Ester Kurz is the Director of Legislative Strategy at AIPAC, where she is intimately involved in developing legislation to strengthen the U.S.-Israel relationship. She previously served as AIPAC’s Legislative Director and an AIPAC lobbyist. Ms. Kurz joined the AIPAC staff in 1982 after working for six years in a variety of legislative positions on Capitol Hill. She served as Legislative Assistant for Foreign Affairs and Defense for Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA) and before that as Foreign Policy Advisor to Senator Jacob K. Javits (R-NY). Her first Washington position was as Press Secretary and Legislative Assistant to Rep. Charlie Wilson (D-TX). She also worked at the Congressional Helsinki Commission for three years concentrating on issues relating to Soviet Jewry and other human rights questions. In that capacity, Ms. Kurz served as U.S. delegate to the Belgrade Review Conference. Ms. Kurz has a Master’s Degree in Soviet Studies from Harvard University and a Bachelor of Arts in Russian Studies from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. She was born in Rome and speaks several languages, including Hebrew, Russian, and French.