Join us for the first annual I Believe Israeli Women Summit, an exclusive event in New York City on Tuesday, March 10 at 6:00 PM ET.
Convened on the sidelines of the meetings of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, the gathering will feature expert briefings from distinguished women’s rights advocates from around the world, offering timely analysis of the international response to conflict-related sexual violence and firsthand perspectives from those working directly with survivors. We hope you will join us for this rare opportunity to gain an inside look at I Believe Israeli Women’s collaboration with international partners to advance accountability and recognition for survivors.
Space is limited to 100 guests.
Please RSVP by March 6.
Please note, this is a fully in-person event and will not feature a virtual option.
Confirmed speakers include:
Céline Bardet is an international lawyer specializing in war crimes, international criminal law, post-conflict justice, and security. She began her career at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and later served as a Crime Prevention Officer at the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). She subsequently spent 12 years in the Balkans prosecuting war crimes.
For nearly 20 years, she has worked in over 90 countries across the Balkans, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia, advising governments and international institutions in fragile and conflict-affected environments.
An internationally recognized expert on conflict-related sexual violence, she is the founder of We Are NOT Weapons of War (WWoW), which develops operational, legal, and technological tools to fight impunity. Through WWoW, she launched Back Up, a secure digital platform that enables the safe documentation of sexual violence cases, facilitates survivors’ access to essential services, and strengthens evidence preservation for justice processes.
She is the author of Zones Sensibles and of a 2025 major book on rape as a weapon of war, and regularly publishes academic and policy articles on international justice and security.
Her work has been honored with the Rule of Law Prize from the International Union of Lawyers (2023), the UNESCO Remarkable Women Prize (2019), and the National Human Rights Prize of the French Republic (2024).
Sarah Barukh was born in 1980 in Paris and is the mother of a young daughter. Initially a writer and entrepreneur, life led her to take up a fight she did not choose but ultimately embraced: the fight against domestic and intra family violence.
She is the founder and president of the nonprofit organization 125 et après, where she develops a holistic approach to solutions — from the heart of the individual to society as a whole. The organization promotes a universalist feminism rooted in the lived reality of victims, with one guiding conviction: that love, one day, should no longer hurt.
Today, 125 et après supports approximately 250 victims and their children every month. The association is a member of the High Council for Equality between Women and Men (Haut Conseil à l’Égalité entre les femmes et les hommes). In this capacity, Sarah participates in the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) as part of the French delegation alongside the Minister.
A defining feature of 125 et après is its commitment to social innovation. The organization designs and tests practical tools, publishes guides, and above all creates large-scale awareness and media-driven initiatives. These initiatives aim to bridge what Sarah calls “the last mile of support” — closing the gap between existing help systems and the victims who need them most.
Building on the work of 125 et après, Sarah Barukh founded the mission-driven company Mouvement Safe Place to help businesses find their rightful role in supporting victims of domestic violence. Mouvement Safe Place is a CSR label enabling companies to take concrete commitments to combat domestic abuse. It is built on a strong belief:
“If society is the problem, it is also the solution.”
By equipping companies with actionable tools, Safe Place positions them as strategic actors of social transformation, at the heart of a more human and responsible economy.
Launched at the Olympia in Paris on June 3rd in the presence of major partners (including Canal+, Elle, AXA, Céline, ba&sh), two ministers, and numerous figures from the artistic, creative, and economic worlds, the initiative quickly gained momentum.
Within just six months, Mouvement Safe Place has reached 50 member companies and is on the path to impacting nearly one million employees.
Following the major success of her documentary Vivante(s), Sarah is currently directing a new documentary for Canal+ entitled Les résistantes, focusing on grassroots feminists and the women who resist in a world not designed for them — where they remain the primary victims of all forms of violence.
Sarah is also an artist. On March 4, she will release her new investigative book, Les hommes non plus n’aiment pas les cons (et le féminisme ne se fera pas sans eux) (“Men Don’t Like Jerks Either (And Feminism Won’t Succeed Without Them)”), continuing her exploration of gender dialogue and collective transformation.
Ali Gostanian is the Director of I Believe Israel Women, a joint initiative of Jewish Women International and the Seed the Dream Foundation, which is a global movement dedicated to fighting the denial and disinformation surrounding sexual violence committed against Israeli women, men and children on and after October 7, 2023.
Prior to transitioning into the international policy and advocacy space, Ali spent a decade at NBC News as an award-winning senior reporter, producer, editor and newsroom leader, specializing in open-source intelligence, social media verification and investigative reporting. She served as the weekend manager for social newsgathering operations, leading a team of journalists during breaking news coverage. Her work has been featured across various NBC News platforms.
