About the Mandel Center for Leadership in the North
The Mandel Center for Leadership in the North aims to identify potential leaders and enhance their ability to think and act in a diverse society, in a way that will benefit all communities while being sensitive to their different needs. This approach can serve as a model for Israeli society as a whole.
The Center focuses on leaders and potential leaders from all communities and population groups, who hold senior positions in varied professional fields in the public, nonprofit and business sectors, and who have the passion to promote a tolerant and just society and to improve the quality of life in the region.
At the core of the Center’s activities are two programs for the development of social leadership – one in a full-time format and the other an in-service program – that view diversity as an asset rather than an obstacle. A third program empowers senior civil servants to find new and lasting solutions for the North, and to increase the equity of public services.
The Center’s programs create a space for study and action in which fellows deepen their ability to analyze challenges from wide historical and contemporary perspectives, weigh moral and ethical considerations, and plan and develop comprehensive responses to improve life in the North.
All three programs share a common core curriculum, tailored to the focus of each program. Core studies include humanities (philosophy and historical thinking; the origins and challenges of democracy; culture; and religion as humanities), social studies (human geography; government and politics; local government; and public policy, all as related to the specific context of the North), and leadership and skills (leadership, leadership in a diverse society, and learning in action, whether in groups or individually).
The Center cultivates an active network of graduates who work to further the Center’s goals – both individually and in collaboration with each other. It also offers special management courses to help increase the effectiveness and impact of its graduates.
Participating Leadership, Faculty and Staff
Miki Nevo, Director of the Mandel Center for Leadership in the North
Noga Gil Bassi, Director of the Mandel Program for Leadership for Public Service in the North
Daphi Biran Singer, Director of the Mandel Program for Regional Leadership in the North
Safa Garb, Director of the Mandel Program for Social Leadership in the North
Adv. Ali Haider, Visiting faculty member
Katef Morad Salama, Visiting faculty member
Dr. Omri Castelnovo, Visiting faculty member
Dr. Yoav Kenny, Senior staff member
Michal Raikin, Senior staff member
About the Mandel Program for Social Leadership in the North
The multifaceted challenges in the North call for deep and inclusive solutions. Many social projects of limited scope have been tried in the North and have failed. The Mandel Program for Social Leadership in the North is a full–time program that provides an opportunity for both experienced and potential leaders to change their professional paths, their ways of thinking and their ability to develop innovative solutions to impact reality in the North.
The fellows of the program are outstanding people with a proven record of leadership in the North and a willingness to devote a year to study and self–improvement, in order to enhance their ability to make an impact. They come from diverse communities and from a variety of professional fields and work sectors, including local and national government, civil society organizations, education, social work, and the Israel Defense Forces.
The full–time framework of this program allows for intensive learning processes that cover a broad range of theoretical and applied studies, thereby enabling fellows to understand complexities and build a solid ‘theory of change’ based on the humanities as well as on practical wisdom. The program also includes a practical component, in which fellows develop and plan responses to challenges in the field, under the guidance of Mandel faculty and professional mentors. The program aspires to inculcate new ways of thinking and analyzing reality, which will accompany the graduates in future leadership positions and will ensure high quality decision–making and action, as well as ongoing concern for social justice.
Graduates of the Mandel Program for Social Leadership in the North have gone on to launch pioneering initiatives and to take on key leadership roles in various public and third–sector settings.
Participating Graduates of the Social Leadership Program
Maisa Halabi Alshiech, Founder and director of the Lotus Initiative. Graduate of Cohort 2.
Einav Livne Ben Eliezer, NGO resource development manager and partner in Pivot Wellbeing Systems. Graduate of Cohort 4.
Itamar Eitam, Teacher and social education coordinator at the Hodayot Religious Youth Village. Graduate of Cohort 5.
Hili Kagan, English teacher, ORT Hodayot Youth Village. Graduate of Cohort 3.
Noga Mazor-Amgar, Northern district manager, Hebrew Scouts Youth Movement in Israel. Graduate of Cohort 5.
Shaham Tamir, Former CEO of the Ma’ale Yosef Regional Council. Graduate of Cohort 5.
