The Cambridge Companion To Postcolonial Literary Studies

Neil Lazarus

Neil Lazarus Born in London (April 8, 1967), Neil Lazarus attended Friern Barnet Grammar School. In 1988 he earned a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Wales. At that time he first began speaking about Israel and Jewish identity, often to hostile audiences. In 1988, he immigrated to Israel and attended the WUJS program in Arad. He then earned his M.A. at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Lazarus has served as a consultant for many organizations including the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Jewish Federations, Keshet Yad Vashem, Hillel, Hadassah, Birthright Israel, the Jewish Agency, UNESCO, reality show The Ambassador,[1] and the Herzliya Interdisciplinary Center. Speaking to over 30,000 people a year about Israel, Lazarus is fast emerging as one of Israel's leading informal educators. He has worked with many programs both in Israel and abroad. He is a leading presenter on the Birthright program as well as partnering with the Israeli Foreign Ministry and the Jewish Agency for Israel in a project aimed at increasing the ability of students to engage in hasbara.[3] Lazarus said that "hasbara is not just the role of government spokespeople. It's the role of the Jewish people."