DAWN’s experts are the driving force behind the organization’s mission and vision. Our experts complement our research work and bolster our advocacy efforts.

Michael Omer-Man

Director of Research for Israel-Palestine

Michael Schaeffer Omer-Man is the Director of Israel-Palestine at DAWN.

He is an expert on politics and society in the region, with a focus on Israel's policies of occupation and annexation, its civil and human rights record, and the influence of the US-Israel relationship over those areas.

Prior to joining DAWN, Michael worked as a journalist in Israel-Palestine for more than 10 years. He served as the editor-in-chief of +972 Magazine for seven years and before that worked as an editor at The Jerusalem Post. In these roles, he closely covered Israeli and Palestinian grassroots movements and civil society campaigns, legislative trends, public opinion, as well as diplomatic and other efforts to strengthen accountability for Israeli abuses and the rule of law. Additionally, he created and produced two successful podcasts.

He is regularly interviewed on these topics, and his analyses and reporting have been quoted by the BBC, Al Jazeera, Haaretz, The Daily Beast, NPR, and others. Omer-Man's book with Sarah Leah Whitson, "From Apartheid to Democracy: A Blueprint for Peace in Israel-Palestine," was published in September 2025 by University of California Press. 

"Democracy remains the most effective way to tackle terror, stop bloodshed and political violence in Arab countries."

- JAMAL KHASHOGGI, Al-Arabiya, June 12, 2016

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