Two years after the start of the war, Israel stands at a defining moment. In this special edition of Conversations About Israel, Maayan Hoffman — journalist, analyst, and Executive Editor of ILTV News — will discuss the latest geopolitical developments, the evolving regional dynamics, and what may lie ahead for Israel as the conflict winds down. She’ll explore potential political shifts, the path toward reconstruction and reconciliation, and how Israel can navigate its next chapter in a rapidly changing Middle East.

The Hon. Walt Secord will introduce Maayan and moderate the Q&A.

Join us for an insightful hour and the communal lunch that follows, as always lovingly prepared by Nora's Kitchen.

ABOUT MAAYAN HOFFMAN

Maayan Hoffman is the Executive Editor and Strategist for ILTV News, a correspondent for The Media Line and a regular columnist for All Israel News and Ynet News. She is the former Deputy CEO of Strategy and Innovation for The Jerusalem Post. Working with the Post for more than five years, she also served as the company's news editor and senior health analyst. In her roles she launched the Post's Health & Wellness, Business & Innovation, and Christian World portals. She is also the host of the "Hadassah On Call: New Frontiers in Medicine" podcast.

Maayan is a veteran American-Israeli journalist and strategic communications consultant. She has led content, marketing and strategy teams at top-tier corporations and NGOs, and has held senior journalism positions throughout the Jewish world, including serving as Editor-in-Chief of the Baltimore Jewish Times and Managing Editor of the Kansas City Jewish Chronicle. Her work has appeared in the Washington Post, New York Post, Health Policy Watch, All Israel News, American Spectator, Fox, The Hill and Roll Call, among other places.

ABOUT THE HON. WALT SECORD

The Honourable Walt Secord has more than 30 years of government and parliamentary experience at the municipal, State and Federal levels in Australia. He has served as a State Labor MP in the NSW Parliament for more than 12 years including four as deputy Opposition leader in the NSW Legislative Council. In total, he held more than a dozen senior portfolios including Shadow Treasurer, Shadow Minister for Health, Shadow Minister for Roads and Shadow Minister for the Arts.

Most recently, Walt was appointed as an international election observer for the Sri Lankan parliamentary elections (2024) and the Philippines national and local elections (2025). As a parliamentarian, he was the driving force behind the campaign to ban the display of the Nazi flag and swastika. He was deputy chair of the NSW Parliamentary Friends of Israel (2011-2023). As a ministerial adviser from 1991 to 2009, he has served as a chief of staff to a NSW Premier and a director of communications to another Premier and a Federal Opposition leader. He also served as chief of staff to the Federal Minister for Aged Care and chief of staff to the NSW State Treasurer.

Walt was born in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada and grew up on the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation reserve in southern Ontario, where his late-father was an indigenous elder. Walt migrated to Australia in September 1988. An award-winning journalist, he worked at the Australian Jewish News from 1988 to 1991 and at the Toronto Star in 1988. He has a Bachelor of Arts (Specialised Honours) from York University, Toronto, Canada and a Master of Strategic Public Relations from the University of Sydney, Australia. He is married to Julia Levitina, author of The Girl from Moscow, a novel of historical fiction set in Moscow in 1983. They attend the Emanuel Synagogue in Woollahra. He converted to Judaism in 2021.

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