Shaharit Staff
Dr. Eilon Schwartz – Director
Dr. Schwartz’s biography for speaking engagements can be found here.
Before founding Shaharit, Dr. Eilon Schwartz was among the founders of the Heschel Center for Sustainability. In addition to his work at Shaharit, Eilon is a faculty member at the Melton Center for Jewish Education at Hebrew where he teaches graduate courses in cultural criticism, social-environmental politics, and education. Over the years, he has written many scholarly and popular articles on a variety of subjects, and his book At Home in the World: Human Nature, Ecological Thought & Education after Darwin was published by SUNY Press in 2010.
Eilon has served on the boards of many environmental organizations, including as the chairman of Life and Environment, the umbrella organization of Israel’s environmental movement.He has published extensively both academically and in the popular press, including major essays in publications including Ha’aretz, the Times of Israel, and Makor Rishon.
Eilon lives in Tel Aviv with his wife Rachel and their children: Ayelet, Chen, and Eden.
Laura Talinovsky – Deputy CEO
Laura served as the Head of Mechinat Rabin, an educational institution for young leaders. Laura is a lecturer on Israeli society, partnership between communities, economics, gender, politics, and about Russian speakers in Israel.
Served as a Parliamentary Advisor to the Chairperson of
the Opposition in the Knesset, in the legislative, political and media consulting areas.
Made Aliya to Israel at the age of 6 from Ukraine and is one of the founders of the “Generation 1.5” group – young Russian-speaking Israelis.
Laura graduated with honors from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, with an MA in Public Policy, and a BA in Political Science and Sociology. She was a fellow in the Paths to Peace Fellowship in NYU. Laura is also a graduate of the 120 program of Shaharit.
Heli Tabibi Barkat – Director of the Center for Public Opinion Leadership"
Heli directs the DAYBREAK emergency response program, a joint initiative of Shaharit and the Fund for New Leadership.
In addition, she chairs the Heritage Research section of the Israeli Council of Culture and Art.
A resident of Jerusalem, she previously founded the national initiatives “the Hebrew Calendar” and “Voices of the East.” She served as chairperson of Reshut HaRabim, an umbrella forum for organizations dealing with Israeli Jewish identity, and as a board member of several social organizations. Earlier in her career she directed Hillel in Jerusalem, founded the Beit Midrash for Israeli Singers, and served on the Society and Culture committee of the Jerusalem municipality. She lectures on connecting sectors to advance shared interests, as well as on management and social entrepreneurship, and is a strategic consultant and coach for senior civic, public, and private sector leaders.
Zainab Abu Swaid – Director of the ARKAN Program for Arab Leadership
Zainab is a social and political activist who works to advance a discourse that brings people together towards a shared society. She is currently the director of minority employment at the Welfare Ministry. Previously she served as national supervisor of the civilian national service authority. She was the first woman to serve as a local council member in a Bedouin municipality in Israel. She was a candidate for Knesset on the Democratic Camp list for the September 2019 elections.
Zainab holds a master’s degree in administration and public policy and is an alumna of Shaharit’s 120 Program. She is a board member of the Darkenu movement and the Association for Joint Israeli Leadership.
She lives in the Bedouin community of Ka’abiyye-Tabbash-Hajajre. She is the mother of Dudu and Salah.
Nir Zoarez – Director of the Local Department
Nir is considered a leading expert in Israel in the field of community organizing. He has founded and advised community organizing initiatives in a number of communities across Israel, and he has led the local department at Shaharit since 2018.
After an extensive career in business, Nir decided to make a change and act for the future of his community and his children in his neighborhood of Gilo and for all of the city of Jerusalem. Nir has led numerous campaigns for change in Jerusalem, including to advance efficient public transportation and for adequate city sanitation. Originally from Netanya, Nir ran for Jerusalem city council in 2018.
Dr. Yaffa Gieser – Co-Director of Shaharit’s Religious Zionist Leadership Program
Yaffa is the daughter of Holocaust survivors and grew up in Bat Yam, a struggling city outside of Tel Aviv. She is a founder of Yesodot, promoting democratic values in the religious school system. She is also a founder of the first program for absorption of Ethiopian girls into public schools. Yaffa serves as a lecturer at the Herzog College, and serves on numerous public boards of NGOs. She has Bachelor Degrees in Biology and Chemistry, a Masters in Jewish Thought and a Doctorate in Talmudic Studies, all from the Hebrew University. She is also a graduate of the Mandel School for Educational Leadership.
