In November 2020, Hassan Towafra was appointed Head of the Authority for the Economic Development of the Arab Society at the Ministry for Social Equality. He completed his tenure in this role in August 2025. Under his leadership, the Authority advanced policies designed to reduce socio-economic gaps and promote the integration of Arab society into Israel’s economy and broader community.

In this role, Towafra led the approval and implementation of Government Resolution 550, a five-year plan aimed at narrowing disparities between Arab society and the general Israeli society, with an unprecedented budget of 30 billion NIS. This plan encompasses a wide range of programs across multiple sectors, including education, employment, economic development, sports, health, infrastructure, and more. Towafra chaired and participated in numerous committees and inter-ministerial teams addressing issues concerning Arab society. Together with the Authority’s team, he collaborated with Arab local authorities, civil society organizations, private-sector companies, and philanthropic foundations. Through the Authority’s various departments, he managed relations with government ministries, initiated joint projects, and oversaw a comprehensive advisory and monitoring framework to ensure the effective implementation of Government Resolution 550. Now in its fourth year, this plan encompasses hundreds of initiatives that significantly advance the integration of Arab society into Israel’s economy and broader society.

Previously, Towafra served as Deputy Director of the Government Companies Authority and Head of its Finance and Control Unit. In this capacity, he oversaw financial management and business development within Israel’s government-owned companies (over 100 companies managing assets valued at 235 billion NIS). His work focused on strengthening financial oversight and maintaining economic stability across these companies. During his tenure, reporting and control mechanisms were enhanced, a financial performance measurement system was adopted, and oversight of proper management and efficient resource utilization was reinforced. He also promoted innovation, risk management strategies, and the first-ever public offerings of government companies on the stock market.

Between 2010 and 2015, Towafra held positions in leading financial institutions, beginning with KPMG (one of the largest accounting firms in Israel and worldwide) and later at the Israel Securities Authority, where he supervised public companies. In these roles, he gained extensive expertise in financial, economic, and taxation matters, working closely with leading figures in Israel’s capital market.

Since 2014, Towafra has also served as a lecturer in the Department of Accounting and Economics at Hadassah Academic College in Jerusalem.

Towafra holds a bachelor’s degree in economics and accounting and a master’s degree in business administration, both with Honors from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He is a fellow of both the Maoz leadership program and the Wexner Israel Fellowship, which included executive training at Harvard University.

He resides in Haifa with his wife and their two daughters.

Maria Jiries is the CEO of the Shittah Institute for Local Policy, a think-and-do tank that partners with municipalities to strengthen local democracy and build a more pluralistic, equitable, and shared society.

She brings a decade of senior government experience, having served as Chief of Staff to the Director General at the Ministry of Transport and as Head of the Regional Development Division at the Ministry of the Interior.There, she was responsible for developing and establishing Israel’s regional clusters model during its formative stages, guiding its integration within both local and national government, and advancing policies to decentralize powers from national ministries to local authorities.

In addition, she led initiatives to develop Arab municipalities and to reduce gaps and disparities between local authorities, particularly in Israel’s periphery.

Rana Fahoum is the Director of the Center for Shared Society at the Shalom Hartman Institute. Prior to her work at the Hartman Institute, she served as the CEO of the Jerusalem International YMCA, and its subsidiary, Three Arches company. She also founded and ran a Junior High school for girls in a seamline neighborhood in East Jerusalem and was later appointed by the Ministry of Education as superintendent responsible for all elementary education in East Jerusalem. Subsequently, Rana taught in the Hebrew University’s English Language and Linguistics departments and served as a research assistant.
Rana has a M.A. in English linguistics from the Hebrew University and another M.A. in political and public leadership from Tel Aviv University. She is a graduate of the Mandel School of Educational Leadership and a member of the Maoz network. Rana is a member of the Israeli Council for Culture and the Arts and of the Arab Culture Committee, and serves on the Board of Directors of Lavi, the Municipal Association for the Development of Education in Jerusalem, she is on the board of ALLMEP and Maoz as well.
She was born in Nazareth and currently lives in Jerusalem with her spouse and 3 children.