Ali is the winner of a News Emmy Award, eight National Murrow Awards, a Press Club Award and the Society for Professional Journalists Sigma Delta Chi Award for Excellence in Professional Journalism. She was also nominated for twelve Emmy Awards during her time at NBC News.
She has conducted field research in Jordan, advising the Hashemite Kingdom on policy recommendations to strengthen legal frameworks for water security, climate adaptation and human rights protections. Her work was published in a comprehensive policy report. She has also consulted for Walmart on strategy policy and sustainability considerations, providing research-based recommendations to inform corporate decision-making.
Ali earned a Master of International Public Policy, with Honors, from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), where she studied international relations, public policy and geopolitics, with a focus on security, statecraft and governance in the Middle East. She also holds a B.A. in Communications and Media Studies, Journalism, and Business Administration from Fordham University.
Meredith Jacobs is CEO of Jewish Women International. Founded in 1897 as B'nai B'rith Women, JWI is dedicated to ending violence against women and girls. Since assuming the role of CEO in 2020, Meredith has shepherded the development of numerous JWI initiatives focusing on ending gender-based violence; advancing access to economic security; and amplifying Jewish women's leadership. Among the many initiatives are the Collaborative of Jewish Domestic Violence Agencies; Here for You: a Jewish communal response to domestic violence; ReStart: job readiness for survivors; and the expansion of Young Women’s Leadership Network.
In the aftermath of October 7th, Jacobs led JWI’s partnership with the Seed the Dream Foundation to co-found I Believe Israeli Women — a global movement standing in solidarity with Israeli women and men and fighting the denial of and disinformation about the sexual atrocities committed by Hamas. IBIW's international work includes coalitions of Jewish organizations as well as global feminist activists who stand in solidarity with Israeli women.
Meredith is an award-winning journalist and former editor-in-chief of Washington Jewish Week, she was the force behind the ground-breaking report "On Land and Online: Conflict-related sexual violence and the social media battlefield." She is the author of The Modern Jewish Mom’s Guide to Shabbat (HarperCollins) and co-author, with her daughter Sofie, of the bestselling series of interactive journals, Just Between Us (Chronicle Books). Prior to joining JWI, she founded ModernJewishMom.com, the first Jewish parenting website (now part of Kveller), and was the host of the WYPR radio show, Connecting Family and The Jewish Channel television holiday specials, Modern Jewish Mom.
Named one of the “50 Most Influential Jews of 2020” by The Jerusalem Post, Meredith has been published in the New York Times and has appeared on MSNBC (MS NOW). She is a sought-after speaker, moderator, and writer. Her opinion pieces appear frequently in outlets such as JTA, eJewishPhilanthropy, and the Forward. She is on the advisory councils for Jewish on Campus and for Kehilanu an Israeli non-profit, founded post 10/7, shifting trauma from an experience of isolation into a pathway for connection, meaning and mutual support. Jacobs served on the Women’s Economic Empowerment Council for the State of Maryland and the expert panel on Improving Access to Services for Domestic Abuse Victims in the Military, sponsored by the Department of Defense. She earned a B.A. in English from Haverford College and holds an M.S. in business from Johns Hopkins University.
Elaaheh Jamali (LilyMoo) is a British-Iranian human rights activist and women’s rights advocate who has lived in exile for over two decades due to the Islamic Republic of Iran. Having experienced ideological indoctrination and systemic repression firsthand as a child growing up in Iran, she has dedicated her life to confronting gender apartheid, Islamist extremism and rising anti-Semitism globally.
Over the past three years, Elaaheh has organized rallies, led international advocacy campaigns and spoken across Europe, the United States and the Middle East in support of the Iranian people’s revolution. Following the October 7 attacks carried out by Hamas, she intensified her international advocacy work, drawing clear parallels between the violence inflicted on Israeli women by Hamas and the systemic oppression imposed on women under the Islamic Republic in Iran and under the Taliban in Afghanistan.
A central focus of her work is challenging selective justice in international policy and media narratives, particularly in cases of conflict-related sexual violence. She has been outspoken about the inconsistency in global responses to atrocities against women, including the silence and hesitation that followed the October 7 attacks and the longstanding international inattention to crimes committed against Iranian women during protests and inside prisons. She argues that when the suffering of certain women is minimized, politicized or ignored, it weakens the universal credibility of human rights frameworks.
Elaaheh has addressed lawmakers and civil society leaders, including speaking at the Knesset as part of a women’s delegation highlighting conflict-related sexual violence and the global consequences of extremist ideology.
