“120” Program Cohort II: 2015/16 Avigdor Rabinowitz Age 24, born in Ofakim but lives in Jerusalem. He studied at Or Elhanan yeshiva and founded the “Rec Room on the Roof”—a place for disenchanted Haredi teens to hang out. He runs the Jobs for Haredim program which brings the job market to the Haredi sector through social networks. Avigdor completed a course for social entrepreneurs run by the 8200 Society and he is a member of the administration of Aguda Ahat—which promotes social responsibility among Haredim. He is currently studying political science at the Open University. Ahmad Muhana Age 27 and a lawyer from Umm al-Fahm. He has been MK Ahmed Tibi’s parliamentary aide for the past five years. Ahmed was elected a member of the Ta’al Party’s central committee and serves as a member of its secretariat; he also founded the party’s youth council. He espouses and works for full national and civic equality for Palestinian Israelis and for the democratic rights of all citizens. Ahmed is a member of the committee campaigning against discrimination on the basis of national/civil service and of the education committee on the Monitoring Committee. He is the founder and co-director of Amanina, which helps ill and needy Arabs from Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza. Previously, he was an instructor and teaching assistant for education and law courses at the University of Haifa and Tel Hai College and a researcher at Dirasat—the Arab Center for Law and Policy. Alon Mizrahi Alon is 41; he is originally from Yokneam but currently lives in the Sharon region. He publishes his columns on various platforms and works in writing copy for marketing. He boxed as a hobby and even competed several times. Alon loves the free and unmediated dialogue that social networks permit. His book A Guide to Freedom: How to Free Israeli Cultural Consciousness from the Restrictive European Exile , which talks about breaking down and rebuilding Israel’s political conventions, will be published soon thanks to help from a successful crowdfunding campaign. He is a graduate of the English Language and Literature Department at the University of Haifa. Estee Rieder-Indursky Age 42.5 from Ramat Gan. She is the mother of Yisrael Natan who is a yeshiva student. She was a leader of the “Lo Nivharot, Lo Boharot [No Voice, No Vote]” campaign to include Haredi women on electoral slates and a Shaharit Fellow. “I am committed to breaking the silence and making the voices of Haredi women—myself included—heard. This is a unique, female, Haredi voice that must be clear, intelligible, and coherent. I believe in equality and tolerance and work to prevent injustice, expose unfair practices, and prevent silencing others. I want to effect change in the Haredi political system and include women in it, to empower Haredi women and push them towards social and political action, to see women serve in politics and various centers of power in adequate numbers, to promote conversation between diverse groups in Israeli society, to create a sustainable and thriving future, and to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.” Estee holds a master’s degree in government from the IDC Herzliya and is a doctoral student in the gender studies program at Tel Aviv University. Arthur Shani Age 27, born in Tashkent and a Tel Aviv resident who made aliya in the big wave of immigrants from the former Soviet Union in the 1990s. He is a parliamentary aid and spokesperson for MK Ksenia Svetlova (Zionist Union), and has been active for many years with youth at risk and marginalized groups. He volunteers as head of the control committee for the Aguda—The Israeli National LGBT Task Force; in addition, he is a civil, real-estate, and personal-status lawyer who volunteers as the lead of the community advocacy division of Schar Mitzva (the Israel Bar Association’s pro bono program). He holds a BA in government, diplomacy, and strategy and an LL.B., both from IDC Herzliya, and is currently studying for a master’s degree in democracy and globalization studies. Asher Fentahun Seyoum Immigrated to Israel from Ethiopia in 1984 at age 13 during Operation Moses. He ran for the 20 th Knesset on the Kulanu list. In recent years, Asher has been the Jewish Agency representative in Ethiopia (with the rank of consul). As part of his job, he was responsible for implementing the government decision to bring the children of Ethiopia’s Jews to Israel; this included preparing and sending off more than 7,000 olim . He previously served as the education director and vice principal of a boarding school at the Ben Yakir youth village, director of a center for Ethiopian olim in Safed, director of the Beit Canada absorption center in Ashdod, and director of the South and Jerusalem Districts of the Jewish Agency’s