David Harris, born on September 23, 1949, in New York City, is an American Jewish leader and advocate who grew up in a secular Jewish household as the son of two Holocaust survivors—his father, Eric, an Austrian Jew who fled to France, served in the French Foreign Legion, was imprisoned in a Vichy labor camp, and later joined U.S. intelligence services; and his mother, a Soviet Jew who survived 17 months in hiding in Vichy France before escaping to the U.S. via Portugal. At age 11 in 1960, he lived in Munich, Germany, for a year with his parents, where his father trained German colleagues, exposing young Harris to post-war German-Jewish dynamics, including his father's reactions to Nazi remnants and his mother's defiant display of a Hanukkah menorah. His maternal grandparents taught him Russian, a skill pivotal to his career. He attended the Franklin School and pursued higher education, earning a BA in Political Science from Brooklyn College (1974), an MA in International Affairs from Columbia University (1976), graduating from the University of Pennsylvania in 1971, completing a master's degree and doctoral studies at the London School of Economics, serving as a Visiting Scholar at Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (2000-2002), and as Junior and Senior Associate at Oxford University's St. Antony's College.

Harris's career in Jewish advocacy began in 1971 as an English teacher in Moscow through an exchange program, where he engaged with Jewish 'refuseniks' denied emigration. A defining moment came in 1974 on Simchat Torah at the Moscow Choral Synagogue, solidifying his commitment to Jewish causes. His activism led to two detentions and expulsion from the Soviet Union in 1974, and another detention in 1981 at the Moscow International Book Fair. In 1987, he coordinated Freedom Sunday for Soviet Jews in Washington, D.C., drawing over 250,000 participants—the largest Jewish gathering in U.S. history—and contributed to the emigration of over one million Soviet Jews. Prior to his prominent roles, he worked with the World Jewish Congress and as a consultant on Soviet Jewry during the Cold War, influenced by his Jewish upbringing and political science education.

Harris joined the American Jewish Committee (AJC) in 1979, briefly leaving from 1981 to 1984 for the National Conference on Soviet Jewry, before returning and becoming head of its Washington, D.C., office in 1987. In 1990, he was named executive director and later CEO, serving until his retirement in October 2022—a 32-year tenure during which he transformed the AJC into a global organization. Key achievements included expanding international outreach and forging partnerships with diverse communities, such as groundbreaking engagements with Arab and Muslim leaders in the Middle East and North Africa, laying groundwork for the Abraham Accords; launching Arabic social media platforms in 2020 (reaching over 90 million speakers and 500,000 followers) and a Farsi platform in 2021; leading a 16-year campaign to repeal UN General Assembly Resolution 3379 (equating Zionism with racism) and securing Israel's inclusion in a UN regional group; establishing new offices worldwide, including in Berlin in 1998 (with his late father's blessing); and addressing rising antisemitism through testimonies before the U.S. Congress, UN Human Rights Commission, and French Parliament, while responding to global incidents and promoting Israel's security. His diplomatic approach involved frequent engagements with world leaders, bridging Jewish advocacy with human rights and interfaith dialogues, and emphasizing bipartisan U.S. support for Jewish concerns.

Post-retirement, Harris remains influential, serving as Executive Vice Chair of the Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy (ISGAP), writing, speaking, and hosting the weekly television show 'Defending Israel' for the Jewish Broadcasting Service (JBS). He is the most decorated Jewish organizational leader in U.S. history, honored over 20 times by foreign governments, including induction as a Knight (2005) and elevation to Officer (2021) of the French Legion of Honor by President Emmanuel Macron for strengthening U.S.-France ties and combating antisemitism; and four honorary doctorates, such as from Brandeis University (2022) and Hebrew Union College (2003). Former Israeli President Shimon Peres called him 'the foreign minister of the Jewish people.'

Personally, Harris was married and is the father of three sons and a grandfather; his 2024 memoir, On the Front Lines: A Lifetime of Global Jewish Advocacy, details his family's ties to Jewish history, including naming his eldest granddaughter Mila after his cousin Mila Racine, who rescued over 230 Jewish children in Nazi-era France before her murder in Mauthausen. He has authored several books and hundreds of op-eds, including Antisemitism: Everything We Need to Know (forthcoming, Oxford University Press, 2025), In the Trenches: Selected Speeches and Writings of an American Jewish Activist (five volumes, 2000-2007), The Jokes of Oppression: The Humor of Soviet Jews (co-author, 1995), Entering a New Culture: A Handbook for Soviet Migrants to the United States of America (1989), and The Jewish World (1994). Harris is recognized for his articulate advocacy and enduring commitment to combating antisemitism, supporting Israel, and promoting Jewish interests globally.