Steering Committee

Dr. Ephraim Sneh, Chairman

Ephraim Sneh, doctor, military figure and statesman was appointed Chairman of the Center following a career of military and political service in which he acted in all of Israel’s critical junctions of the past thirty-six years. In 1985 he was appointed by Defense Minister Yitzhak Rabin to serve as head of the Civil Administration in the West Bank. When he received his discharge from the IDF with the rank of General in late 1987, he turned to political service within the Labor Party. Owing to his wide familiarity with the Palestinian issue and the great personal regard in which he was held by Shimon Peres and Yitzhak Rabin, Ephraim Sneh was sent, in the summer of 1988, to conduct the first secret talks with the PLO in Paris. From that day to this, Ephraim Sneh has remained in close and continuous contact with the Palestinian leadership. In June 1992, Ephraim Sneh was elected as a Member of the Knesset for the first time. He served as Health Minister, Transportation Minister, and twice as Deputy Minister of Defense, leaving a significant mark on each ministry.

Trevor Spiro, Co-Chairman

Mr. Spiro is a successful London-based real estate entrepreneur who heads of the international corporation, the Spiro Group. Together with Dr. David Altman, he co-founded the Center in 2002, and has played an active role in shaping the center's strategy since. Amongst his many charitable activities for Israeli causes, he is an International Representative of the Israeli Air Force Museum at Hatzerim.

Professor Zvi Arad, Founder and President of Netanya Academic College

Professor Arad is a distinguished, world-renowned mathematician who previously served as the Acting President and Rector of Bar Ilan University, before founding Netanya Academic College. Professor Arad led the team that established Netanya Academic College from its outset, and has served in a number of public positions.

Dr. David Altman, Senior Vice President, Netanya Academic College and Vice Chairman of the Center

Dr. Altman, along with Mr. Trevor Spiro, is the co-founder of the S. Daniel Abraham Center for Strategic Dialogue. Prior to his current position as Senior Vice President for Development at Netanya Academic College, Dr. Altman served as the Director General of the Tel Aviv Foundation, the Director General and Vice President of Bar Ilan University, and the Academic Assistant to General Moshe Dayan.

Dr. Reuven Pedatzur, Academic Director

Dr. Pedatzur is a senior military affairs analyst with the Israeli Haaretz daily newspaper. He serves as a senior lecturer of Political Science at Tel Aviv University and at Netanya Academic College . Dr. Pedatzur is a former fighter pilot in the Israel Air Forces and works as a commercial pilot for Arkia Airlines. His areas of research include missile defense, nuclear and other non-conventional weapons, the IDF’s strategic doctrine, and various aspects of the Israel-Palestinian conflict. He served as a visiting scholar at the Center for Strategic Studies at MIT in 1993 and 1994. Dr. Pedatzur has authored four books and numerous academic articles.

Brig. Gen. (ret.) Baruch Spiegel, Advisor to the Directory Board

For the last number of years, Brig. Gen. (ret.) Baruch Spiegel served as the senior advisor to the Minister of Defense. In this role, General Spiegel has been responsible for security agreements between Israel and the United States, the European Union, the United Nations and other international organizations. He has directed several special projects at the Defense Ministry, including monitoring the effects of the security fence, determining security and humanitarian policy at crossings and passages, and examining the implementation of the Israeli commitments regarding settlements, outposts, and checkpoints in the West Bank. When serving in the IDF, General Spiegel served as the Head of the IDF Liaison Unit responsible for security relations between Israeli and Arab forces and for relations with peacekeeping force. In addition, he took a leading role in the negotiations and implementation of the Israel-Jordan Peace Accords.

Aviva Palter, Head of International Activities & Conference Director

Ms. Palter, an experienced conference organizer, has organized numerous international conferences since 1966. Previously she served as the editor of the newsletter and as a steering committee member of the Middle East Career Woman Forum from 1992 to 1996, and as a Director and Head of Financial committee of Etgarim, the Israeli sports association for the disabled from 1994 to 2000. Ms. Palter has worked at the S. Daniel Abraham Center for Strategic Dialogue since its establishment, and has organized the Center’s conferences from the outset.

Ambassador Yitzhak Mayer, Senior Advisor

Ambassador Yitzhak Mayer has joined the S. Daniel Abraham Center for Strategic Dialogue, as Senior Advisor, concentrating on Foreign Relations. Ambassador Mayer, an experienced educator at all levels, served as lecturer of the Jewish Agency Executive Committee and its board of governors for Jewish education worldwide. Ambassador Mayer was nominated as Israeli Ambassador to Brussels, Belgium in 1991 and as Ambassador to Bern Switzerland in 1997. Prior to that, he served as Consul General of Israel in Montreal and Eastern Canada. Ambassador Mayer has published a number of plays, poems and articles that have appeared in books, periodicals, and newspapers. Ambassador Mayer is a regular contributor to radio and television programs. He is a member of a variety of public organizations dealing with education and dialogue.

Elie Friedman, Assistant to the Director

Mr. Friedman previously worked in the fields of technical and marketing communications in a number of Israeli Hi-tech companies. He has also served as a freelance journalist for Israeli newspapers including the Jerusalem Post and the English version of Haaretz. He is the editor and manager of a creative writing Web site, and has had creative writing pieces published in a number of journals.