Yael Shahar was born in the U.S., but followed her dreams to Israel as a teenager. Since then, she has spent most of her career working in counter-terrorism and intelligence, with brief forays into teaching physics and astronomy.

She served as a reservist in the IDF’s hostage negotiation and rescue unit, and as a sniper in Israel’s Border Guard “Matmid” units.

A dynamic and sought-after public speaker, Ms. Shahar has lectured worldwide on subjects related to trends in terrorism, non-conventional and techno-terrorism, threat assessment, and asymmetric conflict. She has published numerous articles on these topics in books and refereed journals. She blogs on Jewish topics at www.yaelshahar.com