Chairman
Assaf Benmelech
Partner, Tulchinsky Stern Marciano Cohen Levitski & Co. Law Offices.
Board Members
Rabbi Dr. Ronen Lubitch
Rabbi of Nir Etzion, lecturer at Shaanan Academic Religious Teachers’ College and Haifa University; served as campus rabbi in Capetown; specializes in religion, philosophy and Jewish thought.
Rabbi Zuri Levy
Director of the Amit Pre-army Technological Mechina Program.
Dr. Hannah Pinhasi
Director of the Barry Program at the Hartman Institute‘s School of Cultural Studies in Israel, and a member of the Cogod Center ’‘ On Public Opinion ’group. In the years 2004-2001, Hannah served as the representative of the Jewish Agency’s Department of Education in Canada and was responsible for the mission system in educational and organizational aspects.
R. Avital Engelberg
Ramit at the Ein Hanatziv seminary
Avital studied the halakhic program at Midreshet Lindenbaum, and was ordained an Orthodox rabbinate on behalf of the Maharat Yeshiva in New York.
She has a bachelor‘s degree in theater and a master’s degree in Talmud.
Group facilitator, teaches Gemara and Halacha in various settings.
Deals extensively with the concept of truth and the development of halakhah in Sages.
Dafna Etzion
JACOB NUSS
Jacov has BA in Economics and Business from Bar-Ilan University and MBA in Business School at Tel-Aviv University. Yacov has experience as a member of the Board of Directors and member of the Audit Committee of publicly traded companies (also on NASDAQ) and many years of experience working with a Board of Directors as senior economist, director in a private company and a member of various non-profit, Jacov is married, has 4 kids and lives in Kfar Sava.
Elkana Sherlo
Elkana Sherlow, born in 1978, married to Maya and has 8 children. Resident of Yeruham. Graduate of the local Hesder Yeshiva, Herzog College, the Merhav Beit Midrash and the Israeli Rabbinate Beit Midrash.
Teacher and lecturer at a wide variety of educational institutions throughout the South.
Program Staff
Rabbi Zvi Koren
Rabbi of the "Kinor David" community in Raanana. Rabbi of Amit Renanim School, teaches at Matan and Midreshet Lindinbaum. Graduate of Sha‘alvim and Har Etzion Hesder Yeshivas and Beit Morasha. He holds a bachelor’s degree in humanities from the Open University. First principal and Rosh Yeshiva of the Amit Nachshon Yeshiva High-School outside of Beit Shemesh.
Shmuel Shattach
Mr. Shattach, a social activist, was selected as one of the 50 most influential people in Israel twice, and won numerous prizes that acknowledge his public work for promoting pluralistic religious education in Israel.
Mr. Shattach is an expert in the field of public management and education. He serves as a Council member of The Second Authority for Television and Radio.
He worked as Rabbi-Teacher and as Vice Principal, in Amit Technological High School, near Bar-Ilan University.
He previously served as an envoy (Shaliach) for the Chicago Jewish community and as a parliamentary aid in the Knesset.
He lives in Lod with his wife and six children.
Rabbi Dr. Ido Pachter
Holds a PhD in Jewish thought, specializing in the fields of religion and state and in particular in the new Orthodox development in the United States on a variety of challenges.
Over the years, Rabbi Pechter has dealt extensively with religious content and its accessibility to the public from a variety of academic, rabbinical and publicist angles, including as part of the Tzohar Rabbinical Organization and as the founder of the Azure - Judaism of Inspiration organization. Served for about nine years as rabbi of the "Young Israel" community in Ramat Poleg, Netanya,
Rabbi Dr. Pechter, married and a father of four, works to promote interfaith discourse, lectures on Judaism and writes Shabbat pamphlets, has published books and articles dealing with the Bible, midrashim, thought and society.
Edit Drix
Edit has a BA and a teaching certificate in Jewish and Israeli literature and archaeology from Bar-Ilan University. Idit served as director of training in Cellcom’s sales center from 2009 until 2011.
Abigail ben Ari
Eli Rubinstein
Bari Pardes Hanna, Head of the Latin America Program at the Emuna College, teaches at the Latin America Department at Lindenbaum College. He founded the "La Casa" community in Buenos Aires and was a Bnei Akiva emissary there. Holds a B.e.d degree in Education. Married to Reut and father to Shachar and Uri.
Merav Shemesh Rosen, Lawyer
A graduate of the Migdal Oz Beit Midrash, Studied at the Machshevet Yisrael advanced program and was a Madricha (supervisor) at the Beit Midrash.
