Alumni in Action

About the JSC Alumni Community

The Identity and Public Policy Program is only the first step on the path of JSC graduates. After an intense year spent elucidating the fundamental issues facing Israeli society, graduates join the ranks of the growing JSC community, participating in alumni activities and making use of the professional tools offered by the JSC.

We endeavor to see our graduates as key players and initiators in the public sphere, be it in the media, research and academia, politics, government ministerial work, or the third sector. To this end, the JSC operates on a communal and individual level.

On a communal level, the JSC hosts special events for graduates, including lectures and discussions in various fields, as well as tours where graduates get to meet leading figures in Israeli society and become acquainted with successful social or public projects that can serve as a model for them to replicate. The group cohesiveness and sense of camaraderie that these events foster are just as important as the learning process itself, as is the graduates' sense that they have a home base to return to and a network of peers with whom they can operate synergistically in their respective positions.

On an individual level, the JSC assists graduates in finding their place in the public service, and connects them with public figures that are looking for talented young professionals committed to making a difference. Additionally, the JSC offers a variety of skill-building workshops and training such as working with the media, rhetoric, CV writing and job interviewing, and foreign language workshops, with more workshops in the pipeline. Much effort is invested in individual mentoring of graduates on their particular professional paths, and in developing graduates' initiatives that we believe have the potential to succeed.

We believe that building and developing the JSC community, alongside individualized personal mentoring of each graduate based on his or her needs and professional aspirations, is the formula to best realize the JSC's vision and enhance the public and intellectual spheres in Israel.

Where are our graduates?

Hadas Aharon

Israeli Deputy Chief of Mission to the Philippines. A graduate of the Foreign Ministry’s Cadet Course, she holds a BA in psychology, sociology and anthropology from Ben Gurion University.

Ran Bar-Yoshafat

Deputy Director of the Kohelet Policy Forum and project manager at the Israeli Jewish Congress. A lawyer by training, he has interned in the Knesset's legal department. He is active with the Jewish Agency and several Israeli advocacy organizations. He holds an LLB from the Hebrew University and an MBA from Tel Aviv University.

Akiva Bigman

Investigative journalist currently serving as associate editor of Mida, an Israeli liberal-conservative news and commentary website. Previously he worked as a legal journalist for the Israeli daily Makor Rishon. He holds an MA in Jewish history from Bar Ilan University.

Matan Billig

Heads the international companies unit of the Ministry of Finance’s International Affairs Department. He holds a BA in economics and political science and an MBA; Maj. (Res.), paratroopers division.

Gil Bringer

Administrator of the Ministerial Committee for Legislation and senior assistant at the office of the Minister of Justice. Director of the Berliner Legislative Clinic at Ono Academic College. He holds an LLM from the Hebrew University.

Dr. Gal Hadari

Holds a PhD in political science, is a researcher and lecturer at Haifa University. Former research fellow at the JSC and councilmember of Kiryat Bialik (2008-2013).

Sara Haetzni-Cohen

Head of the My Israel movement for Zionist activism and hasbara. Former educational director of the World Betar Movement. She holds a BA in business management and media studies and an MA in public policy from the Hebrew University.

Sharren Haskel

Member of Knesset, Likud Party.

Dan Illouz

Strategic advisor to several Israeli hi-tech initiatives and Founding Director of the hasbarah initiative Global Action for Israel. Previously he was a research fellow at the Kohelet Policy Forum and has served as legal advisor to the International Treaties Department of the Foreign Ministry and as parliamentary assistant to former coalition chairman, Yariv Levin. He holds an LLB from McGill University and an MA in public policy from the Hebrew University.

Ziv Ivgy

Deputy squadron commander in the Israeli Air Force, currently pursuing a BA in business administration and finance at the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya.

Hana Kidron

Cadet in the Civil Service Cadet Program of the Civil Service Commission. Previously she interned with the Ministry of Religious Services and presently works as strategic advisor at the Ministry of Education. She holds an LLB and MA in public policy, both from the Hebrew University.

Dr. Eithan Orkibi

Lecturer in cultural studies and rhetoric at Tel Aviv University and Bar Ilan University, and is a tenured lecturer at Ariel University's sociology and anthropology department.

Amichai Rachamim

Served as a captain in the Israeli navy for over sixteen years, currently deputy commander of the naval base in Eilat. He holds a BA in industrial engineering and an MA in management from Ariel University.

Yishay Rivlin

Economist at the Antitrust Authority, holds an LLB and MBA from the Hebrew University. Previously he interned with Professor Eugene Kandel at the National Economic Council of the Prime Minister's Office. He served as deputy editor of the legal journal Mishpatim and as research assistant in corporate law and philosophy of law.

Lital Shemesh

Journalist for the Israel Hayom daily. Previously she was chief editor of Yedioth Ahronoth's magazines for children and municipal reporter for Channel 1.

Amichai Shikli

Founding director of the Tavor Pre-Military Academy for Social Leadership in Nazareth Illit. He holds a BA in Middle Eastern studies from Haifa University and an MA in diplomacy and security from Tel Aviv University.

Moti Taubin

Head of the Strategic Affairs Department at the Ministry of Education. Former Deputy Director of the JSC. He holds a BA in Jewish Studies and teaching diploma in Scripture from the Hebrew University, and an MA in Public Policy from Tel Aviv University. Previously he established and headed the pre-military academy Melach Ha’Aretz in Ein Gedi and spearheaded the Avoda Ivrit Ba’Arava project.

Uzi Tzuker

Founding Director of the Regavim network of agricultural high schools in the Golan and Beit She'an.

Orly Yugir

Founding Director of the Israeli Immigration Policy Center, the only professional organization advancing policy that balances Israel's interests as a Jewish and democratic state with the human rights of illegal immigrants and asylum seekers. She holds a BA in criminology and political science from Bar Ilan University and is currently studying law at Ono Academic College.

Zechariah Ziegelman

Head of the energy department at the Government Companies Authority in the Ministry of Finance. He holds a triple-major BA in philosophy, economics and political science and an MBA, both from the Hebrew University.