Since 2015, Samer has been the director of the Arab Center for Alternative Planning (ACAP), an NGO which represents needs and interests of Palestinian citizens in Israel on issues regarding planning, land, housing and development. He previously served as a Parliamentary Aide to Member of Knesset (Israeli Parliament) Hanna Swaid, the founder of ACAP. In 2019, he founded and managed El ‘Etelaf, a GOTV coalition formed to encourage voting in Arab society, which played an important role in raising the percentage of Arab voter turnout to 65% in the 22nd Knesset elections, the highest Arab turnout in the past twenty years. Samer has facilitated numerous conflict-resolution based groups with Israeli and Palestinian members of society, specifically in Neve Shalom Wahet El Salam, and has been involved in numerous community-based, political, social and bi-national programs throughout his life.

A social entrepreneur, TEMA is the third venture Yifat founded and leads. In the past, she founded and managed two NGO’s for the promotion of equality, diversity and inclusion: ‘Oliim Beyahad’ for employment equality for Israelis of Ethiopian descent, and ‘Co-Impact’ – which led to a breakthrough in Arab employment. Yifat served as a senior strategic advisor to the President of Israel on issues of society and government (2022-2023). YIfat is a lawyer with a bachelor’s degree in law from Tel Aviv University, a master’s degree in public administration from Harvard Kennedy School and was a Wexner Fellow.

Sally Awad Asfour is the Deputy Director of ICEI. Sally joined ICEI in 2019 as the Director of Arab Schools Initiatives, launching a pilot program in 3 Arab schools. Since then, she has been instrumental in the organization’s growth in Arab schools, establishing major initiatives like Qalam and Tamkin, ICEI’s first Joint Venture with the Ministry of Education. Her leadership has strengthened ICEI’s relationships with the Ministry and other key partners, helping to expand ICEI’s reach and deepen its impact. Before joining ICEI, Sally served as the Founding Principal of the Ajial School for Special Education in Nazareth, serving all the Arab communities in the North of Israel. Sally is a former lecturer and pedagogical instructor at the Oranim College of Education and worked for the Ministry of Education as a principal mentor. She holds a master’s degree in educational counseling from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and an MBA from Bar Ilan University.

Shahira currently serves as the Co-Executive Director at the Abraham Initiatives. Shahira is the former Deputy Mayor of Haifa, former city councilor, and was among the founders of the Palestinian Feminist Movement in Israel. She has held several key managerial roles at numerous social service organizations, including helping establish the Hiwar School for Alternative Education in Haifa. Previously, Shahira directed Shatil’s Shared Society Department for ten years and she co-founded Kayan, the first Palestinian feminist organization in Israel. She was on the faculty of the Mandel Center for Leadership in the North and managed its local leadership programs. Shahira holds an M.A. in Religious Studies and a B.A. in Social Work. She is a trained organizational consultant, group facilitator, and trainer specializing in dialogue, conflict, and conflict resolution.

Ifat is a social entrepreneur and the founder of itworks, a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing employment diversity in Israel’s tech sector. Drawing from her upbringing in Netanya and early experiences with economic hardship, Ifat has dedicated her career to empowering underserved communities—including Arab citizens of Israel, Ukrainian and Russian immigrants, single mothers, and injured veterans—through vocational tech training, mentorship, and career placement.

Ifat’s work has received international recognition, including Hadassah’s Bernice Tannenbaum Prize and the International Alliance for Women’s World of Difference Award. Through her efforts, thousands have secured meaningful employment, contributing to a more inclusive workforce and a resilient, shared society in Israel.

