On Monday night we had the privilege and opportunity of listening and speaking with Dr Efrat Sopher. Dr. Sopher is a foreign policy advisor in the Middle East who works with World Jewish Congress, representing the WJC worldwide. She is the Chair of the Board of Advisors at the Ezri Centre for Iran and Persian Gulf studies, and also serves on the Executive Committee of the HMS Maritime Policy and Strategy Research Centre at the University of Haifa. Dr Sopher is a member of the Spanish & Portuguese Sephardi Community and plays an active role in maintaining the welfare of the community.
Dr Sopher was heavily influenced by her grandfather, Meir Ezri who was the Israeli ambassador for Iran in the 1950s. She grew up with stories about Iran, due to Meir Ezri’s involvement with Iran, being the ambassador at a time when Israel and Iran had great relations. Having a close personal connection to Iran and the Middle East, Dr. Sopher wanted to pursue a career where she could interact with people from a similar culture. When she got to LSE, she started writing about Israel’s foreign policy with Iran.
Dr. Sopher’s excitement and passion for her job was most apparent when describing the government archives in Jerusalem. It was inspiring to hear how Dr. Sopher described sifting through different books and documents looking for information about the relations between Iran and Israel.
We were able to ask Dr. Sopher questions all about her interesting life. She explained to us that she approaches all her meetings and conversations with a more personal touch, which gives her the edge over others. From hearing about Iran from a young age, she is accustomed to the culture, and can instantly reduce tension in a meeting by discussing something like ‘who is the best butcher in Iran.’
Dr. Sopher plays a large role in standing up to anti-Semitism. Despite the UN often ‘slamming’ Israel, Sopher sees the importance of standing up for her religion and will often attend board meetings where she is the only one standing up for her side.
I asked Dr. Sopher which political figures she looks up to. She answered with Golda Meir and David Ben Gurion. I think that the strong lesson of standing up for what you believe in that was clear in Meir and Ben Gurion was definitely transferred to Dr. Sopher and she has clearly strived to emulate them.
We were taught about the current situation in Iran, where there is a stark dichotomy between the opinion of the government and the opinion of the people. The people are highly cultured but in effect being held hostage by their own government. Sopher conveyed her hope that in the future, the opinion of the country will be taken over by the people, and that relations between Iran and Israel will improve.
I was personally inspired by the way that Dr. Sopher saw herself in her role. Despite certain challenges to females working in these fields, Sopher described how we just have to try and do all we can do, without worrying about others, and then we will succeed.
Hearing from Dr. Efrat Sopher was superb, and I hope that we can hear from her again!
