Speakers The 5th Herzliya Conference Yasser Abed Rabbo Head of the Palestinian Peace Coalition and member of the PLO Executive Committee. One of the architects of the Geneva Initiative. Former positions in the Palestinian Authority include Minister of Cabinet Affairs and Minister of Information, Culture and the Arts. Secretary-General of the Fida party. Founding member of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine. Served as a member of the Palestinian delegation to the Madrid talks and helped to coordinate secret Oslo talks in 1993. Received an M.A. in Economics and Political Science from the American University in Cairo. Yaacov Achimeir Anchorman and editor of the weekly international news program Roim Olamon Israel Television’s Channel One. Also hosts a radio show on IDF’s Galei Tzahal. Member of the Advisory Board of Hebrew Union College in Jerusalem. Joined Israel Television in 1970 and served in a series of positions, including political commentator, editor and anchorman for the news programs Yoman and Mabat, Knesset correspondent, and representative in Washington. Worked for the BBC in London, and served as news editor for Voice of Israel Radio. Published several articles in the magazine Monitin and in Ma’ariv daily newspaper. Holds a degree from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in History and Political Science. Joseph Ackerman President and CEO, Elbit Systems Ltd. Joined Elbit in 1982, and served in a series of senior positions, including Elbit Lavi Program Manager and Director of Avionics Programs and General Manager, Elbit Defense Systems. Holds a B.Sc. in Aeronautical Engineering from the Technion, the Israel Institute of Technology. Shula Bahat Associate Executive Director of the American Jewish Committee, responsible for AJC’s organizational development and management, leadership development and training programs. Former Director of Israeli Programs in American and Canadian Universities for the Israeli Students and Academicians Organization in the U.S. and Canada. Also served as a career officer in the IDF as Executive Director of the Sociological and Psychological Research Division, Operations Officer for the Gadna-Youth Corps, and Education Welfare and Women’s Officer for the Jerusalem Division. Holds an M.A. in Environmental Studies from the Technion, the Israel Institute of Technology. Dr. Shmuel Bar Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for Policy and Strategy, the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya. Served in the Israeli intelligence community for thirty years where he held senior analytical, planning, and diplomatic positions, specializing in regional security, Islamic radicalism and terrorism in the Middle East and East Asia. Published a number of books and articles in his areas of expertise. Received a Ph.D. in History of the Middle East from Tel Aviv University. Lt. Gen. (res.) Ehud Barak Former Prime Minister and Minister of Defense, former IDF Chief of General Staff. Joined the IDF in 1959 and served as the commander of an elite unit, and then in a series of command and general staff positions. Previous military positions included Armored Brigade Commander, Armored Division Commander, Head of the Intelligence Directorate, Head of the Planning Directorate, Deputy Commander of the Israeli Force in Lebanon, GOC Central Command and Deputy Chief of Staff. Elected to the Knesset in 1996, and served as Minister of the Interior, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Chairman of the Labor Party. Formed the One Israel Party from the Labor, Gesher and Meimad factions. Recipient of the Distinguished Service Medal and four other citations for courage and operational excellence. Holds an M.Sc. in Engineering-Economic Systems from Stanford University. Prof. Amir Barnea Professor of Finance at the Arison School of Business, Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya, and former Dean of the School. Member of the Board of Directors, the Institute for Policy and Strategy, the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya. Professor Emeritus at Tel AvivUniversity. Deputy Chairman of the Board and CEO, Singer Barnea & Co. Former Visiting Professor at several leading institutions, including Cornell and New York Universities. Serves in several senior positions in Israeli business institutions, as well as on public committees of the Bank of Israel and the Ministry of Finance. Received a Ph.D. in Finance and Managerial Economics from Cornell University. Prof. Moshe Barniv Professor at the Radzyner Law School at the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya, where he also served as Dean. Member of the Board of Directors, the Institute for Policy and Strategy, the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya. Additionally, lectures in the School of Management and the Faculty of Law at Bar Ilan University. Practices law, specializing