Makom Staff

Yonatan Ariel, Executive Director of Makom
 

Yonatan lectures widely in the fields of Contemporary Jewry, Educational Policy-Making and Experiential Education. He has taught in public school and in adult and travel settings. Yonatan studied history and education at universities and is a graduate of both the Institute for Youth Leaders and of the Jerusalem Fellows. He has held senior policy-making positions at the Mandel Leadership Institute, the United Jewish Israel Appeal, Melitz and the Israel Experience. He can be reached at yonatana@jafi.org 

Esti Moskovitz-Kalman, Deputy Director of Makom & Education Director
 

Esti served as an officer in the Israel Defense Forces, having been the first woman to attend the Combat Officer Training Course. She graduated from Bar Ilan University and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Esti served as the Ddirector of the Jerusalem region of Melitz, as an educator at the JCC of Greater Baltimore, and a senior educational consultant to the Bureau for Jewish Education in Baltimore. Esti joined the Jewish Agency in 2002, then the founding team of Makom, and researched Israel Engaged Leaders as a Mandel Jerusalem Fellow. She can be reached at estim@jafi.org 

Rami Wernik, North American Director of Makom
 

Rami holds an Ed.M. from Harvard University as well as an M.A. in Religious Studies from Stanford University. Rami is writing his doctoral dissertation on civic Civic educationEducation in Israel at Stanford. An alumnus of the Wexner Graduate Fellowship, he also completed the Mandel Jerusalem Fellows Program. Rami has served as faculty for Midreshet Har Herzl, Melitz, and the Brandeis Collegiate Institute. He was Dean of the Fingerhut School of Education at American Jewish University. He can be reached at ramiw@jafi.org 

Rafi Banai, Makom Expert in Teaching Hebrew as a Second Language
 

Rafi graduated from Hebrew University and the Jewish Theological Seminary. Rafi received a teaching diploma and is an expert in Hebrew as a second language. He served as a Ministry of Education superintendent, taught Hebrew at Hunter College and at JTS. Rafi served as the Director of the Publication and Curriculum Division of the Jewish Agency, has conducted hundreds of in-service teacher training programs in Israel and abroad, and has written numerous materials for teachers and students. He can be reached at rafhelb@jafi.org 

Vadim Blumin, Makom Content & Training Specialist
 

Vadim is an historian and activist in the fields of Jewish Education and Civil Society in Israel. He graduated from the Hebrew University, where he is currently completing his doctorate in Jewish History. Formerly, Vadim headed JAFI’s Education Department in St. Petersburg, Russia, and served as Executive Director to the nonprofit “1+1: Association of Immigrant Youth.” Vadim has also participated in the GVANIM program for pluralism and leadership, as well as the JDC-ELKA Mashmaut training program for Directors-General of Voluntary Organizations. He can be reached at vadimbl@jafi.org 

Robbie Gringras, Makom’s Artist-in-Residence
 

Robbie is a British-born Israeli, graduate of Oxford University and Mandel Jerusalem Fellows. In the theatre he has performed on London’s West End and throughout the world in his own original plays. Since immigrating to Israel he has taught at theatre schools country-wide, and directed several plays. His solo shows have been performed in Israel, UK, Australia, USA, Canada, Russia, and Mexico in English, Hebrew, and Spanish. He has taught and published widely on the arts in Jewish and Israel education. He can be reached at robbieg@jafi.org 

Elisheva Kupferman, Makom Content Development and Training Coordinator
 

Elisheva is an Olah from New York now living in Jerusalem. She holds a B.A. in Psychology and Jewish History from Bar Ilan University, and an M.A. in Nonprofit Management and Philanthropy Studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. As an educator, Elisheva coordinated gap year programming for Bnei Akiva for three years, and ran summer leadership courses for teens. She has worked in the Jerusalem nonprofit sector for several years, and joined Makom in 2010 to integrate these two passions: Jewish education and nonprofit leadership. She can be reached at elishevak@jafi.org 

Cynthia Tzvibel-Navon, Director of Operations
 

Cynthia holds a BA in Criminology, Sociology and Anthropology from Bar-Ilan University as well as an MA in Criminology from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. During her army service she served in the intelligence corps. Cynthia has been employed by the Jewish Agency since 2001 and now serves as the operations director of Makom. She is married to Yishay Navon and the mother of Ben and Lia. She can be reached at cynthiatn@jafi.org