David M. Elcott

Dr. David M. Elcott, "Director of U.S. Interreligious Affairs for the American Jewish Committee, has been named Executive Director of Israel Policy Forum (IPF), the organization that advocates active American engagement in producing Israeli-Arab peace, effective June 15. He succeeds Jonathan Jacoby, the founding Executive Director of IPF, who resigned in order to move to Los Angeles. Seymour D. Reich, IPF President, made the announcement.

"While at the American Jewish Committee, Dr. Elcott spearheaded the creation of a broad-based Christian-Jewish coalition of national leaders, and succeeded in diverting an anti-Israel divestment campaign into positive advocacy for a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict...

"Before joining the American Jewish Committee, Dr. Elcott was a lecturer and organizational consultant, helping communities in the U.S. and Canada create leadership institutes and community-wide projects grounded in the Jewish principles of Tikkun Olam -- improving (literally, "repairing") the world. He previously served as Vice-President of the National Center for Learning and Leadership (CLAL). Dr. Elcott has lectured on the Middle East, Arab politics and Muslim-Western cultural conflict to corporate leaders and House members on Capitol Hill, and to Christian and Muslim religious leaders and heads of major Jewish organizations. He earned a doctorate in political psychology and Middle East studies with a specialty in Islam and Arab culture from Columbia University, and is the author of The Jewish Quest for a Perfect World, as well as numerous articles and monographs." [1]