Most recently, over the past two months, Elaaheh has been spearheading the Lion and Sun Revolution movement in London, supporting and amplifying what many activists identify as the Lion and Sun Revolution, the name used by supporters of the current uprising inside Iran against the Islamic regime. Through public demonstrations, strategic media engagement and cross-community coalition building, she has mobilized the Iranian diaspora and built international awareness around the movement’s demand for national sovereignty, secular governance and democratic self-determination.
Elaaheh’s work focuses on defending democratic values, confronting propaganda and double standards, and ensuring that women’s rights and human rights are applied universally rather than selectively.
Talia Kaplan is the Executive Director of Seed the Dream Foundation and a founding member of the I Believe Israeli Women Global Movement.
Talia’s career has centered on bridging communities and lifting up voices that too often go unheard. Before joining Seed the Dream Foundation, Talia held key leadership roles across the nonprofit sector, including serving as Executive Director of a private foundation focused on combating antisemitism. At the American Jewish Committee (AJC), she served as national liaison to the Darfur crisis and led initiatives in interfaith and international affairs in Washington, DC. Talia also worked with World Learning’s International Visitor Leadership Program, a U.S. State Department initiative, and previously directed Beth El House, a transitional housing program supporting women and children.
Talia brings a global perspective to her work, with a degree in International Relations from Boston University, and a master’s from the School for International Training.
Ayelet Razin Bet Or holds a graduate degree in Law and Criminology from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and specialized in criminal law at the State Attorney’s Office. This early professional experience shaped her long-term expertise in combating gender-based violence and advancing women’s rights.
Following her work at the State Attorney’s Office, she was appointed Head of Government Relations and Legal Advisor to the Association of Rape Crisis Centers in Israel. In this role, she led major public and legislative initiatives, including the approval of electronic monitoring of violent offenders, extending the statute of limitations for sexual offenses against children, expanding access to free legal aid for survivors, and strengthening the rights of victims within the criminal justice system. She also initiated public committees and authored policy reports on law enforcement accountability and victims’ rights.
In 2022, Ayelet was appointed Director of the Authority for the Advancement of the Status of Women at the Ministry of Social Equality. During her tenure, she led a comprehensive national strategy to advance gender equality, working across government ministries and with civil society organizations to promote gender mainstreaming, advance equality legislation, combat violence and discrimination against women, and increase women’s representation in decision-making positions. She served in this role until mid-2023.
Ayelet is internationally recognized for her expertise in gender equality policy and advocacy. She has represented Israel in international forums, including the UN Commission on the Status of Women, the Universal Periodic Review of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, and multiple OECD conferences.
She is a co-founder and former member of the Dinah Project, an advocacy initiative dedicated to exposing the war crimes perpetrated by Hamas against women and children on October 7, and to advocating for the rights and recognition of the victims. Her work underscores the urgent need for global acknowledgment and condemnation of conflict-related sexual violence, warning that failure to address such crimes undermines decades of progress in women’s rights worldwide.
Ayelet Razin Bet Or is a candidate for membership in the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). Her candidacy reflects extensive experience in criminal law, government leadership, and international advocacy for gender equality, as well as deep engagement with UN and OECD mechanisms. She brings a strong rights-based approach to combating gender-based violence and to advancing the effective implementation of the Convention at the global level.
Laura Rebell Gross is a nonprofit leader, educator, and executive coach with more than 30 years of experience advancing girls’ education and strengthening mission-driven organizations. Most recently, she served as Senior Managing Director of Girls Education at Student Leadership Network, where she oversaw programming and leadership development for 24 all-girls public schools nationwide in partnership with the New York City Department of Education.
A founding sister of I Believe Israeli Women, Laura joined the delegation to Israel in May 2024, an experience that deepened her commitment to amplifying women’s voices and standing in solidarity across communities.
Through LRG Coaching, Laura now partners with founders, CEOs, and nonprofit leaders committed to building more humane and courageous organizations. Known for both fierce belief and direct challenge, she helps leaders clarify their mission, quiet internal saboteurs, and lead with confidence and resilience.
Laura serves on the boards of Nightingale-Bamford School, Riley’s Way Foundation, and Jewish Women International, and sits on the Executive Committees of both Riley’s Way and JWI. She and her husband of 23 years are the proud parents of three college-aged daughters and one rambunctious labradoodle. A long-distance runner, avid theatergoer, and world traveler, she lives in Brooklyn.
Paula Silva Rodríguez is a Colombian lawyer and expert in transitional justice and conflict-related sexual violence, with over a decade of experience in international law and gender justice.