Yaffa lives in Ofra, is married to Avi, the Rabbi of the community, is a mother of 4, grandmother of 10, and still counting.
Wesam Ganayem – Co-Director, Arkan Program for Arab Leadership
Wesam is active in local politics in Sakhnin and in national politics through the Islamic movement and the Ra’am party. He serves as legal and political advisor to the Ra’am party, and previously worked as parliamentary advisor to Members of Knesset Mansour Abbas and Mazen Ghnaim. He is a lawyer by profession and holds an LL.M. in Administrative and Public Law from Hebrew University. Wesam served as a member of the board of directors of the Sahknin economic corporation and as chairperson of the Arab students’ association at Hebrew University. He is the founder and chairperson of the Sakhnin youth association and its soccer club. He is also a graduate of Shaharit’s 120 Program.
Dr. Merav Nakar-Sadi – KiTov Co-Director
Merav is the Co-Director of the Center for Shared Life at Beit Berel College. She is a noted author who won the Sapir Prize for debut books in 2013 for her book OKSANA. Her second novel, SMADAR, was shortlisted for the Sapir Prize in 2018. She holds a Ph.D. in Sociology.
Surafel Almo – Community Organizer
Surafel is a Social Activist who works for the rights of the Ethiopian sector. Surafel immigrated to Israel from Ethiopia at the age of 12. He is a graduate of the AISEF Foundation for Education Program for Leadership, which aims to reduce social inequality in higher education. Lives in Haifa.
Dr. Adam Tzachi - KiTov Co-Director
Adam is a lecturer in film at the Herzog College in Gush Etzion. He holds a Ph.D. in communications, for which his dissertation focused on representations of PTSD in Israeli documentary film. He is also an author, poet, musician, screenwriter, and creator. He previously served as the spokesperson for the Gush Etzion Regional Council, and worked as an educator at the Reishit school. He is a council member of Israel’s commercial television and radio authority. A resident of Tekoa, he is married and the father of four.
Andrew Mark Bennett – Director of Resource Development
Andrew Mark Bennett leads resource development and international relations at Shaharit. He previously worked in the areas of Israel-Diaspora relations and writes on antisemitism. He is an attorney licensed in the United States with an A.B. in Economics from Vassar College and a J.D. from the University of Maryland School of Law. He lives on the Golan Heights.
Nazier Magally – Head of Research of Arab Society
Nazier Magally is a writer and journalist who lives and works in Nazareth. He served as editor-in-chief of Al-Ittihad, Israel’s only Arabic-language daily, and taught at Ben Gurion University. He presently is a columnist on matters concerning Israel for the London-based newspaper Asharq Alawsat, and frequently appears on Arab-language TV to discuss Israel and its relationship with the Arab world. He is a long-time activist in matters concerning the relations between Jews and Arabs in Israel and the region.
In 2003, together with Father Emile Shofani, he led a delegation of Arab and Jewish notables to Auschwitz.
Rabbi Ilay Ofran – Co-Director of Shaharit’s Religious Zionist Leadership Program
Racheli Ibenboim – Head of Shaharit's Haredi Program
In addition to coordinating Shaharit’s work in the Haredi community, Racheli is a senior advisor to the TELEM organization, which works to integrate the Ultraorthodox into Israel’s economy. Racheli is a social entrepreneur dedicated to improving the status of Haredi women and integrating the community into Israeli society. She is the founder and chair of Movilot, which works to empower and improve the employment prospects of college-educated Haredi women. She sits on the board of the “New Spirit” organization, and previously served as CEO of the Meir Panim welfare organization. A resident of Jerusalem, she holds a bachelors degree in communication and sociology from the Open University and an MA in the history and sociology of Israel from Haifa University.
Dr. Ofer Sitbon – Head of Program in Economics and Society
Dr. Ofer Sitbon heads the Corporations and Society Clinic in the College of Law and Business, and is a lecturer in law, society and social change. He holds a Ph.D. from Tel Aviv University’s Faculty of Law. His dissertation focused on an attempt to include corporate social responsibility considerations during the recent Company Law Reform in England. Sitbon holds a first degree (magna cum laude) in law and philosophy from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and an LLM (summa cum laude) from Tel Aviv University. He was the editor (2007-2012) of the academic journal Ma’asei Mishpat, which he co-founded.
