818
https://www.newsweek.com/dismantling-department-education-would-gift-critical-social-justice-activists-opinion-1917195
https://x.com/76brandy76/status/1726012922852262250Dr. Charles Asher Small
founding director and president of the Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy, which has been embroiled in controversy after publishing falsified studies
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_A._SmallDr. Jonathan Schanzer
Senior Vice President of Research at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a neoconservative group whose notable members include virtually every architect of regime change and the last two decades of Middle Eastern wars
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_Schanzer
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foundation_for_Defense_of_DemocraciesDr. Lt. Col. (res.) Anat Berko
Likudnik, former member of the Knesset, criminologist, whose interviews with captives made her an "expert" on terrorism. Berko also lectures on terrorism for NATO, Congress, the State Department, the FBI, the US military and at universities
https://jewishwebsite.com/featured/understanding-the-enemy-an-interview-with-dr-anat-berko/75115/
https://www.investigativeproject.org/biography/Anat+BerkoDr. Mark Goldfeder
private counsel to Donald Trump, and CEO of the National Jewish Advocacy Center, which is unrestrained in its accusations of "antisemitism" and "blood libel" and which sued the Associated Press, Americans for Justice in Palestine, National Students for Justice in Palestine, and UNRWA USA, for allegedly providing "material support for terrorism."
https://jewishadvocacycenter.org/leadership/
https://www.influencewatch.org/non-profit/national-jewish-advocacy-center-njac/Eden Yadegar
president of Columbias chapter of Students Supporting Israel who was "traumatized" by protests
https://www.timesofisrael.com/what-matters-now-to-two-jewish-student-leaders-at-columbia-intifada-on-campus/Elise Stefankik
MAGA Republican crusader who represents the 21st Congressional District of New York but who best represents non-voters 6000 miles away.Elliott Abrams
neocon, war criminal, convicted felon, cheerleader for the Gulf War, Biden national security advisor
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elliott_AbramsEmily Schrader
Israeli journalist who pressured Facebook to adopt the IHRA definition of antisemitism
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emily_SchraderEylon Levy
British-Israel spokesman for Israel
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eylon_LevyGrace Rubin
after launching a pro-Israel club at Wesleyan, she snagged a job as AIPAC intern, then interned with the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, was a US House of Representatives legislative correspondent, and is now Senior Manager for Activism Research and Training with the Israeli-American Council.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/grace-rubin
https://www.iac360.org/iac-summit-speakers/grace-rubin/Jake Bennett
director of State Legislative Affairs for IAC for Action, on AIPAC's Arizona council, the Jewish Federation, and previously regional director of the Arizona ADL,
https://www.iac360.org/iac-summit-speakers/jake-bennett/James Maslow
another obscure performer whose profile increased after expressing support for Israel after October 7thJeny Dementeva
Israeli-American Council (IAC) National Director of Activism
https://www.jewishaz.com/community/iac-helps-teachers-puzzle-out-how-to-respond-to-antisemitism/article_8737e432-3de3-11ee-8096-e32d9b43a92d.htmlJim Dotson
Arkansas state senator
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_DotsonJoe Sabag
executive director of IAC for Action, and Israeli laison to far-right Republicans in sponsoring anti-BDS legislation in Congress
https://www.meforum.org/joseph-sabag-fighting-bds-one-state-at-a-timeJohn Spencer
teaches urban warfare at West Point, defends war on civilians, apologist for Netanyahu
https://www.cnn.com/2023/11/07/opinions/israel-hamas-gaza-not-war-crimes-spencer/index.htmlKaren Bar-Or
Karen Bar-Or is the VP of Activism at the IAC, where her main mission is combating the normalization of antisemitism and anti-Zionism in the United States. She is also involved with IAC's School Watch program
https://iac360.org/our-team/karen-bar-or/
https://jewishchronicle.timesofisrael.com/nonprofit-launches-tool-to-report-anti-semitism-in-schools/
https://www.schoolwatch.me/Marcus Sheff
Israeli-British journalist, former editor of the Jerusalem Post, former IDF officer, former CEO of the Israel Project, which equated criticism of illegal settlements with the ethic cleansing of ISRAELIs.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcus_Sheff
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Israel_ProjectMichael Oren
former Israeli ambassador to the US
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_OrenMichael Rapaport
another un-famous American actor/comedian with a history of racism, misogyny, and violence, who enslisted in Israel's propaganda efforts and advocated for genocide in Gaza
https://rosecityantifa.org/articles/michael-rapaport/
https://www.jta.org/2023/12/20/israel/jerry-seinfeld-scooter-braun-debra-messing-montana-tucker-among-celebrities-and-influencers-who-have-headed-to-israel-to-bear-witness-after-oct-7-massacreMontana Tucker
obscure performer whose profile increased after expressing support for Israel after October 7thNeria Kraus
Yedioth Ahronoth and Fox News reporter on the US antisemitism beat, Kraus got a dose of her own medicine when she refused to switch seats with an Orthodox man on a United Airlines flight and the man claimed she was hostile to religious Jews, thereby exhibiting "antisemitism"
