Officers:

• Steve Masters, President: Staff Attorney, City Council of Philadelphia; Philadelphia, PA
• Sue Swartz, Interim Vice President: Educator & Writer; Bloomington, Indiana
• Rabbi Joshua Levine-Grater, Secretary: Pasadena Jewish Temple and Center; Pasadena, CA
• David Albert, Treasurer: Adjunct Faculty, Huston-Tillotson University; Austin, TX

President Emeritus:

• Marcia Freedman, Former member of Knesset; Berkeley, CA

Members:

• Allan Abrams, Semi-retired tax attorney, investment advisor, professional mediator; Prairie Village, KS
• Aaron Ahuvia, Associate Professor of Marketing, University of Michigan; Ann Arbor, MI
• Rainer Waldman Adkins, Artist and Educator, Art & Design Service; Seattle, WA
• Cherie Brown, Executive Director, National Coalition Building Institute; Washington, DC
• Molly Freeman, Educator & Consultant, Distance Learning and Technology Integration Research; Berkeley, CA
• Rabbi John Friedman, Judea Reform Congregation; Durham, NC
• Gil Kulick, Communications Consultant; New York, NY
• Barbara Lahav, Nonprofit consultant and community volunteer; Mercer Island, Washington
• David Matz, Director, Dispute Resolution Graduate Programs, University of Massachusetts; Brookline, MA
• Ben Murane, New Generations and Development Associate, New Israel Fund; New York, NY
• Alison Pepper, Senior Director of Accreditation Program Support, National Association for the Education of Young Children; Washington, DC
• Michael Peshkin, Professor of  Mechanical Engineering, Northwestern University; Evanston, IL
• Rabbi Brant Rosen, Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation, Evanston, IL
• Donna Spiegelman, Professor of Epidemiologic Methods, Harvard School of Public Health; Boston, MA
• Sid Topol, President, The Topol Group; Boston, MA
• Beth Wasserman, Environmental Engineer; Somerville, MA
• Lara Weitzman, Principal, Organization Development and Dynamics Consulting; New York, NY

*Affiliations are for identification purposes only.

---

STEVE MASTERS, President, is a founding member of Brit Tzedek and is the former Chair of Brit Tzedek’s Advocacy Committee. As President, Mr. Masters has led Brit Tzedek’s efforts to advance the cause of a negotiated, two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, meeting with the Israeli and Palestinian Prime Ministers, spearheading advocacy efforts in the offices of U.S. Senators and Congress members, speaking and writing extensively on the issues, and further extending Brit Tzedek’s impact on the public and political discourse surrounding the conflict. In 2003, he attended the signing of the Geneva Accord, representing Brit Tzedek. This event and the role Brit Tzedek played in it were subsequently featured in the PBS documentary “Passionate Voices: American Jews and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict.”.

Mr. Masters earned his B.A. in Political Science from Yale University and his J.D. from Boston University School of Law. His law practice has included work as a poverty lawyer, union-side labor lawyer, and legislative attorney for the Philadelphia City Council. While living in Israel during the mid-1980’s, he volunteered with the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, and lectured on Zionism and Middle East peace issues for the Moshe Sharrett Institute of the World Labor Zionist Movement.  Mr. Masters has also served on the board of the Greater Philadelphia Jewish Community Relations Council, as well as the Philadelphia Metropolitan Area Jewish Labor Committee

(Photo by Michael Koehler)

[top]

---

SUE SWARTZ, Vice President, is Chair of the national Advocacy Committee, and founding co-chair of the Bloomington, Indiana Brit Tzedek chapter. She brings her many years of expertise in building organizations to her role as Brit Tzedek’s Vice President, working closely with President Steve Masters and Interim Executive Director Diane Balser on strategic direction and internal organization. As Advocacy Committee chair, Ms. Swartz works with Brit Tzedek grassroots activists and staff to maximize the effectiveness of our collective voice in Washington D.C. and in home districts. Like many individuals leading a chapter, she has helped facilitate a wide range of outreach and educational efforts in her community, including joint events with peace activists in the Muslim and Christian community.

Ms. Swartz has been an advocate for social justice throughout her life as a labor organizer, feminist activist, and multicultural educator. She received an M.S.W. in community organizing, and presently teaches part-time at Indiana University. Ms. Swartz is also an award-winning poet. She recently spent a six-month sabbatical spent in Haifa, Israel.

 

---

RABBI JOSHUA LEVINE GRATER, Board Secretary, also served as the founding Chair of Brit Tzedek’s Los Angeles Chapter, where he facilitated a broad variety of events intended to further advance Brit Tzedek’s profile in the American Jewish community, including the Shalom/Salaam Film Salon and community events with Palestinian and Israeli peace advocates.

Rabbi Grater was ordained by the Jewish Theological Seminary in 1999; he has served as the rabbi of the Pasadena Jewish Temple and Center since 2003. He is Corresponding Secretary of the Southern California Board of Rabbis and Chair of its Social Action Committee, as well as being on the board of Jewish World Watch. and on the Advisory Board of The JustVision Project. As an activist, he is involved in local social justice causes, often with interfaith coalitions.

[top]

 

---

DAVID ALBERT, Board Treasurer, is also the co-founder and Chair of Brit Tzedek’s Austin chapter. He is also a co-founder of Salaam-v-Shalom, an online Arab-Jewish dialogue group, and has traveled extensively through Israel and the West Bank.

Mr. Albert holds a B.A. in Government & History from the College of William & Mary, and a Ph.D. in Middle East Studies from the University of Texas-Austin. His dissertation discussed the politics of the U.S.-Israel “Special Relationship,” and its connection to the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.  He works as adjunct faculty at several Austin-area colleges.  

[top]