Chen Abrahams: When asked about her mission regarding the Israel-Palestinian conflict, Abrahams replies: “To show you my life. To tell you of my son. To share we are both wrong and that together we can make it work… that’s why I do what I do”. Chen is a resident of Kibbutz Sderot and lives minutes away from the Gaza border. She is Resource Development Director of the Gvanim Association which is dedicated to providing services for disadvantaged populations in the Negev and all of Israel.
Noga Brenner Samia: A former IDF sergeant raised partly on the American East Coast and partly on the Israeli West Coast, Noga holds a B.Sc. (Cum Laude) in Industrial Engineering and Management, and an MBA in Non-profit Profit Marketing and Management. She has worked in the private sector in Israel and the US in finance, sales and marketing functions. Upon returning to Israel 4 years ago, Noga joined KolDor, a global network of young Jewish leaders promoting Jewish Peoplehood throughout the world, as its Executive Director. She is currently Director of External Relations and Development at BINA – Center for Jewish Identity and Hebrew Culture which is dedicated to creating a just and pluralistic society in Israel, engaging young secular Israelis in exploring their Jewish identity through study and social justice. Noga is currently working toward an MA in Pluralistic Jewish Education. She is the founder of an emerging spiritual community and the initiator of numerous pluralistic Jewish programs in Tel-Mond, where she lives with her husband and three children.
- BINA Website
Dyonna Ginsburg: Born into a Zionist family in Long Island, Dyonna was raised by a Conservative Rabbi and a social worker and made Aliyah to Israel seven years ago after completing her B.A. in Political Science at Columbia University. Ginsburg is the Executive Director of Bema’aglei Tzedek, a non-profit that utilizes Jewish texts and traditions to empower and educate the future generations of Israel– cultivating positive leadership and social justice among Israeli youth.
- Bema’aglei Tzedek Website
- Bema’aglei Tzedek Article
- Interview
Vivian Silver: Since making Aliyah to Israel from Canada in 1974 Vivian has served as founder and first Director of the Department for Gender Equality in the Kibbutz Movement, a member of the Knesset sub-committee for the Advancement of Women and the Economy, and a vice-chair of the Alliance for Middle-East Peace. Silver is now the Executive Director of NISPED, which among many things, focuses on “{transforming} societies that discriminate against minorities to societies that extend full human, social, economic and civil rights to all”.
Yuvi Tashome: When she was just five years old, Yuvi made the long journey to Israel from Ethiopia through the Sudan as part of Operation Moses. She has since dedicated her life to education and social action in Israel; from her Education Corps service in the IDF, to her founding Friends by Nature (an Israeli NGO for Community Empowerment), to her initiation of the Gari’n (core) group in Gedera community. Yuvi is currently directing the Gari’n, which focuses on ‘bridging the gap’ between immigrant communities and Israeli society.
Sigal Yaniv Feller: Chosen as one of the 10 most influential people on the Israeli Environment by “The Marker” Magazine, Sigal is a significant leader and player in the field of environmental funding in Israel. Feller holds a Masters in Environmental Science and serves as the Executive Director of Israel’s Green Environment Fund.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Noa Sattath: Nominated ‘Woman of the Year’ by Channel 2 and Y-net news, and voted to be one of the “Top 50 Influential Women” by “The-Marker” Magazine, Noa is a leading figure in the evolving Israel of today, currently working as the Executive Director of MEET; an organization that uses technology to create a common language between Israeli and Palestinian young leaders. Sattath is active on many fronts of Israeli social justice. Born in Jerusalem in 1977, Noa has been a central to Israel’s Gay and Lesbian Community. She has served as volunteer, board member, chairperson, and Executive Director at the Jerusalem Open House for Pride and Tolerance (JOH), a community center for the city’s GLBT population . Sattath has built and supported the religious programming, leadership development, and health and youth services, and has led the media, communication and fundraising efforts at JOH. She also involved with directing the 2006 WorldPride events, and the Pride demonstrations in 2007.
____________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Chagit Rubinstein: Chagit is program director of the Microenterprise Initiative at the Koret Israel Economic Development Fund. Chagit’s challenge includes implementing first-of-kind programs in Israel and convincing philanthropists that a substantial need exists, aiming to stimulate economic development and employment opportunity in the private, small business sector in Israel. Chagit was awarded a Hubert Humphrey Fellowship to study Microfinance at American University in Washington DC. Since then, she has dedicated her career to the development of the Microenterprise and Microfinance fields in Israel.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Einat Kapach: Einat is a screenwriter and director who lives and creates in her native Jerusalem. A graduate of the Ma’aleh Film School with an M.A. from the Schechter Institute in Jerusalem, Einat lectures on film and Jewish identity in different communities in Israel and abroad (including the small Jewish communities in Montana, Idaho, and even Namibia and Zimbabwe). Among other projects, she directed the award winning film Jephftah’s Daughter which played at numerous festivals around the world, produced a series of short films about international charity organizations, and was a diarist in the film Peace Diaries which details the lives of Israelis and Palestinians over a six month period. Einat is frequently invited to lecture at various foundations, and was a judge at the 2009 Jerusalem Film Festival. She recently directed the documentary film Two Legacies, and won the Minister of Education’s Award for Artists in the Field of Jewish Culture for her feature script At the End of a Long Day. Einat represents a new generation of religious women artists, participating in a cultural revolution to bring women’s voices to the screen.
____________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Sveta Severinsky: A native of Communist Russia, Sveta lived with her family in a Moscow suburb. She made Aliyah with her parents and completed her BA in Psychology, Journalism, and Communication, followed by a Masters in Public Health, at Jerusalem’s Hebrew University. She then worked in the unit for the Elderly at the Myers-JDC Brookdale institute of Social Research for over five years. Sveta now serves as the Regional Program Manager for JDC’s programs in Moldova, Belarus, Southern and Northern Ukraine, which range from welfare support for those most in need to Jewish renewal, programs for Children, and community development. She is based in Jerusalem.
- JDC Website