Khouloud Ayuti currently serves as Director at Boustan Foundation and as a Board Member at MEET – Middle East Entrepreneurs of Tomorrow, both roles assumed in 2022. Between February 2017 and April 2022, Khouloud held multiple leadership positions at PresenTense, including Co-Chief Executive Officer and Director of the Tel Aviv Jaffa Ecosystem. Previous experience includes facilitator roles at We Are Family Foundation from March 2017 to March 2019 and Project Manager at The Peres Center for Peace between September 2011 and March 2017. Khouloud holds an MA in Near and Middle Eastern Studies from Tel Aviv University and an MBA in Entrepreneurship from The Academic College of Tel-Aviv, Yaffo, along with a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Government.

Don Futterman is the founding director of the Israel Center for Educational Innovation (ICEI). He is also the Israel Director of the Moriah Fund, a private American foundation working to promote equality and strengthen liberal democracy in the U.S. and Israel. Don is the author of the recently published novel Adam Unrehearsed (2023), a coming-of-age comedy set in New York City in the early 1970s, and of two children’s books in Hebrew, Yaniv’s Treasure האוצר של יניב, (Tal-Mai Books), and Up and Over עד למעלה (HaMevoch Press), distributed by The PJ Library ספריית פיג’מה in Israel. A former columnist for Haaretz, Don has also written for The Daily Beast and The Times of Israel, and for the past 13 years, has been a co-host of TLV1’s The Promised Podcast – a weekly review of Israeli politics & society with four million downloads. Don is the creative force behind a performance podcast of autobiographical monologues, Futterman’s One-Man Show. A graduate of Brown University, Don is married with three children, and has lived in Israel since 1994.

Hagar is the Partnerships Director at Tzedek Centers, a national grassroots movement dedicated to reinvigorating civic engagement and advancing democracy, equality, and justice across Israeli society. The organization focuses on grassroots fieldwork, community organizing, and cultivating local activists and leaders who rise from the municipal level to influence the national arena.
After leading the organization’s Resource Development Department for the past two years, Hagar is now based in New York, continuing to strengthen Tzedek Centers’ global partnerships. She brings extensive experience in education and in organizations dedicated to social change in Israel. Hagar holds a BA in Sociology and an MA in Asian Studies from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Rabea Zioud is a dedicated entrepreneur, lecturer, community leader, and catalyst for change, committed to creating a positive impact on society and the world. With extensive experience in management and business development within the social impact sector, Rabea is passionate about supporting and empowering startups, driving their growth and expansion on both local and global scales.
At just 20, Rabea began his entrepreneurial journey and soon became immersed in the Israeli startup ecosystem. He has served as VP for the MENA region at Voiceitt, a MassChallenge finalist in 2014. Rabea is also the co-founder of Hasoub, a grassroots movement that has grown into a leading organization promoting tech and entrepreneurship within Arab society, where he currently holds the role of CEO. Under his leadership, Hasoub has evolved from a grassroots movement into the foremost organization advancing tech and entrepreneurship in the Arab community, now employing 16 staff members.
Rabea’s contributions to the social impact space include his participation in the German-Israeli Young Leaders Exchange in 2017 and the Digital Changemakers Delegation in 2019: The Power of Startups, held in Hong Kong. In 2021, he took part in the Gig Economy study tour with FNF World Order and Globalization Hub. Additionally, Rabea shares his expertise as a lecturer in entrepreneurship and innovation courses at Ono Academic College.

Watfa is the Director of Education, Content, and Training at Beitna, a youth movement working to strengthen belonging, leadership, and equality among young people in Arab society. In this role, she leads the pedagogical vision, develops educational and training materials, and advances broad educational and organizational processes.

Previously, she led the field of informal education at the aChord Center, where she developed strategic processes in the areas of social psychology and intergroup relations. She is currently also part of the Diverse Society team at Mandel North, where she recently supported the leadership training program for social change leaders.

