I Belong. Israel

Twenty years ago, at dawn in the vast expanses of the Negev, we stood on the threshold of our very first journey (Masa)- excited by the opening ceremony, filled with hope and dreams. Since then, nearly 500,000 participants have joined an extraordinary and ever-growing human circle that speaks the shared language of the journey. In their eyes, you can see the same hopeful look- the belief that change is possible, the desire to deepen connection to this land, to engage, to build a better future for the country, to strengthen true belonging to the Jewish people and the State of Israel, and the faith in who we want to be and who we can become.

President & Chair Of The Board

Major Gen. (Res.) Eliezer Shkedy

Maj. Gen. (res.) Eliezer Shkedy was the 15th Commander of the Israel Air Force and former CEO of El Al Airlines. Today he focuses on philanthropic activities and is involved in helping to lead 15 social start-ups in a volunteer capacity. Eliezer received his BA in math and computer science from Ben Gurion University and an MA in systems management from the Naval Post Graduate School in Monterey, California. Eliezer is married to Dr. Anat Shkedy. He is the father of three.

Executive Committee

Dr. Ephraim Greenfield

Dr. Ephraim Greenfield is a scientist, a high tech entrepreneur, and the founder of Ophir Optronics in Jerusalem, the world’s leading manufacturer of laser measuring instrumentation and night vision optics. He was the R&D manager of the company and CTO until 2018.

Ephraim grew up in the US. He received a B.A. in mathematics from Wayne State University and a BSc in physics from the University of Chicago. In 1968, after the Six Day War, Ephraim made Aliyah and completed a PhD in physics at the Hebrew University. In 1976, together with two colleagues, he founded Ophir Optronics. He is married with 4 children and 12 grandchildren, all living in Israel. In addition to working as a consultant in his field, he is engaged in philanthropy and is involved with a number of NGOs for the benefit of the country, first and foremost as a managing director of I BELONG. ISRAEL (Masa Israel(.

Alan Sacks Adv.

Adv. Alan Sacks is a senior partner at Herzog, Fox, and Neeman, one of Israel’s top law firms. Alan was born in England and received his BA in law from Cambridge University. After completing his studies, Alan married Judith, and soon after they moved to Israel with their young family, settling in Jerusalem. Alan and Judith’s major source of pride is their six children who were all educated in Israel and all served in the Israel Defense Forces. Their youngest son, is currently serving in one of the IDF’s elite units, like his brother and sister before him. Several of Alan and Judith’s children are former I BELONG. ISRAEL Israeli counselors.

Major Gen. (Res.) Avi Mizrachi

Major General (Res.) Avi Mizrahi is a highly decorated former Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) officer who commanded the Central Command, led Ground Forces, and served in elite units like Sayeret Golani before retiring in 2015, later becoming CEO of UVision Air. He is known for his extensive career in the Armored Corps, high-level leadership roles, and his transition to defense industry leadership.

Mizrahi holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and Computer Science from Pace University in New York, United States. He is married to Bracha, a history teacher, and is the father of three daughters. He lives in Zikhron Ya’akov.

Yakir Daniel

He served as Head of the Cyber Group at Toga Networks (Huawei) following the acquisition of the startup Spotinst, which he co-founded and led. Prior to that, Yakir served in the IDF for approximately a decade in command and technology roles.

Following Operation Protective Edge and the global expansion of the BDS movement, he embarked on a year-long mission on behalf of the Jewish Agency, during which he established the Hillel chapter at George Mason University. Together with his mission partner, he also founded Tzipor Midbar, a community for lone soldiers who immigrated to Israel and have since completed their military service.

He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from the College of Management (Mamram track) and a Master’s degree in Legal Studies from Bar-Ilan University.

Natalie Schneiderman

Natalie Schneiderman began her career in the professional Jewish world in the early 1990s as a coordinator of youth programs at the Moscow Center of Studies and Dissemination of Jewish Culture. After making Aliyah from Moscow, she worked for several summers as an Israeli camp counselor at the Jewish Agency’s summer camps in the former Soviet Union. Natalie joined the Jewish Agency in Jerusalem on a full-time basis in 1997, and she was instrumental in conceiving and running a variety of educational and staff training programs in the former Soviet Union.

