Our Team
Israeli activist attorney, Nitsana Darshan-Leitner has been leading the legal fight against Israel’s enemies in the courts worldwide. She and her colleagues pioneered the strategy of combating terror financing, the anti-Israel boycott campaigns (BDS) and the multitude of lawfare threats against the Jewish State by its enemies using civil lawsuits. As the president of the Tel-Aviv based civil rights organization, Shurat HaDin–Israel Law Center, she has represented hundreds of terror victims in legal actions against terrorist organizations and their supporters and has won hundreds of millions of dollars in compensation on their behalf. Under the motto: “Bankrupting Terrorism – One Lawsuit at a Time!”, she and her associates are handling civil actions against Hamas, Islamic Jihad, the PLO, The Palestinian Authority, Hezbollah, Iran, Syria, Egypt, North Korea, UBS, and the Lebanese Canadian Bank. The cases, being litigated in Israeli, American, Canadian and European jurisdictions, allow the victims of terrorism to fight back.
In recent years, Ms. Darshan-Leitner initiated a legal campaign to deprive terrorists of social media resources such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube, which they use to incite violence on-line against Jews and promote terror attacks. In her efforts to combat anti-Semitism and anti-Israeli extremism, Ms. Darshan-Leitner assisted in blocking the Gaza Flotilla, brought war crimes complaints against Hamas and PLO leaders in the International Criminal Court, prosecuted multiple lawsuits against the BDS movement. She recently won a major victory against Airbnb for delisting Jewish homes in Judea and Samaria from its website.
Ms. Darshan-Leitner is the nationally bestselling co-author of the book HARPOON (Hachette Publishers). The narrative recounts Shurat HaDin’s work with the Israeli Mossad to wage financial warfare against Israel’s terrorist enemies. In 2016 and 2018, Ms. Darshan-Leitner was chosen as one of the 50 most influential Jews in the world by the Jerusalem Post, and named by the Israeli financial magazine, The Marker, as one of the 50 most influential Israeli women. A mother of six, including triplets, Ms. Darshan-Leitner is a graduate of the Bar-Ilan University Law Faculty and holds an MBA from Manchester University.
Or was born and raised in Israel. He received his L.L.B. in law from The Academic Center for Law and Science, and his M.A., in Public Policy and International Relations, from the Tel Aviv University. He is currently a candidate for receiving his teaching license. Or paved his legal career interning at the D. Brotfeld Law Offices, where he practiced civil and commercial law. He later served as the Deputy Director of the Israeli Leadership Institute (“ILI”) and worked as the Head of Informal Education for Youth at the Rosh Ha’ayin Municipality. Prior to University, Or completed his mandatory military service in both the Samson Unit and Brigade 91 during the Second Lebanon War, was honorably discharged from the IDF as a Chief Sergeant. Or is the Project Manager for Shurat HaDin.
Avi was born and raised in Jerusalem. He holds an LLB from Ono Academic College, a B.Ed from Herzog College and a B.Sc in neuroscience from Bar Ilan University. Prior to joining Shurat HaDin, Avi worked as an intern in the office of Israel’s Civil Deputy Attorney General, Sarit Dana. Avi joined Shurat HaDin in 2014 and holds several key responsibilities including, administering legal matters with Israel’s High Court, organizing cases against the Palestinian Authority, collecting evidence regarding cases of liability and damages tried in the United States, and coordinating relations with Israeli government officials. Avi is academic director of Shurat HaDin’s annual New Law of War Conference. He occasionally teaches international law and criminal procedure at Ono Academic College and is studying for his MA in Jewish Philosophy.
Rachel was born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She graduated summa cum laude from University of Pittsburgh and earned her law degree from Case Western Reserve University Law School. She was named a “Rising Star” by Law and Politics Magazine multiple years and was awarded Case Law School’s Distinguished Recent Graduate Award in 2007. Rachel’s trial practice in the U.S. included both criminal and civil litigation. After moving to Israel in 2010, Rachel joined Shurat HaDin, where she works on the Law Center’s U.S. legal cases, runs educational programming, and heads the development team. Rachel was part of the trial team that won a $655 million dollar jury verdict against the PA and PLO on behalf of 33 American victims of terror during the second Intifada in Israel. Rachel’s work history also includes three years as VP Business Development for a U.S. legal services company. Rachel is married to Jeff Weiser of Cleveland, is the mother of 5 and grandmother of 1.
Leah was born in the U.S. where she received her B.S in Business and Computer Science at the University of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania. Prior to joining the Shurat HaDin Team in 2019, Leah worked as a Systems Analyst, Programmer, Database Manager and Office Manager. Leah works hand in hand with Shurat HaDin’s Chief Development Officer, managing Shurat HaDin’s fundraising back office, maintaining Shurat HaDin’s donor database, and working with fiscal sponsors. Leah is the mother of five married children and grandmother (Nana) to 9 beautiful grandchildren.