L.L.B, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Completed an internship in The Office of the State Attorney, in the Department of Labor Law, which deals with the largest social and financial issues in the Israeli economy.
Teaching Certificate, Herzog College
.Worked at several educational, as well as, non-profit organizations and in Bnei Akiva. Married to Matan and mother to Ori.
Gilad Hesse
Gilad Hesse, 27. A graduate of Har Etzion Yeshiva and a worker in the yeshiva’s alumni organization, a student of philosophy and classical studies at the Hebrew University and editor of the journal Bar - Between a Creator and a Place
Hila Seligman Fried
Holds a B.A. in Political Science and Communication and an M.A. in Political Science and International Relations.
Specializing in public relations and spokespersons for public organizations and associations and in particular in the fields of religion and state.
Specializing in managing political, municipal, public campaigns, struggles and crises.
She previously served as a spokeswoman for the Beit Hillel Rabbinical Association.
Noa Miller
Noa has been involved in Diaspora jewry for 10 years. In her last position in Kolot she managed the delegations and the has A BA in Economics and Logistics. She lives in Efrat, Gush Etzion and A mother of three.
Yuval Saadon
Elad Sdot
The Audit Committee
Lawyer Jacob Abramovich
CPA Eitan Weisberg
Attorney Ilan Kamenetsky
Past Board Members and Staff
Moshe Ohayon
Moshe Ohion, a former board member was murdered along with his son Eliad in the terrorist attack on Ofakim on Shabbat Simchat Torah.May God avenge his blood
Moriah Hadid
24. Student of community social work at the Hebrew University. A graduate of the Migdal Oz Beit Midrash, she worked for the Migdal Oz alumni organization for two years.
Netanel Afek
Social entrepreneur, holds a BEd, an MA in educational administration, and Smicha from the Israeli Chief Rabbinate, with over 15 years of experience in education and training.
CEO of IzraEx - The Izrael Experience, and development manager in Etz Hasade - experiential education NGO.
Former Bnei Akiva Olami and Jewish Agency shaliach in Cleveland OH, and a member of the Mandel center for leadership in the North (Cohort #2).
Volunteers in Tzohar, and active in the young leadership sterring committee in Partnership 2Gether of the Jewish Agency.
Happy to live in the wonderful community of Migdal Haemek, married to Odelia and proud father of four boys.
Reut Hamburger
Social worker, screenwriter, editor and content writer.
Graduate of the Ma’aleh Film School and the Matan and Darisha seminaries.
Lives in Jerusalem, sister to 7 brothers and aunt to 3.5 nephews
Tani Frank
Tani has a BA in philosophy, economics and political science from Hebrew University and is currently writing his thesis on public policy. He previously served as parliamentary aide to MK Elazar Stern and ran the Giur Kehalacha project. Tani drafted many of the bills that are currently being discussed in the field of religion and state - including the conversion bill, the Shabbat bill, the kashrut bill, the religious councils bill and more.
Ariel Finkelstein
Third-year student in the PKM program at the Hebrew University, coordinator of policy and research in the field of education.
Education correspondent on the website "Mida - Research and Analysis Articles". His book, The High Road: A Halachic and Meta-Halachic Alternative to the Book “Torat Melech,” was released in 2011.
Shlomit Naim Naor
Shlomit Naim-Naor is an Israeli poet and educator
She studied at the Beit Midrash Elul and for a bachelor’s degree in literature and philosophy at the Hebrew University
In addition, she leads Naim-Naor seminars and writing groups on Jewish and Israeli identity, medical education and art, and serves as one of the editors of the poetry magazine Mashiv Haruach, where she edited several issues and even served as artistic director of the Love Days Poetry Festival in 2019-2020.
Prof. Asher Cohen
Lecturer in Political Science, Bar-Ilan University.
Liat Klein-Ganz, Lawyer
LL.B and LL.M with specialization in Public and International Law, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Completed an internship in the High Court of Justice (Bagatz) Department in the Ministry of Justice. Acquired extensive experience working at non-profit and human rights organizations, as well as at Government Agencies.
Served as the Head of the legal Department
of the Association of Rape Crices Centers of lsrael; Director of a Legal Clinic for Youth Court Represantation at the IDC Herzliya. Additionally, for the past two years, served as a Project Manager in the Ministry of Finance.
During these years, acquired extensive experience in promoting policy and legislation.
Roni Hazon-Weiss
Lecturer in history, literature, and Israeli culture.
