Rebecca Zeffert

Born and raised in Liverpool, England, Rebecca experienced her first encounter with Asia as a student of Chinese and Japanese Studies at university. Following several years studying and working in Japan and China, and with experience under her belt working in media and PR, Rebecca found herself diverted to Israel. Her first job there was establishing an international PR department for the Citizens' Accord Forum between Jews & Arabs in Israel, an organization founded by Rabbi Michael Melchior to promote relations between Israel's Jewish and Arab citizens. From there, she moved onto the spokesperson's office at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where she represented the university and its research to the international media. Rebecca further developed her experience in the media while working as a foreign media analyst at Washington-based public affairs firm, APCO Worldwide, as well as providing PR consultancy for a range of Israeli NGOs and international organizations, including the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, EcoOcean, and Maala - Business for Social Responsibility, to name but a few. However, Rebecca soon began to look for a way in which she could combine her passion for and knowledge of Asia and her work with the media/PR to promote Israel's interests in a world in which Asia's key players are playing an increasingly significant role. Since October 2008, Rebecca has been working in Israel and China to establish the Israel-Asia Center, which currently operates as an online source of news, information, commentary and analysis on Israel-Asia affairs. In her spare time, Rebecca is a keen photographer.

One-Liner: The Israel-Asia Center is an organization providing better understanding and furthering cooperation between Israel, the Jewish world and Asia - with a particular emphasis on China.