Mr. Pomerantz is the Director of the Homeland Security Program at JINSA which brings high ranking American Law Enforcement Executives to Israel to study best practice counterterrorism methodology. He retired from the FBI in June 1995 after a career spanning…
Michael Makovsky since 2013 has been President and CEO of the Jewish Institute for National Security of America (JINSA), a leading Washington, D.C.-based policy and educational organization focused on U.S. defense and national security issues in the Middle East. Makovsky…
Jonathan Ruhe is JINSA Director of Foreign Policy. Prior to joining JINSA, he worked at the Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC), where he focused on Middle East and Former Soviet Union security issues. His commentary has appeared in the Wall Street…
Harris Vederman joined JINSA in December 2013 with over a decade of high-level Washington D.C. and national outreach experience. In his role as Vice President of Programs, Harris is responsible for forging strong relationships with military persons, program participants, alumni,…
John Hannah is the Randi & Charles Wax Senior Fellow at JINSA’s Gemunder Center for Defense and Strategy. John served in senior foreign policy positions for both Democratic and Republican administrations, including as former Vice President Dick Cheney’s National Security…
Simcha G. Lyons is the Founder and Chairman of the John C. Danforth Society. He has been a member of the board of directors of Maiden Holdings Ltd., a Bermuda Reinsurance Co., since June 2007. Mr. Lyons currently serves as Chairman…
IDF BG Yoram Knafo has been a Visiting Fellow at JINSA since January 2025. Before joining JINSA, BG Knafo served as Chief of Staff of the IDF’s Personnel Directorate from 2021-2024, and as Chief of Staff of the IDF’s Northern…
Jonah Brody is a Policy Analyst at JINSA. Jonah holds an M.A. in International Security from Sciences Po Paris, a B.A. in History from the University of Tennessee-Martin, and a Post-Graduate Diploma in Comparative Politics from Sciences Po Toulouse. He…
IDF BG Shai Klapper is a former JINSA Visiting Fellow. From 2022-25, BG Klapper served as the commander of the IDF’s 91st Division, tasked with defending Israel’s northern border with Lebanon. During Israel’s 2024 Operation Northern Arrows against Hezbollah, BG…
IDF BG Effie Defrin is a former Visiting Fellow at JINSA and a former participant in JINSA’s 2019 Brigadier Generals Military Leadership Education Program. Prior to joining JINSA, BG Defrin served as the head of the IDF’s International Cooperation Division,…