Where She Has Been
Dr. Efrat Sopher has advised, spoken or convened in more than a dozen countries: the United Kingdom, Israel, the United States, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Germany, the European Union, Russia, Poland, Croatia, Spain, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and India. Her engagements span parliaments, foreign ministries, international institutions and the press.
What follows is the working record of where she has done that work. Some rooms can be named others can only be gestured at. The named engagements below are the public record.
United Kingdom
Former Expert Advisor to the House of Lords Select Committee on International Relations during its inquiry “The Middle East: Time for New Realism,” Israel’s sole representative in that inquiry. Now a standing advisor on Iran and foreign-policy matters in the House of Lords, where she has convened round tables on the Iranian threat to British security and leads a task force on Islamist extremism and Iran. Co-organiser, with Lord Paul Bew, of the UK-Israel Alliance. A regular voice across British broadcast and press.
Israel
Chair of the Board of Advisors and Research Fellow of the Ezri Center for Iran and Gulf States Research at the University of Haifa, where she co-produces the annual international conference on Iran and the Gulf States. Council Member of Voice of the People, an initiative of Israeli President Isaac Herzog. Host to Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi for an historic presentation of his vision for a democratic Iran at the University of Haifa in 2023, and to the former Empress of Iran in London. Board member of the Israel Council of Foreign Relations. A contributor across Israeli broadcast and press.
United States
Meetings at the White House with national-security and counter-terrorism teams, at the State Department, and with lawmakers in Congress, on the Iranian threat and on antisemitism. Attendance at the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, with associated meetings and interfaith engagements. Earlier engagements include three years as Senior Intern and Advisor to the Consul General of Israel in Los Angeles, where she briefed government officials and business leaders and advised on speeches for the Consul General.
The Gulf: UAE, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia
An early presence in the region, both before and after the Abraham Accords. Led discussions between the World Jewish Congress and the Anwar Gargash Diplomatic Academy in Abu Dhabi in 2021. Speaker on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's moves towards dialogue, modernisation and interfaith work at the British Embassy's Riyadh Freedom of Religion and Belief forum in 2023. A delegate among the first non-Muslim delegations to Medina. Regular counsel with Bahraini diplomats. Liaison with the governments of the UAE, Bahrain and others in support of the Abraham Accords through the World Jewish Congress.
Europe and the European Union
Petitioning German foreign-ministry officials on action regarding Iran and antisemitism, with addresses to the European Parliament and briefings to Members of the European Parliament in Brussels on the Iranian threat. Addresses to EU security conferences on Iranian influence in Europe. Keynote at the Institute of the Middle and Far East, Jagiellonian University in Krakow, on Iran today in strategic and historical context. Engagements in Croatia and Spain on regional and communal questions. Diplomatic discussions on Israeli-Czech relations at the Foreign Ministry of the Czech Republic. Representation of the World Jewish Congress at the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva.
Azerbaijan
Community convening and dialogue work in Baku on the questions that define her cross-communal practice: diaspora, alliance-building, cooperation and coexistence. Meetings with government, community and civic leaders on the Jewish communal life in Azerbaijan, on Iranian influence in the wider Caspian region, and on the extension of Israeli and Jewish diplomatic ties beyond the Abraham Accords geography.
Further afield
The Second Moscow International Conference for Combating Anti-Semitism, Xenophobia and Racism, in collaboration with the Russian Jewish Congress, 2018. The Srebrenica Collective Memory Conference in Bosnia, with the World Jewish Congress and the Srebrenica Memorial Center, 2023. The co-founding of an India-Israel civic alliance through Voice of the People.
Frequently Asked Questions
She has advised, spoken or convened in the United Kingdom, Israel, the United States, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Germany, the European Union, Russia, Poland, Croatia, Spain, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and India.
She is a standing advisor on Iran and foreign-policy matters in the House of Lords, where she has served as Expert Advisor to members of the Select Committee on International Relations, has convened round tables on Iran-related security and leads a task force on Islamist extremism and Iran. Her advisory work extends internationally through her role at the World Jewish Congress.
Yes. She was active in the region before and after the Abraham Accords, with engagements in the UAE, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, including a platform in Riyadh and a delegation to Medina.
