Yuli Dar (Cohort: 2016-17)
Yuli has a Masters of Clinical Psychology. She is currently working with children, adolescents and parents both in a high school and private practice setting. Yuli is very interested in mindfulness and the benefits it can have on people's wellbeing. Yuli was in Habonim Dror throughout her childhood and became a leader as well as attending the Habonim Shnat program. Yuli feels passionate about supporting causes that create a more just and inclusive society. Her family background is Israeli and hence she feels that both Israel and Australia are a great place to support these causes.
Amy Dascal (Cohort: 2017-18)
Born and raised in Melbourne, Amy has a Bachelor of Arts with majors in International Relations and Middle East Studies and a Bachelor of Commerce with a major in Human Resource Management. For several years, Amy has been actively involved with volunteering at her synagogue, Temple Beth Israel, where she has taken of numerous leadership roles including heading up the Young TBI group.
Ely Elsass (Cohort: 2015-16)
Elysheva currently works in strategic marketing at Creative Victoria. She was formerly at the Jewish Museum of Australia and completed the New Israel Fund’s inaugural Naomi Chazan Fellowship program in 2015. She holds a Bachelor of Design (Hons) from RMIT University and a Bachelor of Arts (Psychology) from Monash University.
Jeremy Etkind (Cohort: 2015-16)
Jeremy graduated from Arts/Law at UNSW with first class honours in law and with a major in philosophy in the arts component. Jeremy worked in commercial law for two years and then transitioned to the Australian Human Rights Commission where he worked on the Review into the Treatment of Women in the ADF for two years. He has also worked on the Defence Abuse Response Taskforce in the Attorney General's Department and worked as a lawyer for Central Australian Aboriginal Legal Aid Service Inc in the Northern Territory. Since April 2017 he has been working at Legal Aid NSW in the children’s legal service.
Adam Grodeck (Cohort: 2016-17)
Adam lives in Melbourne. He completed his schooling at Mount Scopus College and spent his gap year program in Israel with the Hashomer Hatzair. He has a Bachelor of Science at Melbourne University. In addition, he volunteer as a facilitator for If Not Now, a social justice program for year 10 Jewish students.
Tamar Hoffman (Cohort: 2019-20)
Tamar is a high school teacher who is committed to teaching social responsibility to her students. She has a passion for drama and it's ability to bring people together.Spending much of her time working and volunteering in the Jewish community, she holds a high regard for our responsibility as Jews to commit to furthering equity and equality among all people.
Graham Kaplan (Cohort: 2017-18)
Graham lives in Sydney, is the father to two beautiful girls, and works in finance. His interests include football, surfing and politics. His early interest in Israel was formed during school years at Moriah College and later at the Maccabiah Games. His more recent ideals have been shaped by the modern Israeli historians like Benny Morris as well as Noam Chomsky, Glenn Greenwald and Gideon Levy.
Liat Kedem (Cohort: 2018-19)
Originally from Adelaide, Liat has worked, lived, choreographed, performed and taught contemporary dance works in different parts of the world; Israel, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, France, Belgium, London and Australia. She has had the opportunity to be a leader in different cultural and socio-economic climates and has developed a strong advocacy for social justice and human rights. Liat is completing her studies in Law and International Relations at Monash University. She seeks to develop a deeper understanding of Israel and through her studies and background in the Arts, aims to make issues that she believes in more accessible to a wider community.
Dana Klas (Cohort: 2016-17)
Dana was born and raised in Melbourne, her Jewish and Zionist identity developed through family and her involvement in the Betar Youth Movement. Her first trip to Israel in 2004 on the Betar Shnat program was where she truly fell in love with the country and the vibrant people that fill it. Since then she has returned to Israel many times, including hiking the country's stunning landscapes of the National Trail, navigating 1000 kilometres from north to south. Dana works in Melbourne as an osteopath and in her spare time enjoys practising circus skills, studying Japanese and perfecting the art of baking sourdough bread.
Avi Knoll (Cohort: 2015-16)
Avi is a scientist and a builder of things who dreams of a world where we can live forever in peace. After visiting at least briefly all of the Jewish youth movements in Sydney, Avi settled into Netzer for many years growing up, spending a year in Israel with the movement after high school and several years as a madrich. Avi's hobbies include travelling, reading, martial arts, playing too many computer games, and drinking tea. Lots, and lots of tea. He also keeps busy with the slow process of trying to learn languages as an adult, and can probably teach you how to swear or find the toilet in Japan.