in business and economic law and technology. Past positions include Head of the Program in Law and Management at Bar Ilan University, lecturer at Hebrew and Tel Aviv Universities, Visiting Scholar at Harvard University and Visiting Professor at Boston University. Formerly, a founder and manager of Yeda Computers Ltd, and a partner in M. Druker Law Firm. Recipient of the Recanati Graduate School of Management Best Research Award for 1995, along with Prof. D. Samet. Holds a Ph.D. in Law from Tel Aviv University. MK Ronnie Bar-On Member of Knesset representing the Likud party. Chairman of the House Committee. Previously, member of the Central Committee of the Israel Bar Association, member of the Jerusalem Regional Committee of the Israel Bar and Chairman of its High Court of Justice Committee, and Chairman of the Council for the Organization of Sport- Gambling. Received an LL.B. from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Avinoam Bar-Yosef Director General of the Jewish People Policy Planning Institute. Previously Senior Advisor to the Chair of the Jewish Agency for Israel. Prior to his involvement in the Jewish Agency, he served as Bureau-Chief for Ma’ariv daily newspaper in Washington, D.C., and as its chief diplomatic correspondent. Also served as a consultant to the Washington Institute for Middle East Policy. Prof. Anne Bayefsky Senior Fellow at the Hudson Institute. Previously, Professor of Political Science at York University of Toronto and Adjunct Professor and Associate Research Scholar at Columbia University Law School. Active member of numerous human rights organizations on the national and international levels. Participated in American and Canadian delegations to United Nations Human Rights Committees. Served as the Director of the Center for Refugee Studies at York University and as Professor of Constitutional and International Human Rights Law at the University of Ottawa. Formerly, a Lady Davis Fellow at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem’s Faculty of Law. Recipient of several prestigious prizes for her research on human rights. Published many books and articles in her area of expertise. Holds an LL.B. from the University of Toronto and an M.Litt. from Oxford University. Dr. Yossi Beilin Chairman of the Yachad Party. From 1988 to 1999, served as a Member of Knesset representing the Labor Party. During this period served as Minister of Justice, Deputy Foreign Minister, Minister of Economy and Planning, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office, and Deputy Minister of Finance. Additional positions included Director-General of the Foreign Ministry, Cabinet Secretary, Labor Party Spokesman, lecturer and researcher at Tel AvivUniversity, and journalist for Davar daily newspaper. Architect of the Geneva Accords, initiated the Oslo process, led the public movement for a unilateral withdrawal from Lebanon, initiated signing of Joint Declaration with the Palestinians in 2001, and helped draft a social contract on the subject of religion and state. Received a Ph.D. in Political Science from Tel Aviv University. Adv. Dr. Yehuda Ben Meir Lawyer at Lipa Meir & Co. Law Offices, and Senior Fellow at the Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies at Tel Aviv University. Previously, a Professor of Psychology and Head of the Department of Psychology at Tel Aviv University. Served as Senior Research Officer in the IDF General Staff Psychological Research Unit. Was a Member of Knesset for thirteen years as a representative of the National Religious Party, during which he was appointed Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs. Published two books: National Security Decision Making: The Israeli Case and Civil- Military Relations in Israel. Received an LL.B. from Bar Ilan University and a Ph.D. in Social Psychology from Columbia University. Prof. Gabriel Ben-Dor Professor of Political Science and Director of the National SecurityStudies Center, University of Haifa. Also served as the Rector of the University and as the President of the Israeli Political Science Association. Published seven books and over one hundred articles on Middle East politics, civic-military relations, conflict resolution, and ethnic politics. Received a Ph.D. in Political Science and Middle Eastern Studies from PrincetonUniversity. Dr. Yigal Ben-Shalom Director-General, National Insurance Institute of Israel. Senior lecturer in Social Policy at universities throughout Israel. Conducted studies for the Taub Center for Social Policy Studies in Israel. Head of the Welfare Section of JDC Israel and Senior Research Fellow at the Minerva Center for Youth Studies at Haifa University. Served as Director General of the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs. Former Executive Director of M.B.S Systems Company, which deals with strategic planning, consulting and management of information systems.