PANELIST BIOS
Daniel Koren: Founder and Executive Director of Allied Voices for Israel
Daniel Koren is the Founder and Executive Director of Allied Voices for Israel (AVI). With 12+ years experience in the Jewish nonprofit sector as a fundraiser, Israel advocate, and communications expert, Daniel has worked in leadership roles with B’nai Brith Canada, The Canadian Jewish News, Shalom Life Media, and most recently, as the Executive Director of Hasbara Canada. As a journalist, Daniel has had the honour of interviewing musicians and actors such as Mayim Bialik, David “Lil Dicky” Burd, Mac Miller z”l, Boi-1da, and others. As a fundraiser, Daniel has raised over two million dollars over the past four years towards combating anti-Jewish hatred at Canadian high school and university campuses.
As an expert on antisemitism in Canada, Daniel has been published and/or appeared in video, radio, and print interviews with Global News, CTV News, CBC News, The Jerusalem Post, The Toronto Star, VICE Media, Page Six, Huffington Post, The National Post, The Globe & Mail, The Times of Israel, The Canadian Jewish News, The Algemeiner, Israel National News, and several others.
Dr. Ayelet Kuper: Wilson Centre & Associate Professor in the University of Toronto Department of Medicine
Dr Ayelet Kuper, MD, DPhil, FRCPC is an Associate Professor in Department of Medicine, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto and practices medicine within the Division of General Internal Medicine at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. She is a Scientist and Associate Director at the Wilson Centre for Research in Education (at University Health Network/University of Toronto) and is cross-appointed to the Institute for Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, to the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, and to the Anne Tanenbaum Centre for Jewish Studies (all at the University of Toronto). A child and grandchild of Holocaust survivors, she received a doctorate in Holocaust literature from the University of Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar prior to her medical training. She has been teaching about equity and inclusion within the MD Program, graduate programs, and various residency programs for many years, and has sat on numerous committees related to social justice for a wide range of equity-deserving groups at the Temerty Faculty of Medicine and at the University of Toronto. She has published over 90 peer-reviewed papers, many of which relate to power, equity, inclusion, and social justice, and is frequently invited to speak about those topics internationally. Between June 2022 and June 2023 she served as the Temerty Faculty of Medicine’s Senior Advisor on Antisemitism. Her pronouns are she, her, and hers.
Rebecca Pencer: Senior Director of Campus Affairs, Stand With Us Canada
Rebecca graduated from Ryerson University in Toronto with a Bachelor of Social Work and a double minor in psychology and sociology. While attending university, she was the president of Ryerson’s Students Supporting Israel and was also a StandWithUs Canada Emerson Fellow. During her presidency, Rebecca coordinated the passing of a motion for a Holocaust Education Week. She also worked to get the Ryerson Students’ Union to be the first in Canada to adopt the Ottawa Protocol on antisemitism. She received the John Gallivan Award for student leadership by fostering a relationship between Jewish students on campus and the Ryerson Students’ Union. From 2017 to 2018, Rebecca worked for the Honourable Candice Bergen who served as the Opposition House leader in the Canadian House of Commons. Rebecca is passionate about empowering students from all over Canada to help them educate their peers about Israel.
Michael Mostyn, CEO, B’nai Brith:
Michael Mostyn is the Chief Executive Officer of B’nai Brith Canada and oversees the organization’s programming and advocacy initiatives. He serves as a senior spokesperson for the community and speaks out on behalf of Canadian Jewry and other communities whose human rights are under threat globally.
Michael is a barrister and solicitor in good standing with the Law Society of Ontario. Before joining B’nai Brith, he was a successful litigation lawyer in Toronto. He also served as Chief Strategic Officer in the high-tech start-up sector.
Michael previously served as B’nai Brith’s National Director of Public Affairs, leading the organization’s Ottawa office as the liaison for government relations and diplomacy. Among many other achievements during this period, he served as an official member of the Canadian Delegation to the International Task Force on Holocaust Education, Remembrance and Research in Prague, Czech Republic in 2007.
Michael was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012, in recognition of his community service to Canada.
Since taking the helm as B’nai Brith Canada CEO in 2014, Michael has presided over a dramatic and impactful set of achievements on behalf of grassroots Canadians. He is among the leading voices for human rights in Canada and North America and has altered the landscape in combating antisemitism.
Under Michael’s leadership, B’nai Brith’s Eight-Point Plan to Tackle Antisemitism has been endorsed and/or adopted broadly as a tangible framework for fighting hate.
Michael Kerzner, Solicitor General for Ontario:
Michael has proudly lived in the riding of York Centre for over 25 years with his family. He is married to Rochelle and is the father of three University-aged children. Michael is an entrepreneur currently in the technology and bioscience fields.
Outside of his career, he has been recognized for his volunteer work and identified as a well-respected consensus team builder having served actively and locally in many different organizations. He very much enjoys getting to know the diversity of York Centre and participating in interfaith programs that tie the fabric of the community together.
Max Rotenberg, student at University of Toronto in Mississauga
Max Rotenberg is 20 years old and he is a student at University of Toronto, Mississauga for Forensic Anthropology. He grew up in Richmond Hill, attending public school for both elementary and high school, most of the time being the only Jewish student in his grade or entire school once his siblings graduated. From August of 2022 to April 2023, Max was a StandWithUs Canada Emerson fellow where he held six tables throughout the school year relating to Israel’s story and antisemitism on his campus. During that time, Max and other Jewish students established the University of Toronto Mississauga Jewish Student Association which is now in its second active year. Max intends to continue his efforts in advocating against antisemitism in all forms and for Israel’s continued independence and security.