Who+Will+We+Meet?


 * Alona Abbat** is the Director General of Hop!, Israel's children's television station. In her various roles and positions, Mrs. Abbat has accrued extensive experience in all fields of television production: development, production, distribution, management, programming for various channels and concept development. Her professional achievements and unique abilities to successfully attain her objectives, while creating a balance between quality and business robustness, have contributed to Mrs. Abbat's standing and reputation as one of the most creative and esteemed figures in the Israeli television market.


 * Scott Copeland** is a licensed tour guide and informal educator specializing in the place of Israel studies in Jewish education. Scott was the education director for the Hadassah -Young Judea Youth Center on Mt. Scopus, and designed and directed the first English Language school for tour guide training under the auspices of Archaeological Seminars and the Israel Ministry of Tourism. He holds a Masters from Hebrew University's Institute of Contemporary Jewry, focusing on the Zionist idea and the history of the early settlements when Israel was Palestine. Scott is a graduate of the Mandel Jerusalem Fellows program and is currently a doctoral student at the Bar-Ilan University.


 * Dr. Howard Dietcher** is director of the Melton Centre for Jewish Education at the Hebrew University. He was formerly director of the Jerusalem Fellows Program at the Mandel Leadership Institute, a program of which he is also a graduate. Dr. Deitcher holds a doctorate in Jewish Education from Yeshiva University in New York and was ordained at the Chief Rabbinate of Montreal. Dr. Deitcher has written extensively on issues of Bible education and philosophy for children and continues to lecture on these topics around the world.

[|Rabbi Daniel Gordis] is Vice President of the Mandel Foundation Israel and Director of the Mandel Leadership Institute in Jerusalem. Prior to assuming this position, Dr. Gordis served as Director of the Mandel Jerusalem Fellows Program. Dr. Gordis was Founding Dean of the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies at the University of Judaism in Los Angeles. He also held the positions of Vice-President for Public Affairs and Community Outreach and Assistant Professor of Philosophy. Dr. Gordis writes extensively about American Judaism and Israeli society, and is the author of, among other books, //God Was Not in the Fire//, //Does the World Need the Jews//, and his most recent book on the demise of the mid-east peace process, //If a Place Can Make You Cry//. A new version of the last book, //Home To Stay//, was published in October 2003.


 * Dr. Eli Gottlieb** holds degrees in Philosophy and Educational Psychology from Cambridge University and a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology from the Hebrew University. Before becoming Director of the Mandel Jerusalem Fellows, Dr. Gottlieb served for three years as a visiting professor in Cognitive Studies in Education at the University of Washington. His research examines the relations between cognition, culture, and identity, and how the development of each is mediated by educational practices. These academic interests have their roots in Eli's practical experience as an educator in various programs of informal Jewish education in Israel and the Diaspora.


 * Malka Haas** came to the Kibbutz Sde Eliyahu in its early years and established its first //gan//. Besides her work in the //ganim//, she has taught all over Israel and for many years was part of the faculty of Oranim Teachers’ College. Malka is best known for her work on the “junkyards” that have become a hallmark of //kibbutz// early childhood programs. She has also studied children’s art and written about Jewish identity formation in early childhood. Throughout her career, Malka has observed children in their interactions with the many facets of their environment as well as their interactions with materials. Her educational philosophy is based on these observations and her understanding of children's needs and how to best meet them.


 * Rachel Keren** is an active member of Kole__h__, which is a forum of religious feminist women in Israel and is involved in leading forums of education and social issues. She served as the head of the Midrashah at Kibbutz Ein Hanatziv for five years and now serves as a senior lecturer and a representative of the Midrashah. Rachel has a BA and an MA from Hebrew University in Jewish Philosophy and History and is a graduate of the School for Educational Leadership of the Mandel Foundation in Jerusalem. She was born in Jerusalem and is married to Gedalia. They have three children.


 * Yael Bar Lev** holds a B.A in Biology and an M.A in Computers and Communication in Education. Ms. Bar-Lev is co-director of the project for the Development of Vision in Jewish Education. She worked as content consultant for the Hop! Channel. Her areas of expertise include the development and application of innovative pedagogies in active learning environments, the development and application of training programs for teachers and content management of television projects for children. She is also a graduate of the Mandel School for Educational Leadership.


 * Dr. Daniel Marom** is co-editor of //Visions of Jewish Education// (Cambridge University Press: 2003) and director of the Visions of Jewish Education Project at the Mandel Foundation in Israel. He is a faculty member at the Mandel Leadership Institute, where he has developed a tutoring program for educational leaders. He has published articles in the history and philosophy of Jewish and Zionist education in Israel and America.


 * Esther Mor** is a third generation Jerusalemite. Her parents were from the Yemen and Syria. She has been working in the field of arts education in early childhood for the last thirty years. She is currently the director of one of the two MILO programs in Jerusalem (Arts enrichment) and a //madricha// for young children at the Israel Museum. Esther has done a great deal of work with parents and children together. She is also a professional story teller.


