Program Fellows: Cohort 5, 2018/19
Yael Bernovski is 39 years old and from Tel Aviv. A journalist by trade, she is the spokeswoman of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, the largest philanthropic organization in Israel. She worked as an education and welfare reporter for YNet for five years and then for Yisrael Hayom for two years until 2015, when she began working at the Fellowship, promoting the integration and absorption of immigrants from Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union.
Rotem Cohen-Kahlon is 30 years old, married and mother of one, and a resident of the city of Ramle. She is the program director for doctoral programs at the ISEF Foundation, which works to integrate peripheral populations in academia. She was elected to the Ramle city council in 2018. She previously worked as a political adviser to MK Rahel Azaria, on the spokesperson team of the Prime Minister, and in the Center for Local Government on the international relations team. She holds an MA in Political Science from Tel Aviv University and BA in Political Science and Communications from Bar Ilan University. She is active in closing the gaps between the periphery and center of the country and in cultivating community leadership.
Lali Deri is 43 years old; originally from Paris, she moved to Israel in 1990 and now lives in Eli in the Mateh Binyamin regional council and is the mother of six. For fifteen years she was a political correspondent for French language newspapers in Israel. For the last two years, she has worked on the integration and absorption of the immigration from France. She has been on the council of her community for the last five years, working to promote education, welfare, community and culture. During the most recent local elections, she was chosen as Eli’s representative to the Mateh Binyamin Regional Council.
Eliran Gapso is 34 years old and a resident of Nazareth Ilit. He is married and the father of two, and serves as the Chair of the Beitar Youth Movement. He previously worked at the World Zionist Organization as the manager of Zionist activities in the non-Jewish sector. He is a member of the Likud Party’s central council and the board of Young Likud. He recently participated in an exchange between Young Likud and the American ACYPL, sponsored by the US State Department. He holds a BA in government, diplomacy, and strategy from the IDC – Herzliya, and is finishing an MBA in the public sector from Bar-Ilan University.
Ikram Hajirat is 32 years old; originally from Bir al-Maksur, she is today a resident of Yaffo. She holds a BA in communications and social education and is a graduate of the Rothschild Ambassadors program. Today she works as the manager and public relations coordinator of the Collective Impact forum, which promotes employment in the Arab society. She previously worked as a journalist for channel 10 and in Arab language media. For the past eight years, she has been active in promoting the status of the young residents of Bir al-Maksur
Shlomit Goldin-Halevy is 34 years old. Originally from Tel Aviv, today she lives in Ma’ale Shomron, a mixed secular-religious community in western Samaria. She is married to Lior and the mother of three boys. A communications adviser and public relations expert, she previously served as a member of the Shomron Regional Council. She works to promote Israel, develop Samaria, advance the status of women, and to encourage sustainability and environmental values.
Tanya Gilboa is 47 and from the former USSR. She is married and the mother of two, living in the Kfar Uriya Moshav, where she serves on its strategic council. She works as the community relations coordinator for the Association of Rape Crisis Centers in Israel. She previously worked for seven years as the manager of the Tayir crisis center in the center of the country. She holds an MA in educational psychology from London University. She lectures on issues of trauma, abuse, and fundraising. She is a social activist and consults with a number of non-profits.
Yehuda Grobes is 45 and a resident of Bnei Brak. He is a social activist and a leader in Haredi media. During the last several years he has been active in numerous campaigns, including for the opening of state-sponsored Haredi schools, the integration of the core curriculum into Haredi schools, and fair representation for women in Haredi society. He works to promote awareness of the issue of pedophilia in Haredi society through public and private events. He is a producer of livestreams and movies for the Haredi society, in particular of news and current events..
Ihab Jibrin is 32 and a resident of Fureidis in the center of Israel. He is the manager and owner of a PR firm and a strategic consultant. He is among the founders of Tamkin – a social movement which calls for an Arab politics that rises above the traditional divisions of family politics. He was among the founders of the organization of Arab academics in the Triangle region, and has recently been active in the establishment of a forum fighting against violence in the Arab society.
Karen Klaster is 36 years old and a resident of Efrat. At the age of 18, she moved to Israel from the USA. She is the mother of five and holds an MA in organizational consulting. An artist, she is the COO of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, a social activist, and has been promoting educational and communal projects for the last ten years.
