UN Watch Executive Director Hillel Neuer has been named to ORA Magazine’s list of 18 trailblazers, a feature spotlighting individuals shaping the future of public life, culture, and Jewish identity.
ORA’s honorees are people who are “not just in the headlines but are shaping what happens next” — thinkers, creators, and builders whose work helps define where ideas and society are heading. The list highlights individuals who influence art, media, design, and public life, and who move between Jewish identity and the wider world with confidence and conviction. The magazine selects “the brightest lights who in every generation shine and shape what comes next.”
In its profile of Neuer, ORA highlights his leadership of UN Watch and his efforts to challenge bias and expose human rights abuses within international institutions. The magazine recognizes Neuer as “a leading voice for accountability on the global stage” and praises his willingness to confront authoritarian regimes and double standards at the United Nations. ORA writes that Neuer “brings moral clarity into rooms built on diplomacy, refusing to let silence stand in for truth.”
The list also includes prominent figures from a range of fields, including activist Mandana Dayani, author and public intellectual Gad Saad, and musician and activist Chantae Vetrice.
UN Watch is honored to see Hillel Neuer and our organization recognized as among the brightest lights whose ideas, creativity, and convictions are helping shape the future.
The ORA 18
In every issue, ORA honors 18 trailblazers who illuminate the intersection of art, identity, and influence. We look for the people who aren’t just in the headlines but are shaping what happens next. The ORA 18 is a snapshot of that shift, the thinkers, creators, and builders whose work defines where culture is actually going.
These are the people setting the tone in art, media, design, and public life. They build audiences from scratch. They start conversations no one else will touch. They move between Jewish identity and the wider world without asking for permission. Together, they form a constellation: a map of where creativity, courage, and cultural power meet. This is the ORA 18. The brightest lights in a world that cannot look away.
“Every generation has its lights who shine and shape what comes next.”
HILLEL NEUER
International Lawyer/Advocate
A leading voice for accountability on the global stage, Hillel Neuer is the executive director of UN Watch, where he has spent over a decade, challenging bias and exposing human rights abuses within international institutions. Based in Geneva, Neuer is known for his direct, unsparing speeches at the United Nations, often confronting authoritarian regimes and calling out double standards. Trained in law at McGill University and Hebrew University, he shifted from corporate practice to advocacy, becoming a prominent defender of democratic values and Jewish rights on the world stage.
ORA FACTOR: He brings moral clarity into rooms built on diplomacy, refusing to let silence stand in for truth.
MANDANA DAYANI
Marketer/Activist
A lawyer, activist, and cultural force, Mandana Dayani has built a career at the intersection between Los Angeles and New York, she first rose as a brand builder, helping shape platforms like I AM A VOTER, before stepping fully into her own voice as a founder, advocate, and community leader. As a Jewish Iranian immigrant, Mandana champions human rights and women’s voices. She was appointed by Joe Biden to the United States Holocaust Memorial Council, reinforcing her commitment to remembrance, education, and combating antisemitism.
ORA FACTOR: She transforms visibility into action, bridging activism, media, and identity.
GAD SAAD
Philosopher/Author
A provocative public intellectual and evolu- tionary behavioral scientist, Gad Saad is a professor at Concordia University and a leading voice on culture and free speech. Born in Lebanon and raised in Canada after fleeing civil war, he has built a global platform through bestselling books, media, and his “Honey Badger” persona. His latest book, Suicidal Empathy, challenges moral frameworks that undermine truth and merit.
ORA FACTOR: He uses science and sharp commentary to confront dominant narratives and spark global debate.
CHANTAE VETRICE
Pop-Rap Artist/Activist
A bold voice in music and identity, Chantae Vetrice is a New York-born rapper, singer, pop, and deeply personal storytelling. Rising through both independent and label-backed releas- es, she has built a following with raw, thought-pro- voking lyrics and striking visuals, while also working as a model and creative collaborator. Openly proud of her journey, Chantae converted to Judaism after years of spiritual exploration and speaks unapologetically about her identity as a Black Jewish Zionist, often in the face of criticism.
ORA FACTOR: She brings a new, fearless voice to Jewish identity, using music and visibility to challenge stereotypes and expand what it means to belong.