About the Mandel Program for Regional Leadership in the North
The Mandel Program for Regional Leadership is an in– service program that strives to address the many leadership challenges of the North by promoting a comprehensive regional perspective that focuses on the common denominator and common challenges of the different communities in the North, and uses diversity as an asset.
The program’s fellows are professionals and activists drawn from the varied communities of northern Israel, who have prominent positions in non-profit organizations, in the public service and in local businesses. Fellows share the passion to build a just and inclusive society, to improve life conditions, and to increase the impact of their current and future work by participating in the program.
In addition to the core curriculum shared by all the Center’s programs, the Mandel Program for Regional Leadership in the North puts emphasis on models for regional solutions, which create collaborations among and between different localities, professions and diverse groups. The fact that fellows remain in their workplaces during their studies yields case studies that can serve as learning opportunities, and serves as a catalyst for changing the way the fellows work, broadening their perspectives and vision, and amplifying their impact.
The program's graduates have founded a range of important initiatives and taken on key leadership roles.
Participating Graduates of the Regional Leadership Program
Haya Basheer Mahagne, National Manager of Or Program for Arab Society, project coordinator, and early childhood supervisor. Graduate of Cohort 6.
Hany Ben Shimol, Community manager at Avtalion; Council member of the Misgav Regional Council. Graduate of Cohort 5.
Tamar Bodek-Mala, Director of resource development, Oranim College of Education. Graduate of Cohort 6.
Ravit Edelman, Chief nurse of the pediatric emergency department at the Rambam Health Care Campus. Graduate of Cohort 5.
Yoav Ende, CEO, Hannaton Educational Center. Graduate of Cohort 6.
Eman Zoabi, Certified public accountant and social activist. Graduate of Cohort 6.
About the Mandel Program for Leadership for Public Service in the North
Public services across northern Israel are the responsibility of interlocking (and sometimes conflicting) networks of local authorities, regional offices of government ministries, and public agencies. These bodies have different working methods, cultures, and organizational structures, and often also have different agendas.
Addressing the considerable socioeconomic challenges facing the North requires building a network of senior officials from these various bodies, who share a common language and system of values, and are willing and able to cooperate and collaborate for the benefit of the region’s diverse residents and communities.
The Mandel Program for Leadership for Public Service in the North recruits and invests in senior civil service officials employed in local authorities, public service agencies, and regional offices of government ministries in the North. These fellows have proven professional experience and expertise, are willing to engage in learning and collaboration, and are strongly motivated to work for the benefit of society in northern Israel and throughout the country, both within and beyond the context of their current professional roles.
Through a range of theoretical and applied studies, as well as work on practical initiatives (individually and in groups), the program strives to empower these officials and to encourage inter–organizational cooperation, acts of leadership, individual entrepreneurship, and group initiatives, both within the public service and in society in general.
Graduates of the program hold influential roles in the public sector, and have also launched various pioneering initiatives.
Participating Graduates of the Public Service Leadership Program
Judge Nir Mishory Lev Tov, Incoming President and former vice president of the Magistrates’ Courts in the Northern District. Graduate of Cohort 3 of the Mandel Program for Leadership for Public Service in the North.
Judge Dunya Nassar , Judge in the Kiryat Shmona Magistrate's Court. Graduate of Cohort 3 of the Mandel Program for Leadership for the Public Service in the North.
Judge Doron Porat , Judge and former President of the Magistrate's Court in the Northern District. Graduate of Cohort 2 of the Mandel Program for Leadership for Public Service in the North.
Telem Chorin, CEO, Clore Centre for the Performing Arts. Graduate of Cohort 3.
Hagar Reuveni, Director of the department of environment and biosphere reserve, Megiddo Regional Council. Graduate of Cohort 2.
Hanin Slmaan-Muese, Director of administrative law, northern district attorney's civil office. Graduate of Cohort 1.
Tal Volvovitch, Head of information and population training, Israel Fire and Rescue Authority. Graduate of Cohort 3.
Hagit Zamir , Head of the prosecution unit, coastal district of the Israel Police. Graduate of Cohort 3.
On other days, when you click on the “People” square, you will find photos and short biographies of the people you will meet.
We will not be meeting with representatives of Mandel units today.
Information about all the Mandel units can be found in the booklet Shaping Israel's Future
About the Mandel Program for Regional Leadership in the North