Adam Liskowski (Cohort: 2019-20)
Adam has been involved in the Sydney Jewish community in some capacity most of his life. As a former madrich at Habonim Dror (a socialist-zionist and secular humanist Jewish youth movement), he is very passionate about social issues in Israel and education on Jewish values. He has lived in Israel briefly on two occasions, on a 10-month Habonim Dror Shnat Program in 2015 and during an exchange semester at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem in 2018. He has studied Hebrew and Arabic to an advanced level and is currently completing a Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of International and Global Studies (Middle East Major). He volunteers at an Asylum Seekers Centre in Sydney once a week.
Raphael Mengem (Cohort: 2019-20)
Raphael is a Policy and Business Analyst based in Melbourne. Since 2016, Raphael has been engaged in a range of special interest community and political campaigns. He has worked on successful campaigns in both State and Federal elections, taking on roles that focus on Community Organising and Public Relations. This experience has helped Raphael develop working relationships within the Labour movement and with various government departments. Raphael holds a Bachelor of Arts with a double major in International Relations and Peace Conflict Studies from the University of Queensland. Previously Raphael directed a leadership program training emerging political leaders in grassroots capacity building, political strategy, communications and media engagement.
Lanna Newman Plant (Cohort: 2015-16)
As a past student of the Emanuel School, Lanna returned in a leadership role creating and running Jewish Life programs and mentoring high school student leaders. She is a member of the Habonim Dror alumni, having attended the year-long shnat Jewish leadership program in Israel in 2011 and serving as a madricha from 2012-2014. During this time Lanna was also the Mazkira (secretary) of Habonim Dror Sydney, and the Chairperson of the Zionist Youth Council.
Deb Neumann (Cohort: 2016-17)
Deb was brought up in Melbourne in a vibrant Jewish household, developing an appreciation for community and social justice through her family and Jewish education. Deb has been active in several Jewish community organisations, including the youth movement Hineni, Stand Up, Bialik College, Shira Hadasha Synagogue and was a resident in the Melbourne Moishe House. Her strong connection to Israel and love of languages led her to study Hebrew Literature at university, including a semester abroad in Tel Aviv. Passionate about education and its power to bring about change, Deb is a secondary school English as a Second Language (ESL) teacher and is currently completing her teaching Masters. When she’s not studying or teaching, Deb enjoys playing music, gardening and crocheting beanies.
Eli Oshorov (Cohort: 2015-16)
For five years Eli ran his own business in the Philippines and travelled extensively around Asia during that time. Having also previously lived in both the UK and Israel for extended periods, he brings a broad breadth of experiences to the New Israel Fund. Eli also has considerable academic knowledge with a Masters in International Relations and internships at both the Lowy Institute and the Jerusalem Post. He has broad interests including Foreign Policy, Development Economics, Social Justice and Human Rights issues.
Rachael Anne (Cohort: 2019-20)
Rachael is a senior lawyer at the Central Australian Women’s Legal Service (CAWLS) and is responsible for delivering legal advice to women at health services in Central Australia. Rachael began practicing law in 2008 in NSW. Prior to moving to Alice Springs in January 2017, Rachael worked at knowmore legal service which was set up alongside the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse to assist victims of abuse, the Refugee Advice and Casework Service and at the corporate law firm, Herbert Smith Freehills. Rachael is strongly committed to improving social justice and equality through advocacy.
Patrick Prunster (Cohort: 2018-19)
Patrick was born and raised in Perth, WA and relocated to Melbourne in search of a new adventure. He completed a Bachelor of Nursing in 2011 and a Graduate Certificate in Palliative Care in July 2017 with a focus on paediatrics. Currently employed as a paediatric nurse at the Royal Children’s Hospital, Patrick also supports the music program at Temple Beth Israel, St Kilda with his piano and singing prayer-leading skills. He volunteers with the Melbourne Progressive Chevre Kadisha, as well as sitting on the committee of NextDor, a TBI social group for young Jews in their 20s and 30s.
Bracha Raphael (Cohort: 2017-18)
Born and raised in Melbourne, Australia, Bracha is inclined towards activism in many areas of her life. She is a union representative in her workplace and an anti-racism organiser within her community. Bracha is keenly interested in interfaith and intercultural dialogue, and is currently completing a Bachelor of Arts in English literature and French language.
Rebecca Sharp (Cohort: 2017-18)
Rebecca was born and raised in the Melbourne Jewish community. She studied at Bialik College and has a Bachelor of Social Science (Youth Work) from RMIT. She has been involved in the Youth Movement Hashomer Hatzair from the age of 13. She participated in their Shnat program and was Hashomer Hatzair's Madricha.