Natalie holds a bachelor’s degree in English Linguistics, French Literature and Group Facilitation from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and a master’s in Government and Public Policy from the Open University of Israel. She resides in Modiin, Israel, with her husband, two sons and two pets.

Board Of Directors

Rabbi Yaakov Meidan

Rabbi Yaakov Meidan is the head of the Har Etzion Hesder Yeshiva in Alon Shvut. He teaches of, Gemara, Torah, and Jewish studies in variety of educational institutions. He has authored numerous and several books on the subjects of Torah, media, and religious law. Rabbi Meidan is also thought leader in the area of religious-secular relations. Together with Prof. Ruth Gavison, Meidan authored the Gavison-Meidan Covenant, which offers a foundation for a new pact among Israeli Jews in matters of religion and state. For this work, Meidan and Gavison were awarded the Keren Avichai Prize and the Tolerance Prize. Rabbi Meidan is a graduate of the Har Etzion Yeshiva, he holds a B. Ed form Jerusalem College and a MA from Turo college.

Moshe Shiffman Adv.

Moshe Shiffman is a partner at Shifman, Dorfen, Lifshitz & Company, a leading law firm based in Eilat. Shiffman attended Nehalim Yeshiva and went on to serve in the IDF’s Armored Corps. Following his army service he obtained his law degree from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Shiffman is one of the founders of Nataf, a mixed secular and religious community, where he resides today. He is married with four children, three of them officers in the IDF.

Cpa. Avi Wertheim

Since the year 1996, Mr. Wertheim has served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Alony Hetz Properties & Investments Ltd. He also holds directorships at Amot Investments Ltd, Carr Properties Corp., PSP Swiss Property AG, and Energix Renewable Energy Ltd.

Mr. Wertheim’s previous positions have included Chairman of the Board of Directors of Bank Mizrahi Tefahot as well as partner in Almagor & Co., a leading Israeli accounting firm. Mr. Wertheim is a CPA and holds a degree in Accounting and Business Administration from the Tel Aviv College of Management. He volunteers in a wide range of youth education activities as well as in the Israeli Police Force.

Dr. Israel Tal Saranga

Dr. Tal-Saranga serves as Head of Communications, Marketing, and Public Affairs for the Jerusalem Municipality. Previously, he served as Head of Communications and Customer Relations at Israel Railways. He lectures in communications and specializes in civil–military media relations, as well as public sector communications and public diplomacy. He also served as a Research Fellow at the Center for International Communication (CIC) at Bar-Ilan University.

Dr. Tal-Saranga holds Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Doctoral degrees in Communication and Political Science from Bar-Ilan University, a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the College of Management, and is a graduate of the Journalism and Communication Unit at Bar-Ilan University.

A Lieutenant Colonel (Res.) in the IDF, Dr. Tal-Saranga served for many years as Spokesperson for the Israeli Air Force and later as a department head in the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit, where he focused on military public diplomacy and the IDF’s public relations.

Adv. Michal Landau

Adv. Landau is the owner of a mediation and law firm in Ra’anana and previously served as Chairwoman of the Israel Association of Mediators (NGO). In the past, she practiced as an attorney at a leading law firm, at the Ministry of Justice, and in the Israel Police. She is a graduate of the Faculty of Law at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and completed her legal internship at the Supreme Court of Israel.

Ofer Hahn

Ofer Hahn is the VP of Business Development at Tribio, a philanthropic start-up company that connects people who want to volunteer with needs in the community. Ofer previously served in a number of key positions in the Ministry of Education, including: Chief of Staff to the Minister of Education Rabbi Shai Piron and Senior Advisor to the Minister of Education Naftali Bennett. Ofer is one of the first generation of guides of ‘I Belong Israel’. Ofer has a bachelor’s degree in law and a master’s degree in management and public policy from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and is a fellow in the “Maoz” fellow program – developing leadership reserves for the State of Israel.

