
Team
Meet our team
Dear Prospective Participants and Parents,
If you had an entire year to do anything you wanted, what would you do?
Perhaps you’d travel. Maybe you’d learn a new skill. You’d probably welcome the chance to meet interesting people, to experience things you’ve never tried before, to reduce the stress and pressures of today’s world.
This is exactly what awaits you on Aardvark Israel.
No one ever regrets having taken a gap year, but plenty of people regret not having taken one. The world is your classroom and spending a year abroad opens the door to personal growth, developing independence, defining your values, and figuring out who you are as an adult. With Israel as the unique landscape for this adventure, you will explore how you fit into the larger Jewish Community and connect with Israeli society as well.
Within Aardvark Israel, we pride ourselves on providing students with individualized attention, opportunities, and guidance. Each student will discover a year filled with challenges, fun, fascination, learning, volunteering, self-discovery, maturity, and joy. Parents will find a partner in their child’s development and our staff will take care of your children as if they were our own. At the end of the program, students will return home more mature, better prepared to cope with the challenges of university life, and more dedicated to the future of the Jewish People and the State of Israel.
We look forward to working together with each of you on this incredible journey.
Sincerely,
Debbie Goldsmith
Leadership

Debbie Goldsmith
Executive Director
Co-Founder
Debbie has worked in the field of Jewish and Zionist education for more than 20 years. In honor of International Women’s Day 2021, she was recognized as one of Masa’s Inspiring 12 Jewish Women Working to Make a Difference. Debbie grew up in Cleveland, Ohio, and after spending her gap year in Israel on USY’s Nativ program, she completed her BA at Columbia University in Religion and at the Jewish Theological Seminary in Talmud. She also earned an MA in Jewish Education from the Jewish Theological Seminary. Prior to co-founding Aardvark Israel, she was the Assistant Director of Young Judaea/FZY Year Course in Israel. Debbie lives in Yishuv Alon and has three children, one of whom is taking a gap year this year before enlisting in the army.

Simon Cohen
Director of Innovation and Admissions
Co-Founder
Simon grew up in England as an active participant in the Federation of Zionist Youth (FZY) and served as FZY’s National Director of Education prior to moving to Israel in 2000. In addition to participating in Young Judaea/FZY’s Year Course in 1994-95, he dedicated a decade to working for the program as a senior staff member. Simon is also an experienced guide for Jewish educational tours to Poland. He holds a BA in Economics and Economic History from Manchester University and an MA in Jewish Education from the Hebrew University. Simon lives in Tzur Hadassah with his wife and their three children.

Moshe Levi
Director of Education

Udi Gilad
Program Director
Staff

Meron Guttel
Jerusalem Community Manager

Yifat Nadler
Tel Aviv Community Manager
Yifat was born in Canada, made Aliyah when she was 15 years old and currently resides in Tel Aviv. Yifat earned a BA in Political Science and Anthropology from Tel Aviv University and an MA in Nonprofit Management from Hebrew University. She has been passionate about education ever since her army service in the Educational Corps and has worked for various Jewish organizations including The Jewish Agency, Masa, JDC Lauder Camp Szarvas in Hungry, and Diller Teen Fellows. In her free time, Yifat loves to read books and enjoy nature.

Lee Naftali
Tel Aviv Community Manager

Shabtai Pessin
Tel Aviv Community Manager

Rachel Tessema
Tel Aviv Community Manager

Eeris El
Jerusalem Community Manager

Oz Sade
Internships Manager

Yonatan Cohen
Internships Coordinator

Roni Gal
Internships Coordinator
Roni was born and raised in Ra’anana and now lives in Herzliya. She was a counselor at Hamachanot Ha’Olim youth movement.
In her military service, she served as a Military Social Worker in Judea and Samaria and was in charge of the welfare of soldiers. She studied radio and ran a small business selling handmade jewelry. She has a great passion for music, arts, food, and traveling.

Fentanesh Yanihudege
Internships Coordinator

Yan Bihdriker
Internships Coordinator

Moriah Hacmun
Internships Coordinator

Jodi Taube
Internships Coordinator

Dganit Shahar
Logistics Coordinator

Naama Nachson Hadad

Sarah Kurtz
Bookkeeper

Carolyn Reiffman
Registrar and Admissions Assistant
Carolyn grew up in Kansas City and made Aliyah to Ma’ale Adumim in 2018, following a 13-year teaching career in a Jewish day school in Denver, Colorado. With a BA in Communications and an M.Ed in secondary education, her career path has included sports writing, dance instruction, cake decorating, social studies, English classes and more. When she isn’t busy supporting Aardvark students and staff, Carolyn enjoys spending time with her family, scuba diving, geocaching, and working on jigsaw puzzles.

Revital Rahmani
Admissions Coordinator

Az Troenkrasnow
Admissions Coordinator

Emma Flanders
Admissions Coordinator

Hadar Cohen
Marketing and PR Manager
Hadar was born and raised in Ra’anana, and now lives in Tel Aviv. She has taken part in Youth Movements as a counselor and coordinator and was always passionate about Zionist education, taking part in Birthright, Birthright Excel, the Jewish Agency Summer Camps, and Masa. She has a BA in Communications and Public Diplomacy, and previously worked for an advertising firm in Israel. She is an avid Yogi and a foodie, who loves traveling and going to festivals.

Nick Lees
Communications Coordinator

Rabbi Liad Braude
Jewish Life Coordinator

Dan Katsman
Special Programs Coordinator

Nitzan Gat
Logistics Coordinator

Ofir Dagan
Logistics Coordinator
Educators

Moshe Levi

Calev Ben-Dor

Jay Rosen

Inbar Bernat

Jordana Schiff

Elliot Vaisrub Glassenberg

Shai Yosipov

Michael Unterberg

Matthew Lipman

Ayo Oppenheimer Abitbol

Mica Pomerantz

Yifat Nadler

Eliyahu Freedman

Joelle Milman

Yoni Hammer-Kossoy

Avi Rose

Maya Glaser

Katrin Lasko

Ray Lesel

Hila Kadi
Madrichim

Orly Hyman

Noa Croitoro

Noam Chachmon

Romy Zelcer

Liri Cohen

Gali Sa'ar

Ofir Ozer
Ofir was born and raised in Safed. In the IDF, she served as a Hebrew teacher for ‘Olim Hadashim’. She worked as a counselor for the Jewish Agency Summer Camp 92Y ILANOT in New York City, and as a Madricha in Mechinat Mahal. She loves traveling and discovering new places, meeting new people from different cultures, and spending time with her family.

Harel Guttel

Roni Feinstein

Hadas Shahar

Clil Gamlieli

Avital Day

Bar Rom

Hila Beldoch

Maya Avram

Noam Azaria
