Gad Elbaz

Gad Elbaz is an Israeli Superstar who is currently the most recognized name and face in Jewish music world wide. With millions of hits on his YouTube music videos, Gad is one of the top recording Artist, whose songs are played and covered around the globe. Through his soulful and contemporary sound, Gad has brought Jewish music to a new level, and continues to serve as a role model to his many fans. Gad is reaching audiences around the world as his music and message of unity are being embraced by Jewish communities worldwide. In 2009, he began a multi-city world tour to promote his music and message. His goal is to help people renew their faith through music and empower them to live their lives with an open heart, faith in themselves and faith in G-d.

Yohay Sponder

Yohay Sponder is a talented Israeli bilingual comedian. With over 20 years of experience, Sponder brings his unique outlook on life to the stage. Throughout his career he has starred in multiple TV and radio shows, produces and headlines in ‘Funny Monday – Israeli Comedy in English’ and has performed all over the world. Having gained a massive following on social media, Yohay most recently finished up a sold-out tour in the US with his new show “Self Loving Jew”. In his show, Yohay talks about self love, identity and faith. Yohay’s humor, smart wit and unapologetic attitude are the perfect antidote for even the toughest of times. He truly believes he can cure the world’s troubles one laugh at a time…but this time the joke’s on him!

Tal Vaknin

Tal Vaknin is an internationally acclaimed singer and composer of Jewish pop and soul music. Tal is known for his amazing vocal abilities and his success among all different streams of Jewish audiences both in Israel and abroad. Born in Jerusalem, and son of a musical cantorial parent, Tal was discovered at an early age as a musical prodigy child. Tal continued to wow audiences in concerts up until he joined the IDF. During his service in the IDF he performed in the Israeli Army band at bases all around the country.

Among his hits is the album “Prayers” with singer Yossi Azulay; his single “Aneni Basharim” written by singer Kobi Aflalo; his single “Neshama” which he wrote along with Barak Elisha; a music video duet with Israeli Superstar Gad Elbaz called “Emunah” which Tal composed together with the arranger Ran Aviv; “Clouds in the Clouds” which was written by Kobi Afallo;; the song “Soul” composed by Uriel Aharoni and arranged by Ran Aviv and Gad Elbaz; “Ala” which he composed and wrote together with Ma’ayan Tamir to the words of Rabbi Kook; “Morning” composed and written by Elhanan Elhadad along with a music video with Rudy Rochman, Gad Elbaz, Binyamin Elbaz and Aharon Holder; the Hebrew adaptation of the French singer Daniel Levy’s song “l’envie d’aimer”;  ‘Hallo‘ a duet with singer Yossi Azulay; “Moda Ani”, a performance sign in 4 languages and the hit song “My Day”.

At the beginning of the Iron Swords War, Tal enlisted to establish a special unit in his area of ​​residence and at the same time handled the donations of tactical equipment to two thousand soldiers in the various sectors every night since the beginning of the war. At the same time as his military service, Tal travels between Israel Defense Forces bases and performs for the soldiers.  Tal is loved by his many fans.

Eli Lebowicz

Eli Lebowicz has taken his standup all over the US and Canada, telling jokes to Jews at shul dinners, Passover programs and other times Jews are eating. In December 2024, he is slated to do a multi-city tour in Israel. In addition to being part of the the viral J-Sketch videos, he regularly performs with Elon Gold and was featured in the Chosen Comedy Festival in 2023.

Yechiel Jacobs

Yechiel Jacobs, catapulted into the limelight through his uproarious presence on social media, following October 7th, defending the state of Israel. With a knack for crafting relatable, factual and laugh out loud pro Israel content, Yechiel’s videos have reached millions of views and he has gained a dedicated following within just a few months.
However, Yechiel’s comedic journey doesn’t stop online. Encouraged by his growing popularity and craving direct interaction with his fans, he took to the stage, performing his first ever stand-up comedy show at the Laugh Factory in LA followed by New York Comedy Club, Westside Comedy Club, Comedy Bar in Canada, Improve Comedy Club in Florida, NJ, Mexico and more, bringing his infectious humor and magnetic charm to live audiences.
Come Laugh and witness the beginning of a rising star.

David Levitan

David Levitan is an internationally acclaimed Mentalist and Magician who has entertained hundreds of thousands of people at Corporate Dinners, Sales Meetings, Trade Shows and College Campuses throughout the United States, Europe and Canada to rave reviews. His clients include a long list of “A List” Celebrities and Fortune 500 companies
David knows what you are thinking. While looking in your eyes he senses your thoughts including your favorite places, special moments and happy memories. He reveals names of your friends, pets, and family members. His predictions and premonitions are always upbeat, fun and on target. David makes no claims of having supernatural powers or any psychic abilities at all. He cleverly uses psychology, body language, statistics, keen observations, subtle persuasion and other real-world techniques to create a show that is warm, funny and filled with tons of mind blowing moments. Most importantly you will have the time of your life participating in this highly interactive program. He is one of the most incredible performers that you will ever see!

It’s Intriguing… It’s Extraordinary…It’s Amazing…It’s David Levitan!