Robert Baroch Scheinberg

Robert Scheinberg is an Israeli-Canadian philanthropist who sits on the North American Board of I BELONG ISRAEL. In addition, Rob supports other organizations and has established a dedicated foundation that supports the lone soldiers of the IDF elite Duvdevan unit. In 2014, Rob and his wife Danielle founded Dog Tales, a recue shelter and sanctuary for dogs from overcrowded Israeli shelters. Located in King City Canada, the 50 acre sanctuary houses hundreds of dogs as well as horses and other animals.

Rob was born in Lithuania. His family made Aliya to Israel when he was less than one year old. At age 16, the family moved to Canada. Rob served in the IDF’s Duvdevan unit.

Moti Sonnenfeld

Moti (Eliyahu Mordechai) Sonnenfeld is a Jewish businessman and philanthropist, a member of the board of directors of the Schneider Center trustees association.

In 2014, tragedy struck the Sonnenfeld family, when Moti’s daughter was killed in a car accident.

Following the death of his daughter Danieli Sonnenfeld, who volunteered at the Schneider Children’s Hospital, he established the “Danieli Foundation” which promotes over 100 projects for the benefit of Israeli society. Among the projects:

“Team Danieli” – a professional and unique medical team that includes: doctors, nurses, psychologists and social workers from the oncology department at the Schneider Hospital that provides home care for children with cancer.
“Danieli Award for Medicine with a Heart” – an award that exalts the doctors and nurses who have been praised for their humane approach to the patient and his family.
“For Danieli” – national service for youth at risk – a program established by the Aminadav Association for National Service and provides youth at risk with guidance in the circles of life.

and many other projects in various fields

Prof. Adv. David Hahn

Prof. David Hahn is an Israeli lawyer, a professor at the Law Faculty of Bar-Ilan University, an expert in corporate law and insolvency law. He served as the General Guardian and Chief Convenor at the Ministry of Justice.

Adi Strauss

Adi Strauss is an Israeli businessman, best known as one of the controlling shareholders and Chairman of Strauss Holdings, the private company that holds the majority stake in the publicly traded Strauss Group, one of Israel’s largest food companies. Together with his family, he founded the “Achim” program in 2009, which supports at-risk children and soldiers. He serves as Chairman of the Friends Association of the IDF Disabled Veterans Organization and is deeply involved in initiatives supporting the rehabilitation of wounded IDF soldiers.

Miriam Peretz

Miriam Peretz is an Israeli educator who lost two sons during their army service. Miriam lectures around the world on Zionism and living with loss. In 2018 she was awarded the Israel Prize for Lifetime Achievement. Miriam was born and raised in Casablanca, Morocco. In 1963 her family immigrated to Israel. Miriam earned a BA in Literature and History from Ben-Gurion University. She married Eliezer Peretz and they moved to Ophira, where their two oldest children, Uriel and Eliraz, were born. In 1982, following the peace treaty with Egypt, the Peretz family moved to Givat Zev, where four more children were born. Miriam worked as the principal of the first school in the neighborhood. On November 25, 1998 their oldest son, Lieutenant Uriel Peretz, 22, was killed in an ambush in south Lebanon. His father, Eliezer, died a short time later at the age of 56. On March 26, 2010, her second son, Major Eliraz Peretz, was killed near the Gaza border. Miriam has devoted her life to imparting Jewish and Zionist messages to youth and IDF soldiers. She has written a book, Shirat Miriam, about the story of her life. In 2016 she received an honorary doctorate from Bar-Ilan University. In 2018, on Israel’s 70th Independence Day, she received the Israel Prize for Lifetime Achievement.

Zvi (Zvika) Williger

Zvi (Zvika) Williger is a businessman whose main activity is in the food market. Zvi studied in a high-school yeshiva as a child and continued his studies at the UCLA University USA, majoring management. In 1994, Zvi and his brother Yossi, founded “Willy Food”, Israel’s leading food importer.

