Student Israelity
Everything Student-Designed, Everything Student-Written, Everything Israel
A project of American University's Center for Israel Studies
Our Team
Team Leaders
Zach Ainbinder-Barkley, Editor-in-Chief
Zach Ainbinder-Barkley is a sophomore at American University, where he studies in the School of International Service and plans to focus on Middle Eastern conflict resolution. Zach has been avidly studying Israeli history and politics for years. Outside of SIS and Student Israelity, Zach currently works on Captol Hill as a legislative intern, as well as an avid distance runner and cyclist, curious to explore the world around him.
Evan DeWitt
Evan is a junior studying international relations with a focus on peace and conflict in the Middle East. He closely follows the Israel/Palestine conflict, both abroad and at AU, and hopes to do diplomacy work in the region. Evan is currently a program intern at the International Center for Religion and Diplomacy, as well as a long time barista currently working at the Dav on campus.
Mariah Friedman
Mariah Freedman is a Junior majoring in International Studies and Arabic with a focus in peace, global security, and conflict resolution in the Middle East. Beyond the blog, she is a member of the AU Model United Nations team and can usually be found in the campus Starbucks.
Ian Caplan
Ian Caplan is a sophomore at American University, where he studies in the School of Public Affairs with a minor in Israel Studies. Ian is heavily involved in D.C.’s Jewish community, where he interns for BBYO, teaches Hebrew school at Hill Havurah, and is active in AU Hillel. He hails from Pittsburgh, PA, and is a die-hard Steelers fan.
Sophie Balmagiya
Sophie Balmagiya is a sophomore from Queens, New York. She is currently majoring in Political Science and minoring in Israel Studies. During her free time, She loves to read books and travel. She is very excited to be working on the blog and is hopeful to study abroad in Israel next year.
Faculty Mentor
Dr. Guy Ziv
Professor Guy Ziv mentors the blog's student team in management and teamwork as well as helps to brainstorm interesting topics about Israel to explore. In addition, he leads biweekly discussions about Israeli current events as part of programming by the Center for Israel Studies, which sponsors the Student Israelity blog. As an assistant professor in the School of International Service's U.S. Foreign Policy Program, Professor Ziv teaches a variety of undergraduate and graduate courses on U.S. foreign policy, the Middle East, and international negotiations.