Chama Mechtaly
Artist, Entrepreneur & Policy Advisor
Emma Lazarus Institute

Chama Mechtaly is a Moroccan-born artist, entrepreneur and policy advisor pioneering the bottom-up movement of the Abraham Accords. As co-founder and Executive Director of the Emma Lazarus Institute, she leads initiatives that turn the Accords from a diplomatic framework into a living ecosystem of cultural collaboration, de-radicalization and regional integration.

Born to a Muslim-Jewish family in Casablanca and shaped by a transnational life across the Middle East, Europe and the United States, Chama brings a rare mix of diplomatic strategy, artistic vision and community fluency to her work. She convened the first Abraham Accords Deradicalization Summit, co-produced cross-regional art projects including Maktoub, the first Emirati–Israeli exhibition, and developed leadership trainings that bridge policy and culture to build resilient coexistence from the ground up. Chama collaborates closely with the Abraham Accords Institute for Peace and Regional Integration to design the Accords’ cultural architecture and advance a new model of belonging and cooperation across the Middle East.

Her leadership has been recognized by the Atlantic Council (Millennium Leadership & WIn Fellow), the Middle East Policy Council (40 Under 40) and ROI Schusterman and she is currently serving as a council member in President Isaac Herzog’s Voice of the People Council.