Contributors
The biographies below reflect the positions of our partners at the time of their contributions to JOCI.
The JOCI team would like to thank all of the hundreds of individuals and dozens of institutions that have been instrumental towards developing this initiative. As a disclaimer, not all elements of the JOCI team proposal have had unanimous approval of all contributors we acknowledge below. At the end of the day the JOCI team takes responsibility for the choices made. We would like to thank everyone that has ever supported the initiative and particularly those that follow:
Jibrin al-Bakri: Colonel, formerly served as the Governor of Bethlehem. Prior he was Governor for the West Bank city of Nablus.
Ora Ahimeir: Director General for the Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies for the past twenty years, Aheimer initiated the Jerusalem Institute’s think tank for peace arrangements in Jerusalem.
Nazmi al-Jubeh: Professor of History and Archaeology at Birzeit University in Jerusalem and Trustee at the Arab Thought Forum. From 1994 to 2010, al-Jubeh was Co-Director of RIWAQ- a Ramallah-based institute that strives to conserve architecture.
Arieh Amit: Retired Police Major General, consultant to the Israeli National Security Council operation within the framework of the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office, and a member of the International Policy Institute for Counterterrorism, Israel.
Roy Amore: Professor of Political Science at the University of Windsor, Amore's research focuses on the issue of religion and politics in the Middle East and Asia.
Trond Bakkevig: Dean (Archdeacon) of Vestre Aker which includes twelve parishes and twenty-six pastors. Bakkevig is the convenor of the Council of Religious Institutions of the Holy Land.
Karen Lee Bar-Sinai: Architect and designer, as well as Co-Founder and Director at SAYA/Design for Change.
Reuven Berko: Retired police colonel and an expert on the security issues linked to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He was Advisor on Arab Affairs to the Israeli Ministry of Police in Jerusalem.
Roy Berlinquette: Member of the Military Police Complaints Commission since 2007, and in this last capacity, served as Panel Member on the Afghanistan Public Interest Hearing and has made decisions on many conduct and interference complaints.
Marshall J. Breger: Professor of Law at the Columbus School of Law, the Catholic University of America, Vice Chairman of the Jewish Policy Centre, and a specialist in legal issues relating to holy places.
David Cameron: Former Chair of the Department of Political Science at the University of Toronto at the time of the JOCI project, and is currently Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences.
John de Chastelain: Canada’s Chief of Defense: twice, Commandant of the Royal Military College of Canada (1977-1980), and in 1985, was appointed Commander of the Order of Military Merit. In 1993, General de Chastelain was appointed Canada’s Ambassador to the United States. Former Chair of the Independent International Commission on (Arms) Decommissioning in 1977, which led to the Belfast Agreement (1988). Recipient of multiple honours and awards including the title Officer of the Order of Canada (1993), Royal Military College Club of Canada’s Birchall Leadership Award (2006), among numerous others.
Moty Cristal: Expert negotiating consultant, and Founder and CEO of NEST Consulting. Cristal and his team at NEST oversaw all civilian crisis management at the office of then Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.
Yaser Dajani: Leading expert on security matters and Managing Director and Head of the Business Intelligence Practice for the Kroll offices in Dubai.
Lynn Swartz Dodd: Associate Professor of the Practice of Religion, Director of the Interdisciplinary Archaeology Undergraduate Major, and Curator of the Archaeology Research Centre at the University of Southern California (USC).
Timothy Donais: Chair of the Department of Global Studies at Wilfred Laurier University, Associate Professor at the Balsillie School of International Affairs, and former Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Windsor.
Michael Dumper: Professor of Politics at Exeter University, United Kingdom, and a leading specialist on Jerusalem and permanent status issues.
Marketa Evans: Specialist in international political economy and was the Executive Director of the Munk Centre for International Studies at the University of Toronto during her involvement with the JOCI project.
Lara Friedman: President of the Foundation for Middle East Peace. Former Director of Policy and Government Relations for Americans for Peace Now. She gained broad experience in the Middle East as a Foreign Service Officer, including serving at the U.S. Consulate General in Jerusalem and the U.S. Embassy in Beirut. She frequently briefed members of Congress, U.S. administration officials, foreign diplomats, and other members of the foreign policy community.
Jonathon Gillis: Senior Associate at Gilead Sher, Kadri &Co., Law Offices and Chair of Bizchut, the Israel Human Rights Centre for People with Disabilities.
Joseph B. Glass: Geographer and Professor at Centennial College, Toronto and former Adjunct Lecturer at the Hebrew University, Jerusalem.
Peri Golan: Senior security expert whose research focuses on the security aspects of the Israeli- Palestinian conflict.
Yehuda Greenfield-Gilat: Architect and Co-Founder and Director at SAYA/Design for Change.
Nadav Halevi: Emeritus Economics Professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Aron and Michael Chilewich Professor Emeritus of International Trade.
Leonard Hammer: Visiting Scholar at the University of Arizona and the David and Andrea Stein Visiting Professor of Modern Israel Studies.
Manuel Hassassian: Ambassador/Palestinian General Delegate to the United Kingdom and former Executive Vice President of Bethlehem University, he has spent over twenty-five years specializing in Palestinian academia. He is author of over one hundred reviews, articles, and publications.
Paul Heinbecker: Former Canadian Ambassador to the United Nations and Germany, he was the Director of the Laurier Centre for Global Relations, and Distinguished Fellow at the independent research Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI).
Shira Herzog: Former executive director of the Canada-Israel Committee, an expert on public policy issues, she was the executive vice-president for the Kahanoff Foundation, and member of the Advisory Council for Queen's University School of Policy Studies. Active in fundraising for non-profit organizations, she was a regular commentator in the Globe and Mail and co-hosted a weekly television show Israel Today. Shira passed away on August 24th, 2014 at the age of 61.
