The Most Engaging Speakers in the World
Hananya Naftali
Deputy Digital Media Advisor to Israel's Prime Minister
You may have seen many of his funny video blogs promoting Israel and fighting myths with facts. Hananya Naftali is a leading Israeli influencer on social media.
He is currently the social media deputy advisor to Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He is a leading voice on Antisemitism, BDS, Israeli-Palestinian conflict, human rights, and known for his advocacy for peace in the Middle East.
Naftali served in the IDF and fought Hamas during the Gaza war in 2014 and is an IDF reservist.
Maajed Nawaz
Former radical | Best-selling author | Head of international think-tank
As a teenager, British-born Maajid Nawaz was recruited to the global Islamist party Hizb ut-Tahrir, whose goal, broadly put, is to unite all Muslim countries into one caliphate ruled by Islamic law.
He spent more than a decade there, rising into its leadership, until he was sentenced to four years in an Egyptian prison for belonging to the group. But he left prison feeling that Hizb ut-Tahrir was hijacking Islam for political purposes and that its aims were dangerously similar to the aims of fascism.
While remaining a Muslim, he was no longer an Islamist. His goal now is to help Muslims in the West engage in their current political frameworks, while encouraging non-Western Muslims to work for a democratic culture that values peace and women’s rights.
In the UK, he co-founded a think-tank that engages in “counter-Islamist thought-generating” -- looking for new narratives of citizenship, identity and belonging in a globalized world.
Nawaz was recently selected by the algemeiner newspaper as one of the top 100 influencers in the Jewish world.
Ambassador Houda Ezra Nonoo
First Bahraini Jewish Ambassador | Peacemaker | Human rights leader
In 2008, the Kingdom of Bahrain made history when His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa named H.E. Ambassador Houda Nonoo as Bahrain’s Ambassador to the United States. Ambassador Nonoo was the first – and to this day is the only – Jewish Ambassador from an Arab country.
She has played an active role in advocating for a new Middle East, one based on peace and prosperity for all. In September 2020, she was part of Foreign Minister H.E. Dr. Abdullatif bin Rashid Al-Zayani’s delegation to the White House to witness in person the signing of the Abraham Accords. She accompanied him two months later as he led the first official Bahrain delegation to Israel.
Ambassador Nonoo has led a distinguished career in both the public and private sectors in Bahrain .
In 2006, Ambassador Nonoo was appointed by His Majesty the King to the upper house of Bahrain ’s parliament – the Shura Council – where she served on the Committee for Finance and Economic Affairs. In 2019, she was elected to the board of the American Chamber of Commerce Bahrain for a two year term.
In 2018, she was nominated to be a member of the King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz International Center for Inter-religious and Intercultural Dialogue (KAICIID) Advisory Forum.
In 2017, she founded the Bahrain Association for Child Safety (BACS). In 2004, Ambassador Nonoo founded the Bahrain Human Rights Watch Society and was elected its general secretary in 2005. Through her involvement in the Society, Ambassador Nonoo has worked to improve working conditions in factories, to raise awareness about the rights of women and children, and to safeguard the rights of expatriate workers in Bahrain .
A graduate of prestigious institutions of higher learning in the United Kingdom , Ambassador Nonoo also served as the nonresident Ambassador of the Kingdom of Bahrain to Canada , Brazil , Mexico and Argentina .
Dr. Ralph Nurnberger
Engaging speaker and educator on Jewish affairs
Dr. Ralph Nurnberger has spoken nationally and internationally on a wide range of historical and political topics. He has addressed numerous Jewish and pro-Israel organizations including Jewish federations, Israel Bonds, Hadassah, synagogues, and many more.
He taught at Georgetown University for 38 years, where he was named Professor of the Year by the Graduate School of Liberal Studies in 2003. He served as Foreign Policy Assistant to former Kansas Senator James B. Pearson (R-KS) and then as a professional staff member on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
He was a Legislative Liaison for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) for over eight years. Dr. Nurnberger was the first director of “Builders for Peace”, an organization established in 1993 to promote economic and social development in the region.
