Senior Vice President and Chief Policy Officer

Ilan Goldenberg is Senior Vice President and Chief Policy Officer at J Street. He is a seasoned foreign policy and national security expert with two decades of experience advising American leaders on the Middle East, US-Israel relations, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and Iran.

During the October 7 Hamas attacks and the early months of the war in Gaza, he served as Special Advisor to Vice President Kamala Harris on the Middle East. Subsequently, he became the National Director for Jewish Outreach and Policy Advisor on Harris’s 2024 Presidential campaign.

Ilan previously served at the State Department as part of the small negotiating team supporting Secretary of State John Kerry’s initiative to conduct permanent status peace negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians. At the Department of Defense, he was the Iran Team Chief, advising department leaders on all issues pertaining to Iran’s nuclear program and regional behavior.

A prolific writer and commentator, Ilan has authored 15 reports on US policy in the Middle East when he served as the Director of the Middle East Security Program at the Center for a New American Security. His writing has been featured in leading publications, including The Washington Post, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, Politico, The Atlantic, and Haaretz. He has also appeared as a commentator on CNN, MSNBC, CNBC, and CBS. He is currently the author of the Dialogue and Dissonance Substack Newsletter.

Born in Jerusalem to American parents who made Aliyah after meeting at Jewish summer camp, Ilan moved to New Jersey at age eight.