Since January 2018 he has served as co-director, together with Prof. Dani Filc and Dr. Eilon Schwartz, of a joint research project of the Van Leer Jerusalem Institute and Shaharit entitled “Towards a Popular Classes-Based Political Economy.”
Nataly Dahary Ben-Namer – Head of the KiTov Alumni Community
Nataly was previously the head of Mabua Tel Aviv (formerly Beit Prat) and the director of partnerships at Mabua – Israeli Beit Midrash. She holds a BA in Political Science and Education from the Hebrew University, and a MA from the Melton Center for Jewish Education at Hebrew University, where she wrote a thesis on third- and fourth-generation traditional-Mizrahim Israelis’ relationships with the divine. She is married to Daniel and lives in Kfar Saba.
Almog Amzaleg - Project Manager
Born in Tekoa, she is a producer and creator. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Cultural Studies and Production. She excelled in producing the 2022 Children’s Day for the Darom Festival on behalf of Sapir College. She participated in several projects, including the Placemaking Project at the Ibim Absorption Center for Ethiopian immigrants. There, she created an art gallery featuring traditional art from the village, which is created in conjunction to the community’s needs.
She is a graduate of the “Kulna” organization Ancient Crafts program, and continues to lead workshops on the subject. Additionally, she is a graduate of the “Mabua” program; recently, she worked as a logistician and seminar producer on the topics of Judaism and community.
Ben Bornstein - Project Manager
A political and cultural sociologist, he recently completed a doctorate in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Tel Aviv University. His areas of research are political violence and conflicts, cultural diversity and Israeli society.
He previously worked at the Jerusalem Institute for Policy Studies, as well as in consulting and research for public and social institutions.
Ben is 36 years old, married to Adi and father of Daniel. Originally from Haifa, he is a devout Jerusalemite since 2010. He manages the “Challenge of Living Together” joint project of the Shaharit Institute and the Van Leer Institute.
Guy Barak – KiTov Program Manager
Guy is the head of Diversity, Partnership, and Inclusion at Beit Berl College, within the Center for Shared Living. He leads projects for cross-sector connections, including TARASA, a social-historical startup for sharing memories. He holds a BA in Education from Beit Berl College and an MA in Jewish History from Tel Aviv University. He lives in Kfar Saba. He is the partner of Sophie and the father of three.
Manal Bassel – Community Organizer
Manal sees her professional and community work as a mission and believes in the power of intercultural connections to improve the daily lives of all of us. She also works at the Tax Authority, and is a member of the “Citizens Building a Community” organization. She has volunteered with Magen David Adom for several years. She holds a BA in Behavioral Sciences. She is married to Ruslan and is mother of two lovely daughters, Elian and Solin. She lives in Lod.
Yitzhak Ben-Gad – Project Manager
Yitzhak is a real estate attorney, lecturer, and facilitator of workshops for teenagers and youth. Previously, he led a variety of projects in the nonprofit sector, including the IDF preparatory program at Yedidim. He also led and coordinated groups of soldiers and teenagers at Gesher. He did his clerkship in the Department of Legal Council and Legislative Affairs at the Justice Ministry. He holds a master’s in public administration and a bachelor’s degree in law from the Hebrew University. He is married and the father of four. He lives in Efrat.
Noa Cohen-Office Manager
Noa lives in Givataym and is the mother of two children. She came to Shaharit after more than a decade of experience as a law firm office manager.
Alison Kanefsky – Resource Development
She holds a BA in Political Science from Barnard College of Columbia University in NYC.
Previously, she interned at the Kohelet Policy Forum, worked for her state senator in New York, and interned with Ambassador Gilad Erdan at the United Nations. Her other activities include mentoring at-risk students and working with individuals with disabilities.
Alison is originally from Long Island, New York and now lives in Jerusalem.
Aliza Silvera – Head of Community and Training in the Local Department
She holds a bachelor’s degree in politics and communications from Hadassah College and is studying for a master’s degree in the conflict management and resolution program at Bar Ilan University. She supports capacity development for managing shared spaces. Previously she was director of a community mediation and conflict resolution center in Ramle, where she lives.
Ilay is the community rabbi of Kvutzat Yavne and the head of the Ruach HaSade pre-army academy. He is a psychologist. He studied at Yeshivat Maale Gilboa and the Beit Morasha beit midrash. He was ordained by the Israeli Chief Rabbinate.