TEAM

Dermot Kehoe was made Chief Executive of BICOM, Britain Israel Communications & Research Centre in 2012.  Dermot has over 20 years’ experience in public affairs, communications and journalism. A career in broadcasting that spans the BBC, ITV, GMTV and Channel 4 and in communications at the Home Office, Social Market Foundation and the Fabian Society. His Credits include The Sunday Programme with Alistair Stewart, GMTV Election ’97, The Street Weapons Commission (C4) and The Iraq Commission (C4).

Tony is BICOM’s Finance and Office Manager. He is an experienced Certified Accountant who has held senior management positions in multinationals as well as in high street names and latterly, just prior to joining BICOM, for 12 years as a Financial Controller of the Transport Research Laboratory. He has also held a number of Trustee positions, including for a large pension fund, a professional Association and within his Synagogue.

Outside of work he is currently involved in an innovative project to create a cross denominational progressive Jewish community in his home borough of Harrow.

Laura is team assistant and personal assistant to the CEO at BICOM. She graduated in 2012 with a 2:1 in Politics and International Relations from the University of Sussex.

Ruth joined BICOM in 2006 as Office Manager and then became Donor Relations and Events Manager. Prior to BICOM, Ruth lived in Israel for 15 years where she worked in pivotal administrative roles at the Jerusalem Foundation, The Jewish Agency, and APAX.  Whilst in Israel, Ruth was a presenter on the first all-English speaking radio station, something she continues with much success to this day in London.  She holds a Diploma in Bi-Lingual Secretarial Studies in French and Spanish.

Dr. Toby Greene, based in Israel, is the Director of Research for BICOM and the Deputy Editor of BICOM’s Fathom journal. He was awarded his PhD from UCL for his thesis on British policy in the Israeli-Palestinian arena and his book, ‘Blair, Labour and Palestine: Conflicting Views on Middle East Peace After 9/11’ will be published by Bloomsbury in 2013. He frequently writes on Israel and the region for a range of print and online publications, has provided expert analysis on Israeli affairs for media outlets including BBC Radio, and blogs at Huffington Post. Toby joined BICOM’s Israel office in 2008, prior to which he worked at GCS, a campaigns and communications consultancy advising heads of state and governing parties in Europe. Before moving to Israel he was Head of Policy and Research for Labour Friends of Israel. Toby also holds a first class honours degree in Philosophy and Theology from the University of Cambridge.

Since 1993, Brigadier General (Ret.) Michael Herzog has participated in most of Israel’s negotiations with the Palestinians, Jordanians and Syrians, whilst serving in senior positions in the IDF and in Israel’s ministry of defence. He participated in the Wye Plantation summit, the Camp David summit, the Taba negotiations, the Annapolis summit and subsequent negotiations.

In the course of his career, Michael Herzog served as head of the strategic planning division of the IDF and worked with four ministers of defence as senior military aide and advisor, and as chief of staff. From June 2009 to March 2010, he served as special emissary for Israel’s prime minister and minister of defence in the efforts to relaunch the peace process. As well as being an associate fellow at BICOM, he is an international fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

Alan Johnson is the Editor of Fathom: for a deeper understanding of Israel and the region, a free quarterly journal, app and website. He was a professor of democratic theory and practice at Edge Hill University before joining BICOM in 2011. A Senior Research Associate at the Foreign Policy Centre, he founded and edited Democratiya, a free online journal of international politics from 2005 until its incorporation into Dissent magazine in 2009, where he serves on the editorial board. He was a co-author of the 2006 ‘Euston Manifesto’, a modern statement of social democratic antitotalitarianism, and in 2007 he edited Global Politics After 9/11: The Democratiya Interviews.

Alan recently completed a study for the UK government, examining journeys taken by young British Muslims ‘in and out of extremism’ and developing strategies to counter radicalisation. He blogs weekly at The Daily Telegraph and World Affairs.

Stefan Kerner is the Public Affairs Manager for BICOM. He was formerly the head of Campaigns and Public Affairs at the Zionist Federation. He was the Deputy Director of the Conservative Friends of Israel between 2002 and 2005 and stood for Parliament in the 2005 General Election.

Stefan has a Masters in Near and Middle Eastern Studies from the School of Oriental and African Studies.

Carly Maisel joined BICOM as Head of Communications in October 2012. Prior to joining BICOM Carly worked at the Embassy of Israel in London as the Public Affairs Officer. Carly was responsible for managing the Embassy’s work with British Civil Society including academia and trade unions. During the London2012 Olympic Games Carly also led the Embassy coordination group for this project.

Carly studied Politics and International Relations at Nottingham University.

Richard Pater is the Director of BICOM in Israel and helped establish the office in Jerusalem. Richard provides the London office with regular news and analysis and is also responsible for bringing delegations of senior journalists and political figures to Israel. Richard joined the team in 2008 from the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office. In that position, as a liaison to the foreign press, he was a key address during major events of recent years such as Operation Defensive Shield in 2002, Israel’s disengagement from Gaza in 2005 and the Second Lebanon War in 2006. In this capacity, he received the Prime Minister’s prize for excellence in 2006.

Richard has served in the IDF tank brigade, receiving two commendations for excellence, and continues to serve as a reservist. He holds a BA in Philosophy and Politics from Manchester University.

David Walsh joined BICOM as Junior Press Officer in May 2013. Before joining BICOM he completed an internship at the International Institute for Counter-Terrorism in Herzliya, Israel. Following his internship, his paper on Kurdish separatism in Turkey was published as part of the ICT’s Working Papers Series. David studied International Relations & Politics at De Montfort University and speaks fluent Turkish.