Shlomzion Lulu is 43 years old and lives in the Mavo Beitar Moshav in Mateh Yehuda, outside of Jerusalem. She runs the Jerusalem district office of MK Orly Levy-Abukasis, and is a member of the Mateh Yehuda Regional Council, having been elected in the 2018 elections. She is a member of the strategic council of her moshav and is a personal consultant and adviser to businesses and political candidates.
Raheli Mamon lives in Hashmonaim and is the coordinator of customer relations for Israel Post. She is the public representative on the Board of Directors for Bnei Brak’s Economic Development Company.
Reut Negar is 34 years old and a resident of Tel Aviv. She is involved in community management and is an activist on issues of women’s and LGBT rights. She is the community manager of Tashtit, Israel Hofshit’s school for activism. She was a candidate for Tel Aviv city council on the Meretz party list during the 2018 elections, is a founder of the LGBT news site WDG, and among the founders of the lesbian event line “Lezbehonest.”
Hanoch Rogozinski is a Yeshiva graduate with a legal education. He finished his internship at the Knesset Research and Information Center and the public policy track at the Jewish Statesmanship Center. He lives in Jerusalem and is the CEO of Shakhar, which works to integrate Haredi soldiers into combat units, and is active in advising Haredi soldiers and promoting employment in the Haredi society.
Revital Rubin is 46 years old, a Jerusalemite, and the mother of three. She is the CEO of Snunit, a non-profit initiative of the Hebrew University which works to advance communicative education; she is also among the founders of the iClass startup, a board member of multiple social initiatives, and holds an MA in organizational psychology from Hebrew University. She is a lecturer in the fields of management, a mentor to private and public-sector executives, a member of the Jerusalem municipality’s education council, and head of the women’s forum in Jerusalem for Orly Levy-Abukasis’s new party. She works to advance equality in leadership, promote social responsibility, and advance a more equal and ethical society.
Or Sari is 33 years old and a resident of Holon. She previously worked in high tech with a variety of global customers in the fields of product and project management and to promote corporate social responsibility. At the same time that she was working in high tech, she was an activist for social change in the public sector. She served as the director of gender policy in the Tel Aviv municipality and was among the founders of “An Equal City,” which promotes gender equality in the municipality and city. Today, she is a senior advisor for government partnerships at Sheatufim. She is a political and social activist on issues of equality, peace, and democratic participation, including the “Running and Influencing” social initiative for women’s political involvement. She is a writer and lecturer on issues of social change. She holds a BA in mathematics, computer science, and political science, and an MA in brain science and cognition.
Yael Sherer is 35 years old and lives in Kfar Saba. She is a documentary filmmaker, journalist and lecturer; her groundbreaking documentary film “Dirty Laundry,” about sexual abuse in families, gained significant national and international exposure. She is among the founders of One Among One, which fights against sexual abuse, and is the manager of A Street of Her Own, which promotes awareness on the lack of women’s representation in the public sphere. She facilitates the “In Her Way” program on Israeli educational TV, works for the implication of UN Resolution 1325, which promotes the integration of women in key peace-and security-related positions, and works for the promotion of more women as candidates in the local and national elections.
Idit Silman is 37 years old and a resident of Rehovot. She is marketing director at the Clalit HMO, and is the cochair of the women’s forum (as well as member of the board of directors) of the Jewish Home party. She is active in the multipartisan “Running and Influencing” forum, which promotes women’s involvement in local and national politics, and is the CEO of the “Mentoring” social initiative.
Efrat Shukran is 33 years old and a Jerusalemite. She runs the office of Am Shalem, a political-social non-profit led by Rabbi Haim Amsalem, a former Shas MK. She is a graduate of the ACC college for advertising and marketing, a social activist and a partner in numerous initiatives of “New Haredim,” in particular around the status of women in Haredi society.
Zemanay Tefra is 32 years old and from Ness Ziona. She is a social activist, working to fight racism and promote awareness around issues of police violence. She holds a degree with distinction in PR and Advertising from Kiryat Ono College, is a content and marketing manager and model, and owns a jewellery and fashion label called Zemenay-Afro Urban Style. During the 2018 municipal elections, she worked on the campaign of the Tel Aviv List.