Immigration and Absorption Department. He holds a BA in education from Wingate College and a master’s in migration and social integration from the Ruppin Academic Center. Asher also completed the Jewish Agency’s cadets’ course. Efrat Shani Shitrit Age 42 and mother of Ben. She was born and raised in Maalot-Tarshiha and now lives in Shoham. She works in a communications company as a data systems analyst and proram developer. Efrat is a member of the secretariat of Tikkun and a member of the movement’s steering committee on its direction and media activities. She is a member of the board of directors of the Mizrahi Democratic Rainbow and a member of the Shas citizens’ advisory council, which discusses Mizrahi social and status issues including the fair allocation of resources and equality of land distribution, public housing, education, culture, and public representation. She is a freelance writer for Makor Rishon and writes opinion columns on social issues for a variety of news sites including Ynet , Haaretz , Kipa , Haokets , and NRG , and she writes a regular post as part of the 929 Tanakh Together project. Liat Malka Age 43 from Zikhron Yaakov. “I began my public-sector work in informal education as accountant and deputy director of the local community center and accountant for the Zikhron Yaakov Economic Corporation. In recent years, I was an advisor to former minister Eli Yishai on education, and I currently work in the Atid school network to develop and promote socially conscious employment initiatives in the Haredi sector.” She is a social activist (out of a belief that this is how we can make a difference), a member of the Zikron Yaakov religious council, and an active member of Noar KaHalakha (headed by Yoav Laloum) which works to end racism. She is working to develop curricula for teachers’ colleges, promote partnerships between the third sector and the Education Ministry (especially in technological education), and establish a vocational training center for Haredi teenagers and adults. Tal Ohana Age 31 from Yeroham and the interim and deputy head of the town council. She was elected to her first term in 2010 and to her second term in 2014. Tal holds the education and strategic development portfolios; she started and ran the Alfonso Sabah movement for Zionist education and encouraging aliyah from Morocco. Moshe Prigan Moshe is 31 and married with two children. He lives in Bnei Brak and studied at Haredi yeshivot and kollels . Alongside his Torah study, he mentored disaffected Haredi teenagers. After his yeshiva studies, he enlisted in the IDF where, among his other jobs, he worked on Jewish-Israeli awareness and education, established a track for Haredim in the Air Force (which combines technological studies and general remedial education), and then headed the unit to integrate Haredim into the Air Force. He is a social activist who promotes employment and vocational education in the Haredi community, leads encounters between various groups in Israeli society, and gives media interviews on a variety of subjects: employment, education and military enlistment for Haredim. He was recently selected as one of the 10 people most influential on the new strain of Haredim. He is currently studying social sciences and government administration at the college of administration in Petah Tikva. Mahmood Alamoor Age 44 from Rahat; married with five children. For the past five years, he has run the Rian employment centers in the south. Previously he ran the department of informal education and the local authority to combat drug use in the Rahat municipality; he was also a high school teacher. Mahmood completed a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and a master’s degree in public administration and policy at Ben-Gurion University. Kobi (Yaakov) Kisos Age 34, studying for a second bachelor’s degree in law. He is an educator—a civics teacher and, until last year, also a homeroom teacher. In his free time, he is a political animal: head of the Mizrahi group in the Labor Party and a member of the Party’s secretariat and education committee, an active member of the Knesset caucus on distributive justice, and a Mizrahi activist at heart. Neta Katz Age 29; married to Heny and father of Itzik, Dudy, and Yael. He is the director of Shahar, an organization that develops connections between Haredim and Israeli society with an emphasis on tailored forms of military service. He and his wife own a chain of children’s clothing stores for Haredim. He graduated ACC College for Advertising and previously worked as an advisor to Haredi organizations and businesses. He is a social activist and is involved in many initiatives of Haredi renewal; he is active in social integration while maintaining the unique nature of Israel’s Haredi sector.