Comings & Goings, Israel

Staffing changes have been announced by the Masorti Movement and JPPI:

Dr. Yizhar Hess is concluding his tenure as Director of the Masorti Movement, after being elected last week by the Zionist Congress to the position of Vice Chairperson of the World Zionist Organization. Yizhar Hess has served as the Executive Director of the Masorti Movement since 2003.

Rakefet Ginsberg has been named to succeed Hess. Ginsberg previously served as the Movement’s Deputy Director. She has extensive experience in community work, development and management of community programs and projects, and as a facilitator of processes of change in organizations and communities. She serves as Chairperson of the Counseling Center for Women, and she is a member of the Board of Directors of the Schechter Rabbinical Seminary. In recent years, she led a team of therapists and facilitators in developing community resilience and group interventions within the Community Unit at NATAL (Israel Trauma and Resiliency Center).

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Professor Yedidia Stern has been chosen as the new President and CEO of the Jewish People Policy Institute (JPPI). He will replace Avinoam Bar-Yosef who is retiring after leading the organization since its founding in 2002. The Institute, established by The Jewish Agency, is the only organization that deals with strategy and policy for the global Jewish people. Along with its team of experts, Stern will lead the JPPI’s strategic thinking and policy recommendations regarding the most pressing issues facing the Jewish people, including Jewish identity, religion and state, antisemitism, demographic trends and Aliyah opportunities.