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Career
In his capacity as a top professional with the World Jewish Congress, Shai served several years as Treasurer of the Conference of Non-Governmental Organizations in Consultative Relationship with the United Nations (CONGO), and was one of the organizers of the International Council of Jewish Parliamentarians. While at WJC, he spearheaded high-level initiatives through a wide range of international organizations, including the United Nations, Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Organization of American States, the International Red Cross, and Interpol. He has also developed numerous initiatives in the United States, and shaped and shepherded legislation that became U.S. Public Law.
In New York State, Shai raised hundreds of thousands in contributions for political candidates, and he organized a grassroots and inter-religious coalition that secured tens of millions of dollars in increased government reimbursements to non-public schools.
Shai has testified in the U.S. Congress and New York State Legislature, and addressed numerous international fora of the OSCE, United Nations, and the Interparliamentary Conference on Human Rights and Religious Freedom. He has conducted research in France on Islamic-Jewish relations, under the auspices of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and has appeared as an expert on TV networks as diverse as i24, TRT World, Al Jazeera, Shalom TV, Israel Radio, and Argentina’s C5N. With his active social-media presence, he was ranked number-eight on JTA’s 2009 list of the “100 Most Influential Jewish Twitter Users.”
Shai has degrees from Temple University (summa cum laude) and the Johns Hopkins University’s Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, where was selected for the U.S. Government’s elite Presidential Management Intern Program. In addition to fluent English and Hebrew, he also speaks Arabic and French.