The Wexner Foundation > Wexner Alumni > Wexner Israel Fellowship Alumni Forums

WIFP Alumni Forums

The Wexner Israel Program Alumni Forums provide a platform for members of the alumni community to further their leadership learning and public sector committment. The Forums, described below, meet on a regular basis to hear peer presentations, learn from experts on particular issues and to initiate programming for the wider alumni community.

The Women's Forum

Coordinator: Alona Lifshitz (Class VII)

The Women's Forum is the longest-lasting and largest of the alumni forums. It welcomes alumnae and spouses to meetings in Forum members' homes approximately once every six weeks. A Forum member usually presents a case study from her professional environment and leads the discussion following the presentation.

The Israel-Tfutzot Forum

Coordinator: Meron HaCohen (Class X)

The Israel-Tfutzot Forum grew out of the Foundation's past mifgashim between Israeli alumni and those of Wexner Heritage and the Wexner Graduate Fellowships. During the last year The forum met and discussed the larger context of Israel-Tfutzot relations, with various organizations including JDC, JPPPI, the Israeli Authority for National Service, Tevel b'Tsedek and Bet HaTfutzot. Through these meetings and discussions we also explored various platforms for meaningful hands-on initiatives in which we can partner with alumni of the two American programs of the Wexner Foundation and utilize our social networks and leadership to enhance common Jewish identity and connection between our wider communities.

The Law and Society Forum

Coordinator: Mike Blass (Class XIV)

This Forum was launched in 2008 with a dynamic round table discussion initiated by Coordinator Mike Blass and the newly-appointed Attorney General, Moshe Lador (Class I). The Forum emphasizes in its meetings the interaction of law and society - it's definitely not for lawyers only. Members host the forum in their own professional settings, and presentations have been held on issues of land use and the enforcement of zoning and land law(Hovav Artzi, Class XII); government policy towards Bedouin settlements (Havatselet Yahel, Class XVIII); the role of law in Operation Cast Lead (Roy Keidar, Class XIX); white collar crime (Avia Alef, Class VII) and regulation ofthe energy sector (Orit Farkash-HaCohen, Class XVIII).

The Education Forum

Coordinator: Harel Ezer (Class XV)

This was the first of the issue-based alumni forums to be established (in 2007), and was initially facilitated by Adi Nir-Sagi (Class X) through a series of meetings which focused on the forum's identification of key issues in the national policy challenge of education. Members who work in the fields of formal and informal education present to the group on their own professional contexts and initiatives. This past spring the Forum met with Ya'akov Hecht, the founder of democratic education in Israel.

Forum on Leadership in NGOs

Coordinator: Dana Savoray (Class XVII)

Leadership development in the third sector is a critical element in the evolution of Israel's public leadership. Most alumni are involved in one context or another in this third sector, either as professionals, board members, or volunteers. This forum was launched to begin an exploration of the added value that Wexner Israel alumni can bring to the sector, both as individuals and as a group. During its first year, study sessions were held with key experts in the field, including Wexner Israel alumni. Please be in touch if you are interested in joining the forum, hosting and presenting to it, or serving as co-coordinator.

Health Professions Forum

Coordinator: Nissim Ohanna (Class XVIII)

The health professional forum was launched some 3 years ago as a framework for discussing and analyzing issues related to health, particularly those on the national/ universal agenda. It welcomes Wexner alumni in all health professions and those alumni in other fields who take interest in health-care. The forum holds 4 meetings a year and its present activity includes inviting guest speakers who have key roles in the forging of health policy at the national level, followed by a round-table open discussion.