Rosemary Hollis: Former Director of Research for the Royal Institute of International Affairs, Chatham House, and a specialist on Middle East politics. Her research has focused on Palestinian refugees. Currently, she is a Professor of International Relations at City University of London.
Hiba Husseini: Managing Partner at the law firm Husseini and Husseini and has over twenty years’ experience in corporate law and finance.
Peter Jones: Associate Professor at the University of Ottawa's Graduate School of Public and International Affairs and a leading expert on Track Two diplomacy and security.
Amir Kadari: Practising lawyer and Managing Partner of Gilead Sher, Kadari & Co., Jerusalem, where he specializes in commercial, constitutional, and administrative law, and heads the firm’s Commercial and Administrative Departments.
Issa Kassissieh: Former Deputy Chief of Staff to the Prime Minister of the Palestinian Authority and was appointed Palestine’s Ambassador to the Holy See in 2013.
Rassem Khamaisi: Professor of Geography and Environmental Studies at the University of Haifa and a professional urban and regional planner, specializing in Jerusalem.
Israel Kimhi: Former Jerusalem senior city planner, Kimhi is currently a member of the Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies. He has authored several works, including Arab Building in Jerusalem: 1967-1997 and a recent study gauging the effect of the wall on sectarian relations in Jerusalem.
Ephraim Kleiman: Don Patinkin Emeritus Professor of Economics at The Hebrew University and a leading specialist on the Palestinian economy and its relationships with Israel.
Menachem Klein: Professor of Political Science at Bar-Ilan University, Israel, and is an expert on the Israeli-Palestinian Peace Process, divided cities, and Jerusalem.
Daniel Kurtzer: S. Daniel Abraham Professor in Middle East Policy Studies at Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. Kurtzer held several senior positions within the US Department of State, including Ambassador to Israel (2001-2005), and Egypt (1997-2001). An active member in the Palestinian-Israeli peace process, he has been directly involved with every phase of negotiations for the last fifteen years. Kurtzer was appointed by Secretary of State John Kerry to serve on the Secretary’s Foreign Affairs Policy Board. Kurtzer has been a vital contributor to the Jerusalem Old City Initiative.
Ruth Lapidoth: Former Professor and Chair of International Law at the Concord School of Law and a senior researcher of the Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies, she is an expert on sovereignty and the legal aspects of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict with a focus on Jerusalem.
Pini Meidan-Shani: Foreign Policy Advisor to former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, he was a prominent member of the Israeli negotiating team during the Oslo Process. He is a strategic consultant on security and conflict resolutions and an expert in counter-terrorism. He is an expert in counter-terrorism, stemming from over 25 years of experience in Israeli Air Force and security services.
Mazen Qupty: Legal expert, political commentator, lecturer, activist, and founder of the law firm Qupty, Dahleh & Associates, specializing in investment in the Palestinian territories.
Yitzhak Reiter: Professor at the Department of Political Science and Chair of the Department of Land-of-Israel Studies at the Ashkelon Academic College, as well as a Senior Researcher at both the Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies and the Harry S. Truman Institute for Peace Research of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Abdel Salam Sidahmed: Regional representative of Lebanon for the United Nations. Former Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Windsor, his research focuses on Middle Eastern affairs, contemporary Islamism, human rights, and Diaspora studies. He was also Director of the Middle East at the International Secretariat of Amnesty International.
Daniel Seidemann: Lawyer and expert on the legal and political dimensions of Jerusalem, particularly municipal operations, urban planning, and residency. He has dedicated his work to make Jerusalem a more viable and equitable city for Israelis and Palestinians.
Gilead Sher: Former Head of Bureau and Policy Coordinator of Israel’s Prime Minister Ehud Barak. He also served as the Chief of Staff, in that capacity he was a senior peace negotiator that was prominent during the Camp David summit and Taba talks. A practising lawyer, he is the Founder and Senior Partner of the law firm Gilead Sher, Kadari & Co., Jerusalem.
Anneke Smit: Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Law at the University of Windsor and a legal specialist on property and expropriation, immigration, and refugees.
Salim Tamari: IPS (Institute for Palestinian Studies) senior fellow and the former director of the IPS-affiliated Institute of Jerusalem Studies. He is editor of Jerusalem Quarterly and Hawliyyat al Quds. He is a professor of sociology at Birzeit University and an adjunct professor at the Centre for Contemporary Arab Studies at Georgetown University.
Shadia Touqan: Director at the Arab Regional Centre for World Heritage. She is a prominent architect and urban planner, former Director of the Old City of Jerusalem Revitalization Project at the Welfare Association, and has managed over 160 projects to restore and provide maintenance to East Jerusalem structures. Her expertise extends to urban centres throughout the West Bank.
Naomi Vestfrid: Lawyer at Gilead Sher, Kadari & Co., Law Firm, where she specializes in constitutional- administrative law, tenders, and communication law. In 2009, she represented the Foreign Press Association for the precedent-setting Supreme Court Decision concerning the Association’s request to enter the Gaza Strip during Operation Cast Lead.
David Viveash: Former Canadian diplomat, he was the Canadian Representative to the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah (2006-2008), first resident Ambassador to Libya (2003-2006), and Deputy Head of Mission at the Canadian Embassy to Israel (1995-1998). Viveash currently serves as an international affairs consultant.
Jodi White: President and Founder of Sydney House Consultants, Distinguished Senior Fellow at both the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs and the Arthur Kroeger College of Public Affairs at Carleton University, and at the time of the JOCI project was also the Director and Secretary-Treasurer of Action Canada (2010-2014).