Sara Sterling (Cohort: 2018-19)
Sara lives in Melbourne and is passionate about her local community. She holds a Bachelor of Arts and a Masters of Social Policy. She has 10 years working for the not for profit sector in volunteer management and early childhood education. Her passion for the sector, and commitment to social justice stems from her days as a Hashy leader. While not working Sara enjoys going to films and taking advantage of Melbourne's coffee culture.
Chloe Stimar (Cohort: 2017-18)
From Melbourne, Chloe completed a Bachelor of Arts at Monash University in 2016 with a double major in History and Jewish Studies. She is currently pursuing postgraduate study with a Masters of Teaching at Monash University. She has a passion for education and loves learning new things. She also enjoys travelling and has developed a love for seeing and experiencing new things.
Chantal Tanner (Cohort: 2015-16)
Chantal has been involved with social justice related work within the Jewish community. In 2005, she completed the Netzer Shnat program. She has also had extensive involvement in Stand Up's Indigenous Partnership Programs.Chantal has worked for Amnesty International Australia, the Southern African Litigation Centre in Johannesburg, the Northern Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency in Darwin & as national liaison officer for Anti-Poverty Week Australia. Chantal currently lives in Israel. In 2017 she served as Foreign Law Clerk to Justice Barak-Erez in the Supreme Court of Israel. She now works as a Junior Legal Associate at a Tel Aviv based anti-fraud technology start-up, Riskified.
Ariel Turkia (Cohort: 2019-20)
Ariel has worked in education and Jewish education for the better part of his adult life. He has inadvertently been working in the Jewish community for many years from Hineni to BJE (Board of Jewish Education) to CSG (Community Security Group) and is now teaching in Masada College. He loves reading and teaching about history and leadership and has done martial arts for years. Recently he has become addicted to jujitsu. He is also a big fan of hiking and being outdoors.
Elias Visontay (Cohort: 2019-20)
Elias is a Sydney-based journalist at The Australian newspaper. He has a Bachelor of User Interaction Design from the University of Sydney, where he also studied Modern Hebrew and Arabic. At university he was president of AUJS in NSW in 2016, and was a Susan Wakil Fellow in 2017. In 2018 he co-founded the national student publication Et Cetera, where he was an editor and writer. He is an avid football fan and public transport enthusiast.
Jared Wilk (Cohort: 2019-20)
Jared has a longstanding interest in the protection and promotion of human rights in Australia and around the world. He has been immersed in the Sydney Jewish Community throughout his life, attending Moriah College and then interning at the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies. He has a Bachelor of International and Global Studies and is in the latter stages of completing his Law degree from The University of Sydney. He has worked or volunteered for a range of organisations in the social justice sector, including the NSW Council for Civil Liberties, Cancer Council NSW, the Sydney Institute for Criminology and Redfern Legal Centre.
Tahj Rosmarin (Cohort: 2022-23)
Tahj is an Australian architect who has practised in Australia, India and the Netherlands. He has worked on a variety of residential, educational and master planning projects for universities, schools and not-for-profit organisations. While working in India, he was part of a team led by Pritzker Prize winning Indian architect BV Doshi, in completing a plan for Auroville: an experimental city in South India. He has also written a number of articles for the publications including the Conversation and Architecture AU. He is interested in the role architecture plays in shaping democracy, enabling access to human rights and facilitating expression of identity in Israel-Palestine.
Sione Pemberton (Cohort: 2022-23)
Sioné is a Melbourne-based lawyer. In 2015 Sione lived and worked in Israel providing legal assistance to refugees. This experience led to her writing an award winning thesis on the illegal deportation of people seeking asylum from Israel to Uganda and Rwanda. She has also worked with Asylum Access in Malaysia and UNHCR in Australia. Sioné seeks to deepen her understanding of the many complex issues afflicting Israel as someone who does not identify as Jewish or Palestinian. She hopes to use her skills and experience in human rights law to more critically contemplate these issues.
Jordan Werner-Hall (Cohort: 2022-23)
Jordan is incredibly passionate about all things Jewish community. From a young age he has been involved with Netzer and the Progressive movement in Australia, and this has instilled a passion for developing Jewish leadership and building vibrant Jewish communities that meet the diverse needs of our present. Jordan spends part of his time on the organising team with Ayelet HaShachar, a cultural community in Sydney. He currently works in the disability sector, a space that he deeply enjoys and learns from.
Maddy Blay (Cohort: 2022-23)
Maddy has been involved in left-wing organisations in the Jewish community, as federal merakezet (coordinator) of Hashomer Hatzair Australia (2017-19) and as a community organiser. She holds a Bachelor of Arts and Diploma in Languages from the University of Melbourne. Maddy also has experience working in communications for campaigns and with the Victorian Greens, and is the current communications manager for the New Israel Fund Australia.