Reut Markovich-Negrover
Youth Movement Leaders Program Coordinator
Aviad Evron
Rabbi Aviad Sanders
Rabbi at Midreshet Lindenbaum.
Elad Lubitch
Alad is married to Adi, he is father of two daughters and lives in Jerusalem. He studied at the Otniel Yeshiva, received a BA in Law from the Hebrew University and studied for a master’s degree in public policy.
Rabbi Akiva Herzfeld
Before making Aliya to Israel, served as Rabbi of Congregation Shaarey Tphiloh of Portland, Maine and prior to that as Orthodox Rabbi of Harvard Hillel. Received a BA in Classical Languages from Yeshiva University and MA in History from Columbia University. Rabbinic Ordination from Yeshivat Chovevei Torah. Member of the International Rabbinic Fellowship. Married to Michal, and father of Aryeh, Devora, Avrami, Tali and Daniela.
Orit Lasser
Shlomit Stern Hazan
Coordinator, the International office at Bar-Ilan University. Coordinator, Kolech leadership training center. Co-founder, “Kulana,” women’s beit midrash in Givat Shmuel.
Dr. Hanan Mandel
Lecturer in Law and Conflict Resolution, Bar-Ilan University and Ono Academic College
Tehila Friedman
Director, Center for Jewish Leadership at Kolot. Former fellow at the Mandel Center for Jewish Leadership. Former Director of the Israeli office of the Jewish Federation of Central New Jersey.
Hagay Oren
Dr. Jonathan Benarroch
Lecturer, Department of Jewish Thought, Hebrew University
Dr. Einav Mayzlish Gati
Head, The Israeli GeneBank—Agriculture Research Organization.
Efrat Garber-Eran
Content, Evaluation, and Measurement Coordinator at Panim —The Union of Jewish Renewal Organizations in Israel.
Rabbi Ilay Ofran
A graduate of Yeshivat Hakibbutz Hadati in Ma’aleh Gilboa and Beit Morasha in Jerusalem. Ilay has a BA in psychology and Talmud, is a Rabbi certified by Israel’s chief rabbinate and teaches in a military seminar and in the Yaacov Herzog Center. He is the Rabbi of kibbutz Yavneh.
Rabbi Dr. Shuki Friedman
Responsible for drafting the Bill for the democratization of religious services. Rabbi Dr. Friedman is a professor of law and has worked closely with the Prime Minister’s Office and as a legal adviser in Israeli parliament. He specializes in international law, state and religion, legal history, law and national security and Islamic law.
Dr. Hadar Lipshitz
As the Director of the Communal Model, he has focused in his research on religious services and the funding of religious and haredi educational institutions. He teaches at Ashkelon College and Himmelfarb high school. He headed the public committee on religious services in Israel.
Eran Ben Yehuda
תורה ועבודה
Gila Berkovits
תורה ועבודה
Zohar Moyal
Zohar spent two years as a youth movement leader in Hadera and is currently in her final year of a BA in communal social work at Hebrew University.
Lea Gesundheit
Lea is currently completing her BA in Jewish philosophy and Hebrew literature at Hebrew University. She is also studying for a teaching certificate from the Kerem Institute and works at a non-profit organization that supports young women in National Service.
Ariel Horowitz
Ariel is a graduate of the Hesder Yeshiva in Petach Tikva, a student in the departments of literature and philosophy of Hebrew University and a writer and editor for Makor Rishon.
Netanel Dayan
Mr. Dayan is a graduate of the Hesder Yeshiva in Petach Tikva and holds a BA in economics, political science and sociology from Bar-Ilan University. He ran the Yerushalmim campaign for Jerusalem’s municipality and continues to run Rabbi Aaron Leibowitz’s alternative kosher certification program.
Rabbi Dr. Ori Noyvirt
PhD in Jewish philosophy; engaged in education and teaching.
Adi Arad
Joseph Benarroch
President of the World Sephardic Union. Formerly a diplomat in Israel’s Foreign Service. Editor and director of Division for External Relations in the Hebrew University.
Efrat Shapira Rosenberg
Project officer, AVI CHAI Foundation.
Chen Artzi Sror
CPA Gideon Altshuler z"l
Chen Cherlow
Avital Bismot Sherman
Itamar Shlissel
Aluma Monnickendam Lau
Coordinator of “Encounters” Program and group mediator at Gesher.
Carmi Yinnon
Responsible for implementing the Communal Model pilot in the Zevulun regional council. Mr. Yinnon has spent the past eleven years working with Jewish communities and in the field of education.