Yehuda (Udi) Shamai

Yehuda (Udi) Shamai is an Israeli businessman. CEO of ‘Hyper Food Robotics’. CEO and owner of “Pizza Hut” in Israel. Serves as a board member at Dragon Tail.

Suzan Zilbereman

Susan Zilberman is the former owner of Z NYC Hotel in New York. Along with her philanthropic activities as a board member of I BELONG ISRAEL, Susan is Co-Director of Gregg’s Gift in memory of her son. Gregg’s Gift works to help young adults struggling with substance use disorder. Susan is a devoted Zionist, committed to raising awareness of Americans’ need to support Israel.

Adv. Harriett Finn

Harriet Finn is a senior partner at Herzog, Fox, and Neeman, one of Israel’s leading law firms. Harriett specializes in internet and gaming as well as banking and finance. She represents, on an ongoing basis, a leading online gaming entity in connection with their commercial and corporate activities. She also represents banks and borrowers in various international debt financing transactions.

'I Belong Israel' Headquarters

Uri Cohen

Founding CEO

uri@masaisraeli.org 02.5887887

Avner Elyasyan

VP Finance

avner@masaisraeli.org 02.5887885

Itzik Abrech

Chief Financial Officer

itzik@masaisraeli.org 02.5887861

Yulie Amir

Chief Of Staff

yulie@masaisraeli.org 02.5887877

Orly Turgeman

Office Manager

masa@masaisraeli.org 02.5887888

Jeremy Weiss

V.P. Global Partnerships and International Relations

jeremy@masaisraeli.org

David Ansbacher

Head of Education Division

david@masaisraeli.org 02.5887870

Tsahi Payes

Head of Operations Division

tsahi@masaisraeli.org 02.5887860

Lilach Sade

Head of Human Resources

lilach@masaisraeli.org

Yoav Stein

Director of Schools and Gefen Department

yoav@masaisraeli.org 02.5887890

Rafi Sattinger

Director of Military and Security Forces Department

rafi@masaisraeli.org 054.6734243

Hila Markovich

Director of Emergency Response Department

hila@masaisraeli.org 054.2803206

Sivan Dinar

Head of Camps Department

sivand@masaisraeli.org 02.5887873

Dror Hamui

Director of Education- Schools and Gefen

dror@masaisraeli.org 02.5887872

Nir Segal

Director of the I Belong. Israel Village

nir@masaisraeli.org 054.8701709

Dvorit Fried Shem-Tov

Director of Service and Sales Center

dvorit@masaisraeli.org 054.7996760

In Memory Of

Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks (Late)

The late Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks was an international religious leader, philosopher, award-winning author and respected moral voice, Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks was awarded the 2016 Templeton Prize in recognition of his “exceptional contributions to affirming life’s spiritual dimension.” Described by H.R.H. The Prince of Wales as “a light unto this nation” and by former British Prime Minister Tony Blair as “an intellectual giant”, Rabbi Sacks was a frequent and sought-after contributor to radio, television and the press both in Britain and around the world.

Since stepping down as the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth – a position he held for 22 years between 1991 and 2013 – Rabbi Sacks has held a number of professorships at several academic institutions including Yeshiva University and King’s College London. In addition to writing and lecturing, he serves as the Ingeborg and Ira Rennert Global Distinguished Professor at New York University. Rabbi Sacks has been awarded 17 honorary doctorates including a Doctor of Divinity conferred to mark his first ten years in office as Chief Rabbi, by the then Archbishop of Canterbury, Lord Carey.

The late Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks was a member of the international board of I Belong. Israel and an educational consultant for the organization in recent years.

Rabbi Sacks passed away in the year 2021.

May his memory be blessed!

Yossi Bachar (Late)

The late Yossi Bachar was an Israeli accountant and manager, who served in the public sector as CEO of the Ministry of Finance and as Acting Director of the Israel Tax Authority, Chairman of the Board of the Discount Bank and Chairman of the Haifa Group in the private sector.

Yossi was a dear member of the ‘I Belong. Israel’ association.

He past in 2021.

May his memory be blessed!