https://www.972mag.com/israeli-media-us-campus-protests-palestine/
https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/antisemitism/article-754957Noy Leyb
Canadian-Israeli tech entrepreneur who rushed to Israel to fight with the IDF
https://www.cnn.com/videos/world/2023/10/11/noy-leyb-canadian-living-in-new-york-returns-to-israel-defense-forces-intv-berman-cnc-vpx.cnnOfir Akunis
Israeli Consul General of New York, previously Likud member of the Knesset
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ofir_AkunisOlga Deutsch
a member of the Executive of the World Zionist Organization, which Herzl created in 1897; the Europe Forum, which pushes the IHRA definition of antisemitism; and Vice President of NGO Monitor, an organization that has declared war on human rights groups critical of Israel
https://iac360.org/iac-summit-speakers/olga-deutsch/
https://www.jnf.org/menu-3/news-media/israelcast/olga-deutsch
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Zionist_OrganizationPatricia Heaton
American Christian Zionist actress who launched a non-profit to fight antisemitism
https://www.foxnews.com/video/6362340813112
https://www.christianpost.com/news/actress-patricia-heaton-explains-why-she-is-so-bold-about-christ.htmlProf. Boaz Ganor
founder and executive director of the International Policy Institute for Counter-Terrorism, and member of Israels National Committee for Homeland Security Technologies
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boaz_GanorRabbi Raphael Shore
Canadian rabbi, founder of the Clarion Project which the Southern Poverty Law Center classifies as a hate group, and film producer of numerous Islamophobic propaganda films like the 2008 film Obsession, which featured interviews with many individuals who appeared at the IAC summit
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raphael_Shore
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clarion_ProjectRep. Beth Bernstein
South Carolina House Rep
Rep. John Carson
Georgia House of Representative member
https://www.house.ga.gov/REPRESENTATIVES/en-US/member.aspx?Member=795&Member=795Reza Pahlavi
son of Reza Pahlavi, the most recent US-supported Iranian dictator, and founder of the US-based National Council of Iran, a fascist group of Iranians who dream of returning to power. Pahlavi still claims the title of "Crown Prince," lives in Falls Church, Virginia, and is reportedly still receiving a stipend from the CIA. He also rents himself out for Israeli public relations purposes.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reza_Pahlavi,_Crown_Prince_of_Iran
https://www.timesofisrael.com/visiting-israel-son-of-last-shah-says-iranians-absolutely-ready-for-israel-ties/Roy Alpert
hotel entrepreneurRoz Rothstein
CEO of StandWithUs, which is supported by Adam Milstein, a common name in such organizations. StandWithUs is at the far right end of the spectrum of Zionist groups and conducts training in deplying pro-Israel propaganda, much of it disinformation. It is as brutal toward Jewish progressives as it is to others.
https://www.standwithus.com/Sagit Sade Attia
An Israeli attorney working in IAC's Brookline offices as National Senior Director of Academic Action
https://www.herrick.com/events/2024-advocacy-toolkit-for-lawyers-herrick-led-webinar-series/Sen. Dafna Michaelson Jenet
Born in Tel-Aviv, she is a Democrat and (other than Israel) a liberal member of the Colorado Senate. After October 7th a small number of her Democratic colleagues took pro-Palestinian positions, which made her question her place in the party.
https://www.cbsnews.com/colorado/news/colorado-jewish-democrats-call-end-dangerous-rhetoric-israel-hamas-war-divides-party/
/>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dafna_Michaelson_JenetShabbos Kestenbaum
25 year-old former Harvard grad who sued Harvard for "antisemitism," feels betrayed by the Democratic party (for giving weapons and support to Israel?), and who appeared with his Zionist grievances at the Republican national convention.
https://forward.com/news/633231/shabbos-kestenbaum-republican-convention-antisemitism-harvard-democrat/Shawn Evenhaim
Chairman of IAC Action, focused on pushing IHRA in state legislature
https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/antisemitism/article-714187Thom Waye
Chief Strategy Officer for Chabad on Campus
https://hebrewpublic.org/board-of-directors/Victoria Coates
foreign policy advisor to Donald Rumsfeld, Rick Perry and Donald Trump, who appointed her to run the Middle East Broadcasting Networks, a propaganda outlet. She also served on the National Security Council under Trump and now works for the Heritage Foundation.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victoria_CoatesYael Vias Gvirsman
an Israeli expert on international criminal law, fierce critic of the ICC, and apologist for Israel's war crimes, Gvirsman teaches at Reichman College in Herzliya, which offers students a major in Israeli propaganda
https://globalvoices.org/2017/10/18/a-conversation-with-founder-of-israeli-legal-clinic-for-international-criminal-and-humanitarian-law/Yoav Limor
Israeli journalist and defense analyst
https://www.israelhayom.com/opinions/israels-unprecedented-moment-of-truth/Yoseph Haddad
social media personality, journalist, and hasbarist
https://www.jpost.com/omg/article-783582Yossie Hollander
US billionaire and IAC board member who gives $100 million a year to various causes fighting "antisemitism"
https://iac360.org/yossie-hollander/
https://ejewishphilanthropy.com/israeli-american-philanthropist-wants-u-s-jewry-to-go-to-war-with-not-handle-antisemitism/Yuna Leibzon
Chief US correspondent for Israel Channel 12 news and occasional lecturer at Ariel University, built on an illegal settlement in the West Bank
https://www.linkedin.com/in/yuna-leibzon