New Appointments at the National Institutions

Following our success in World Zionist Congress elections last year and the recently signed coalition agreement, we are proud to announce that six dedicated long-time MERCAZ Olami team members will now hold key positions at the World Zionist Organization (WZO) and Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael (KKL-JNF). These appointments ensure our values of pluralism,
democracy and equality will be well-represented at the heart of the Zionist movement and its institutions. We congratulate our colleagues who will be serving the Jewish people in these vital roles:

• Dr. Yizhar Hess - Vice Chairman of the WZO and senior representative of MERCAZ Olami at the national institutions
• Rabbi Mauricio Balter - Executive Director of MERCAZ Olami and Member of the WZO Executive
• Ms. Tammy Gottlieb - Executive Director of Marom and Member of the WZO Executive
• Dr. Gadi Perl - Chairman of the KKL Finance Committee
• Adv. Sharon Banyan - Member of the KKL Board

A historic appointment at KKL-JNF: Eyal Ostrinsky as KKL Chair! 

We want to extend a special and warm congratulations to Mr. Eyal Ostrinsky on his election as the youngest-ever Chairman of KKL-JNF. For the last five years, Eyal served as Chief of Staff for Dr. Yizhar Hess, where he was instrumental in securing major achievements for the Masorti/Conservative movement. Eyal, who is an appointee of the entire pluralistic-liberal bloc, brings to his new role a deep connection with and understanding of our movement and we are confident he will serve the entire Jewish people with the utmost dedication and integrity.

Delivering on our promises

With these terrific leaders in place, we are confident that our achievements in the recent coalition agreement negotiations will come to fruition, including:

• Rebuilding Israel: Leading a massive effort (in the hundreds of millions of NIS) to help communities in Israel’s north and south recover, rebuild and prosper
• Jewish Education and Combating Antisemitism: Investing in new programs to fight antisemitism and strengthen Israel education in our communities and on campuses
• Movement Growth: Ensuring we deliver on the promised increase in funding for Masorti/Conservative programming and institutions
• Good Governance: Ensuring KKL-JNF is managed professionally and stays free from corruption and improper political influence.

This is a proud moment for MERCAZ and we are so grateful to all of you who worked and voted to help make this happen. We look forward to seeing our Conservative/Masorti Zionist values put into action through the work of these six remarkable individuals in the years to come.