Peace and Populism - JSpaceCanada Spring 2025 Conference

Gaby Lasky is a prominent Israeli human rights lawyer, peace activist, and former politician dedicated to defending civil liberties, democracy, and social justice. Specializing in constitutional-criminal law, she has built a career advocating for freedom of speech, the right to protest, and the protection of human rights.

Lasky is one of the founders of the legal defense team that provides pro bono representation to demonstrators advocating for Israeli democracy and calling for a deal to bring home all hostages. Since its establishment in 2019—during protests demanding an indictment on corruption charges against then-Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu—the team has defended thousands of activists.

In politics, Lasky served as a Member of Knesset (Meretz) from 2021 to 2022, sitting on the Law and Constitution Committee and the Gender Equality Committee, while also leading multiple parliamentary groups focused on public housing, water resources, culture, and public transportation. From 2013 to 2018, she was a Tel Aviv City Council member, where she advised the mayor on sustainability issues and chaired the Gender Equality Committee. Under her leadership, the city integrated UN Security Council Resolution 1325, promoting women's inclusion in key decision-making roles.

Lasky also served as Secretary General of Peace Now, Israel’s largest organization advocating for a peaceful resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Her activism and legal work have earned her international recognition, including the Emil Greenzweig Human Rights Award (2012) and the Anna Dahlbäck Human Rights Award (2019).

Born in Mexico, Lasky immigrated to Israel in 1982 and later earned a Master’s in Law from Northwestern University and Tel Aviv University. Her lifelong commitment to justice, democracy, and peace continues to shape Israel’s civil rights landscape.
(Toronto only).

Ron Gerlitz joined aChord - Social Psychology for Social Change, as CEO in October 2019. Under Ron's leadership, aChord has expanded its scope of activity to additional arenas, formed new sustainable partnerships, and deepened the impact of the implementation of socio-psychological knowledge in the field.

Before joining aChord, Ron served for more than ten years as Co-Executive Director of Sikkuy, a Jewish-Arab organization advancing equality and shared society between the Jewish and Arab citizens in Israel. In this position, Ron led Sikkuy's team to advance significant policy changes in the Israeli government toward Arab citizens.

Ron is a Hebrew University of Jerusalem graduate with a B.Sc. in Mathematics and Computer Science and an MA in Public Policy, both magna cum laude. He began his professional career in high tech, working six years as a software and algorithm team leader in Israel and Silicon Valley, California.

Shahira Shalaby is the Co-Executive Director of The Abraham Initiatives, a joint Jewish-Israeli and Palestinian-Israeli organization that promotes social inclusion and equal rights for Palestinian citizens of Israel. She previously served as Deputy Mayor of Haifa and as a city councilor. Shahira is also one of the founding members of the Palestinian Feminist Movement in Israel and has spearheaded several initiatives aimed at improving the status of Arab women and advancing the social rights of Palestinian citizens of Israel.

In addition to her leadership roles, Shahira is an experienced organizational consultant specializing in leadership development, strategic thinking, teamwork, resource management, and community engagement. She holds a master’s degree in religious studies and a bachelor’s degree in social work.

Yonatan Mizrachi is the co-director of Settlement Watch at the Israeli peace movement, Peace Now, a position he has held since 2022. Widely recognized as one of Israel’s foremost experts on a full range of issues related to West Bank settlements and settlement-related developments in East Jerusalem, Yonatan’s work includes traveling daily throughout the West Bank, examining aerial photos and browsing official Israeli documents. The Settlement Watch project serves as a resource for Israeli politicians, diplomats, international media organizations, and first and foremost – for the Israeli public.

Yonatan Mizrachi has an MA in archaeology from the Hebrew University. He has worked as an archaeologist with the Israel Antiquities Authority in East and West Jerusalem, participating in various excavations. In 2006, he published a book about his experiences as archaeological supervisor along the route of the separation barrier as it was being built in and around Jerusalem (People of the Wall, Pardes 2006). In 2009, concerned about the growing politicization of archaeology in Jerusalem, Yonatan co-founded Emek Shaveh, an NGO working to prevent the exploitation of archaeology in the context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He served as its executive director until 2021. He has published many articles in the media about the relationship between archaeology and politics.
(Toronto only).

Madeleine Cereghino is the Director of Government Relations at New Jewish Narrative (NJN), where she spearheads the organization’s advocacy efforts with Congress and the Administration. With over a decade of experience in government affairs, she is dedicated to advancing pro-diplomacy policies in the Israeli-Palestinian context.

Before the formation of NJN, Madeleine served as the Director of Government Relations at Americans for Peace Now (APN), where she led legislative engagement and advocacy strategies. Prior to that, she spent seven years at J Street, educating lawmakers on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and honing her expertise in US foreign policy.

A California native, Madeleine earned her degree from Whittier College and now resides in Washington, DC.
(Montreal and Ottawa only).