She has worked at the Office of the Attorney General, the Unit for Victims, and for six years at Colombia’s Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP), where she served as a senior legal advisor (law clerk) in the Amnesty and Pardon Chamber and on the Gender Commission’s Technical Team. She is a co-founder of the International Centre for the Treatment of Violence (CIV) and has published on the centrality of gender analysis in contexts of armed conflict and widespread violence.
She holds a Master’s in Public Management and is completing the MSc in Gender, Peace and Security at the London School of Economics and Political Science.
Lisa C. Smith is Chief Counsel for Family and Gender Violence at the New York State Office of Court Administration, Office of Justice Initiatives. Ms. Smith works on legal, policy, training, and operational issues in the areas of gender based and intimate partner violence. In this capacity, she oversees the 39 Domestic Violence Courts and 43 Integrated Domestic Violence Courts throughout New York State.
Lisa was a Professor at Brooklyn Law School where she was the Director of Criminal and Judicial Externships and the Prosecutors Clinic in which she supervised students prosecuting cases, often in the domestic violence parts in the court system. She was formerly the Executive Assistant for Domestic Violence and Child Abuse in the Office of the Kings County District Attorney.
Lisa currently serves as a liaison to the American Bar Association Commission on Domestic and Sexual Violence, the New York State OPDV Advisory Board and has worked on numerous justice system initiatives concerning gender-based violence. She is also a Founding Sister of the I Believe Israeli Women Global Movement.
Viviane Teitelbaum is a member of the Belgian Senate since July 2024 and President of the French speaking Network of Women Parliamentarians (APF). She was a member of the Parliament of the Brussels Region from 2004 to 2024, working on social and health affairs, environment, gender equality and the fight against racism, antisemitism, homophobia, sexism.
As deputy Mayor of Ixelles from 2012 to 2018, she implemented the first gender-sensitive budget at municipal level in Belgium.
As a committed and recognized feminist, she currently serves as European President of the International Council of Women and is cofounder of the Belgian Observatory of Violence Against Women.
She has also worked extensively to preserve the memory of genocides — in particular the Shoah — as a tool to combat antisemitism, through her writing and the collection of testimonies. An author, she has published 10 books and contributed to various collective works.
She holds a degree in journalism and social communication (ULB) and a master’s degree in international relations (University of Southern California, USA).
Atty. Yael Vias Gvirsman is a leading expert in criminal and international humanitarian law, with 20+ years of litigation experience in ending impunity for atrocities, including representing victims of crimes against humanity.
She is the Founder and CEO of OCTOBER 7JUSTICE-WITHOUT BORDERS, leading a pro bono and strategic legal front, on behalf of hundreds of victims from 18 different crime bases- to end impunity of perpetrators and accessories of the October 7 atrocities, in international and domestic courts and human rights mechanisms.
Att. Vias Gvirsman is the Founding Director of the International Criminal and Humanitarian Law Clinic, at the Harry Radzyner Law School, Reichman University since 2014.
She is a graduate of the Humanitarian Department at the UN Secretariat in New York (2004) , the International Law Department at the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Legal Advisor’s Office, and the International Affairs Department at the State Attorney’s Office. Over the years, she has been involved in applying international law across complex arenas.
She is the first Israeli woman to litigate at the International Criminal Court (ICC) The Hague—setting legal precedents and successfully handling cases from start to finish. Since 2008, she consistently supported cases before four international criminal tribunals, including those for Rwanda, Sierra Leone, and the former Yugoslavia. She has worked extensively on cases related to war crimes, victim representation, and strengthening investigations of international crimes in Ukraine, Congo, Sudan, and other regions.
In addition to her legal practice, Yael advises civil society, government, regional and international organizations in her field of expertise as an independent expert. She is a founding-board member of the ALMA Association for the Promotion of International Humanitarian Law (2010), and a member Forum Dvorah- Women in National Security and Foreign Policy, the ATLAS Network for Women in International Law, the Committee on Complementarity at the International Law Association (ILA) and a Member of the War Crimes and Human Rights Forum of the International Bar Association (IBA).
Atty. Vias Gvirsman is the author of a peer-reviewed chapter on sexual violence as international crimes in the NATO Center of Excellence publication Enhancing Stabilization: A Comprehensive Approach to Human Security October 2024), analyzing international legal frameworks, case law and case studies, including the October 7 atrocities. She also initiated the Civil Society Guiding Principles on Sexual Violence amounting to International Crimes and is leading an inclusive 2026 global dialogue to strengthen coordinated civil society engagement on conflict-related sexual violence.