Rabbi Yitz Novak

Rabbi Yitz Novak has been involved with AIPAC for more than ten years, initially as a lay activist, and currently, as AIPAC Northeast Synagogue Initiative Director working with leading pulpit rabbis and synagogues to grow, engage, and mobilize pro-Israel activism in the American Jewish community. In this role, Yitz has engaged with Senior Administration officials, members of Congress, decision-makers, and thought-leaders impacting the U.S.-Israel relationship. He has tremendous expertise on current affairs in the Middle East, the composition of Congress, and the relationship between American and Israeli Jewry. Yitz resides in Bergenfield, New Jersey with his family.

Jonathan Schanzer

Dr. Jonathan Schanzer is senior vice president for research at FDD, where he oversees the work of the organization’s experts and scholars.

Jonathan previously worked as a terrorism finance analyst at the U.S. Department of the Treasury, where he followed and froze the funding of Hamas and Al-Qaeda. Jonathan has held previous think tank research positions at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy and the Middle East Forum. He has written hundreds of articles on the Middle East and U.S. national security.

Jonathan is host of the FDD Morning Brief, where he covers the latest news and developments from the Middle East live every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 8:30am ET.

His most recent book is Gaza Conflict 2021: Hamas, Israel and Eleven Days of War (FDD Press 2021). His other books are State of Failure: Yasser Arafat, Mahmoud Abbas, and the Unmaking of the Palestinian State (Palgrave Macmillan 2013), Hamas vs. Fatah: The Struggle for Palestine (Palgrave Macmillan 2008), and Al-Qaeda’s Armies: Middle East Affiliate Groups and the Next Generation of Terror (Washington Institute for Near East Policy 2004).

Jonathan testifies often before Congress and appears on television channels such as CNN, Fox News, BBC, and MSNBC. Jonathan earned his PhD from King’s College London. He speaks Arabic and Hebrew.

Yair Rosenberg

Yair Rosenberg is a staff writer at The Atlantic, where he covers the intersection of politics, culture, and religion, and writes the Deep Shtetl newsletter. Previously a senior writer at Tablet Magazine, he has also written for the New York Times, Washington Post, and Wall Street Journal, and his work has received awards from the Religion Newswriters Association and the Harvard Center for Jewish Studies. He has testified in the U.S. Congress about antisemitism and has covered everything from national elections in America and Israel, to observant Jews in baseball, to the translation of Harry Potter into Yiddish. In his spare time, he composes original Jewish music and creates bots that troll anti-Semites on Twitter. His latest projects include, “Antisemitism, Explained,” a video series about anti-Jewish prejudice, and Az Yashir, an album of new shabbat music.

Rachel Gur

Rachel Gur moved to Israel from the United States at age 17 and served in the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit. After demobbing, she earned an L.L.B. and B.A. in political science from the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya and an L.L.M. in Legal Theory from New York University Law School.

From 2011, Gur served in senior positions in the Israeli government and well as VP of Lobby 99, the public lobby. Gur is an expert in the fields of Israeli legislation, regulation, and public policy.

Eli Gershowitz

With his long and knowledgeable background, Eli is one of the most passionate and experienced wine experts out there. For almost two decades, Eli has been working with leading wineries including Yarden Golan Heights, Shirah, Tishbi, Galil Mountains, Hevron Heights, Cantina-Gabriele and others.

Over the years, Eli has traveled the world and worked with viticulturists and winemakers to understand and witness the behind the scenes, of learning the profound process of bringing top quality wines from the vineyard to the bottle, to your table.

Eli has taught countless, high-end wine tastings and informative seminars, providing an important knowledge about different types of grapes, that grows in different soils and climates in the world, and how it effects the very unique taste of every bottle that is eventually sitting on the shelf.

Naomi Glustein

My name is Naomi Glustein and I am SO excited to be running the PGA Day Camp!! My husband Zvi, and my children Ilan, Sari, Lior and Judah, can’t wait for the adventures and endless fun that this Pesach has in store! I have been spending the past 18 summers at sleepaway camp and day camp in different roles: counselor, division head, camp mother, and assistant director. During the year, I can be found teaching at a private Jewish preschool in Toronto where I am the head teacher, and have worked with hundreds of incredible parents and amazing children! I am always planning, and looking for, new and creative activities to bring to my classroom and can’t wait to bring some of these ideas to PGA!

Chanie Apfelbaum

Born and raised in a kosher home in Brooklyn, Chanie Apfelbaum grew up eating traditional Jewish foods such as gefilte fish, stuffed cabbage, and matzah ball soup. Today, living just a few blocks from her childhood home, she revisits family favorites and reinvents traditional holiday dishes. Chanie’s creative twists on old-time cuisine prove that kosher fare is anything but old-fashioned. With five little ones in tow, she celebrates her heritage one dish at a time, sharing her love of food, family and tradition to over 100,000 Instagram followers worldwide.

Chanie works as a recipe developer and food photographer. She is a contributing writer to Fleishig’s Magazine as well as a guest writer for numerous publications and websites. She has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, People Magazine, The Huffington Post, The Meredith Vieira Show, Thrillist and more. She was named Best Jew-ish Chef of 2018 in the Forward Food Choice Awards.

She is the author of the bestselling cookbook Millennial Kosher, as well as the newly released, Totally Kosher, named one of 12 Best cookbooks of Spring 2023 by Eater.