Mirit Sulema is an educational and social leader with over a decade of experience driving community-based initiatives with diverse communities in Israel and abroad. Since 2018, she has led the International Partnerships and Fundraising team at Dror Israel, a nationwide movement of educators whose many operations include the NOAL youth movement – one of Israel’s largest youth movements and its most diverse, with Arab and Druze youth members making up some 20% of the total 90,000.

Mirit established and led the first ever group of Arab youth from Akko to attend the national NOAL youth movement leadership training course, which led to the establishment of the Akko Shared Society Center in 2015. At the time, the Shared Society Center ran joint activities for some 200 Jewish and Arab youth every year.

Other highlights of her work include founding the urban educators’ kibbutz in Akko, which operates educational and community initiatives for all the residents of this mixed city.

Following October 7, Mirit was a central part of Dror Israel’s efforts to organize emergency and recovery programs for some 40,000 evacuees, and lately she has been working to build infrastructure for psychosocial resilience initiatives in northern Israel.

Her background combines deep educational expertise with practical experience in inter-organizational collaboration, public speaking, and budget management. She holds an M.Ed. in Educational Systems Management and a B.Ed. in Informal Education from Beit Berl College, along with certification to lead educational missions on the history of Greek Jewry and the Holocaust.

Mirit lives in Rishon Letzion with her partner Shiri and their 3-year-old son, Uriah.

Mohamad is redefining what it means to be a bridge-builder in one of the Middle East’s most complex societies. Growing up as one of seven children in Rahat, he found his calling through Desert Stars’ gap year program in 2018, launching a journey that would see him become a voice for change across multiple worlds. During his undergraduate years at Ben-Gurion University, he emerged as a natural leader, serving on student council while earning recognition in the competitive cadets for local government program. Today, as a strategic planner shaping policy for Kuseife’s local council and pursuing his MBA, Mohamad spends his evenings facilitating conversations that many would consider impossible: bringing together students of different faiths across Israeli campuses to find common ground in an increasingly divided world.

Leah joined Hand in Hand in May 2020 to head its resource development department. She brings to this role nearly two decades of professional experience, having headed the resource development efforts of three other leading Israeli nonprofits.
A Canadian Israeli, Leah began her professional career in law. She worked as a foreign clerk at Israel’s Supreme Court and briefly practiced law with one of Israel’s leading firms before pivoting to the nonprofit sector.

Tal is Co-Director of the Arab Society Division in NOAL (HaNoar HaOved VeHaLomed), one of Israel’s largest and most diverse youth movements, with around 20,000 Arab-Israeli members.
Guided by the view that non-formal education offers unique leverage to address the challenges facing Arab adolescents and young adults, he has spent the past decade developing pedagogy, curricula, and tools within NOAL to strengthen youth leadership and create meaningful educational responses.

Tal and NOAL work in close partnership with local institutions and leaders across 55 branches in Arab communities—including political and religious figures, educators, and community organizations. He also heads the Forum of Leadership Institutes in Arab society—a coalition of organizations running gap-year programs—and works to expand gap-year opportunities for young people.

Driven by a deep belief in the power of language as a human and cultural bridge, and by his love for both Hebrew and Arabic, he has for years taught Hebrew in Arab communities and Arabic in Jewish communities.

Menucha arrived in Israel in 2011 with a Psychology and Religion degree from Dartmouth and immediately headed where few new immigrants go: straight to the South. She’s spent the past thirteen years working in Israel’s geographic and social periphery, building the kind of Jewish-Arab partnerships that require equal parts vision and stubbornness. Her recent Master’s thesis at Bar-Ilan University tackled a question most people avoid: how do different populations in Israel actively exclude one another? The research gave her a framework for understanding the social and political forces that keep communities apart, insights she now brings to her work bridging those very divides. As a member of ALLMEP’s Women’s Leadership Network, Menucha has become a go-to voice on southern Israel, speaking to audiences about the region’s challenges and untapped potential, and making the case for why the rest of the country must care about Bedouin society.