 * Nachama Skolnik Moskowitz** (BA, George Washington University; MAHE, Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion) is the Senior Director, as well as the Director of Curriculum Resources at the Jewish Education Center of Cleveland. She has been a day school principal, congregational school director and camp educator. Nachama is the author of numerous teacher resources including, //The Ultimate Jewish Teacher// Handbook, (2003) and student materials (//A Bridge to Our Tradition: Pirkei Avot,// 2001) She is nationally known and respected for her curricular work and is a popular workshop presenter. The mom of 3 previous preschoolers (now 17, 21 & 23), she’s thrilled to be going to Israel with the Early Childhood Directors of Cleveland!


 * Lifsa Schachter** is Professor of Jewish Education, Director of the Moreshet Program for training Hebrew teachers in supplementary schools and early childhood centers and Director of Professional Development at the Siegal College of Judaic Studies. She is a graduate of Bet Midrash L'Morot in New York City, earned a MS in Education from Bank Street College. She has taught in general and Jewish settings and went on to co-develop and teach a series of courses for early childhood educators at Spertus College in Chicago and at the Melton Center in Jerusalem. She earned her doctorate in Jewish Education from The Jewish Theological Seminary of America. She has pioneered the adaptation to Hebrew of 'Total Physical Response' an innovative approach to teaching foreign languages, especially in the early childhood years. Recent publications include "Differentiated Instruction: Why Its Time is Now" which will be published in Jewish Educational Leadership in November and "What We Know About Hebrew Language Instruction," co written with Dr. Adina Ofek and to be published in //What We Know About Jewish Education//, edited by Roberta Goodman and others. Lifsa Schachter is married to Rabbi Stanley J. Schachter. They have four children and 12 grandchildren. All but one daughter live in Israel.


 * Anat Sharvit** has been the Director of Partnership 2000 since 2003, and previously served in the position of Assistant Director since 1997. She has a senior teaching degree and is currently completing her Bachelors degree in Social and Human Science. Anat participated in many courses through the Jewish Agency such as leading projects in the community and management training. Anat was a pioneer on her Moshav, and was a board member of leading the development and change process on the Moshav. During the past two years Anat led the Partnership into a new period, which included a change in the organizational structure and bringing lay leaders into the decision process. In addition, the Partnership now has three main focuses which include education, community building and people to people connections. Anat believes in strengthening the local community while being committed to regional cooperation. She also thinks that it is our collective responsibility to create real partnerships between Israel and overseas communities – partnerships designed to strengthen one another and the Jewish people as a whole.


 * Zvia Shelly** began working as the youth coordinator at Partnership 2000 in 1999. She has a B.A. in Middle Eastern Studies and completed a training program on culture differences at Charles Bronffman and is currently studying for her M.B.A.. In previous positions, Zvia served as a tour guide abroad and worked as a director of youth programs in Israel. Zvia has many years of experience in training, coordinating and planning missions. In addition, Zvia has led many missions of youth and adults to Cleveland.


 * Shira Ackerman Simchovitch** grew up in Los Angeles and made //aliyah// with her family in 1970. She graduated from the EC track of the David Yellin Teachers College in Jerusalem in 1974 and began teaching young children in a local school. When she began to have her own children, she moved out of the classroom and began working with teachers and developing materials. For a number of years she was a staff person at Israel's first teacher's center. Later, she moved to the Melton Centre for Jewish Education in the Diaspora where she was part of a team developing and writing curriculum on Israel for schools in the Diaspora. After six years at Melton, Simchovitch spent a year at Yad Vashem helping to set up a teacher's resource center for Holocaust education. From there she returned to her first love - early childhood - and became the director of the flagship school of the Movement for Progressive Judaism in Israel. In 1993, she was accepted to the Mandel Jerusalem Fellows Program. After two years, Simchovitch took her current position as the Director of Early Childhood Services at the Department for Jewish Zionist Education at the Jewish Agency for Israel. She also teaches and consults here in Israel.


 * Muki Tzur** was born in Jerusalem in 1938. As a diplomat's son, he lived with his parents in Argentina, Uruguay and later France. He served in the //kibbutz// Youth Brigade (//na__h__al//) and since 1956 has been a //kibbutz// member in Ein Gev situated on the shores of the Kinneret. He studied Jewish Philosophy and mysticism at the Hebrew University and researched the early Zionist movement in Israel. Muki served as the secretary of the //kibbutz// movement for 7 years. He is renowned as one of the //kibbutz// movement’s most prominent thinkers __and__ for his storytelling abilities, weaving history and folklore in a magical and enduring way. [Adapted from:http://www.ameinu.net/action/eventsdetails.php?eventid=126]