The Insight Israel Forum’s
Fifth Annual Leadership Summit:
The Future of Zionism

Dr. Keren E. Fraiman is the Dean and Chief Academic Officer at Spertus Institute for Jewish Learning and Leadership, where she also holds a faculty appointment as Professor of Israel Studies. Keren works with educational organizations across the country to support their Israel educational efforts, and also serves on the faculty of the iFellows Masters Concentration in Israel Education program, Hillel International’s MasterClass Israel and the Wexner Heritage Program. Her research focuses on Conflict Education – how we learn and teach about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict within Jewish settings. She earned her PhD in International Relations and Security Studies from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and her BA in Political Science and Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations from The University of Chicago.

Liel Leibovitz is editor at large for Tablet Magazine and the co-host of Unorthodox, which, according to HaShem and iTunes, is the universe’s most popular Jewish podcast. He’s also the host of Take One, Tablet‘s popular Daf Yomi podcast. He’s the author or co-author of several books, including, most recently, How the Talmud Can Change Your Life: Surprisingly Modern Advice from a Very Old Book. A columnist for First Things, he’s a frequent contributor to several publications, including The Wall Street Journal and The New York Post. A ninth generation Israeli and a veteran of the Israeli army, he received his PhD in video games from Columbia University, a fact that still makes his seven-year-old self very happy.

Jodi Rudoren has been editor-in-chief of the Forward since September 2019.  She is a veteran reporter, editor and digital innovator who spent more than two decades at The New York Times, including nearly four years as its Jerusalem bureau chief.

Under her leadership, journalists at the Forward have won record numbers of Rockower Awards from the American Jewish Press Association, as well as prizes from New York’s Deadline Club, L.A.’s Press Club, the Religion News Association and the Society for Features Journalism. Jodi’s weekly newsletter and column, “Looking Forward,” has also received broad acclaim; she won the RNA’s top commentary award and was a Deadline Club opinion finalist in 2022.

Jodi is also a sought-after public speaker and during the 2023 Israel-Hamas war has appeared on CNN, MSNBC and other news outlets. She is also a contributor to the anthology, Jewish Priorities: Sixty-five proposals for the future of our people.

Rabbi Mike Uram is the first Chief Jewish Learning Officer for Jewish Federations of North America. Previously, he served as the Chief Vision and Education Officer for Pardes North America building a new platform for Jewish education in North America for the past two years. Before that, Mike led Penn Hillel as the Executive Director and Campus Rabbi for over 16 years. He is the author of the best-selling book entitled, Next Generation Judaism: How College Students and Hillel Can Help Reinvent Jewish Organizations, which won a National Jewish Book Award. He is a sought-after speaker and consultant on the changing nature of the American Jewish community, Jewish innovation, cutting-edge engagement and how legacy organizations can reinvent themselves in the age of millennials.