I grew up in Gibraltar and studied law at Kings College, London University, qualifying as a barrister in 1997 and practicing in London before immigrating to Israel in 2001. In Israel I worked at JDC in resource development for Europe and later became executive director of Tikva, a nonprofit organization saving abandoned and abused Jewish children from the Former Soviet Union.

In 2011, I set up my own communications consulting business, Message Experts, serving large corporations as well as nonprofit organizations. In May 2016, I was elected to the Jerusalem Municipal Council and in February 2017 I became the leader of the opposition. In November 2018, I was appointed deputy mayor for foreign relations, economic development and tourism.

Currently the only British politician in Israel, I’m involved in the advancement of women’s rights and marginalized population groups in the city, in economic development, and in the fight for a pluralistic Jerusalem. I cofounded the UAE-Israel Business Council and the Gulf Israel Women’s Forum. And since September 2023, I have been serving as Israel’s special envoy for innovation.

I am a proud Jewish Zionist woman standing on the shoulders of brave leaders of the past who built the country from the ground up, with faith, ideology and determination. I see myself as a uniting figure who can speak to all sides, build consensus and find solutions to complex problems.

On October 7th, I was home in Jerusalem with my four children. We woke to the sound of sirens and ran to our bomb shelter, after which I tried to begin understanding what was going on. From the first hours of the ongoing massacre, I was in front of the international media explaining to the world what was happening.

It is so important to take breaks from the endless devastating news coming across our screens and to focus on action, building and contributing where we can. Many times throughout the war I have found myself feeling the weight of the tragedy and of antisemitism spreading throughout the world, and in those moments I had to remember to pick my head up from the news and social media and look at the amazing nation around me. 

This reinvigorates me to take action on the problems I see around me and to which I can contribute a solution, which in turn builds my resiliency for the next time I feel down.

The Jewish people are fighting a war on all fronts, and we each have a role specific to that front, whether we are soldiers in Gaza, spouses keeping things running back home, or Jews in the Diaspora. My front is the international media, where I am fortunate to be given a platform to tell the truth about Israel. This is work I do not rest from, day or night.

I moved to Israel with my husband at the height of the Second Intifada. It was a challenge to convince our families we weren’t crazy, settle into life here, learn Hebrew, and figure out my place here. But even the fear we felt during the Second Intifada does not compare to the terror of October 7th. 

My personal challenge since October 7th has been figuring out how to contribute, each day anew, when the tales of horror and the plight of the hostages and their families never seem to end. I’m also constantly working on how to represent the country’s trauma, loss and tragedy, and the geopolitical reality in the best way possible. 

I’m looking toward the future and how to bring my inclusive Zionist identity of unity, which has allowed me to achieve so much meaningful work in local government, to the national stage. I’m looking for partners who are more invested in rebuilding Israel than in petty political disputes and ego.

I’m very involved in relationships with the Abraham Accords countries. As my friend Ambassador David Friedman says, “If they’re not dead now, you can’t kill them.” I hope that every country in the region that is not already a friend will look at our emergence from this period and our destruction of Hamas, which every country knows is a cancer, and will choose peace and prosperity. 

It is time for all to recognize our permanence in this region, the asset that we are to all of our partners, and reach out their hands in peace.

I wish this moment in time would have never happened, but since it did, I hope that from it, our newfound unity can be used to mend the terrible political divisions that were tearing us apart before October 7th. 

Twice in history since our exile, we have had Jewish autonomy over parts of Israel that did not last more than 80 years. We are now at the 76-year mark, and I hope that a renewed commitment to the next 76 years and beyond will carry us.