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About Us
Israel Educational Travel Alliance (IETA) is the only entity solely dedicated to advancing the field of Israel educational travel. Powered by a diverse network of 140+ partner organizations and 600+ professionals, IETA works to ensure that relevant, high-impact travel experiences continue to transform the identities and Israel connections of both Jews and allies.
Established in 2020 as a field-wide response to pressing challenges, IETA was founded to move the sector from competition to collaboration by creating communal infrastructure needed to strengthen and scale Israel travel.
Rooted in collective knowledge that educational travel fosters lasting ties to Israel and strengthens Jewish identity, IETA drives the field forward through data-driven insights, shared best practices, strategic advocacy, and cross-sector collaboration-building a more dynamic, resilient, and impactful travel ecosystem.
Advisory Committee
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Adina Frydman
Adina H. Frydman is the CEO of Young Judaea Global. Having spent 12 years at UJA-Federation of New York, first spearheading the synagogue department, SYNERGY and then as executive director of Community Resources, Adina focused on strengthening the NY Jewish community and its organizations through Talent Development, Synagogue and Day School Initiatives, Community Volunteerism, and Crisis Mobilization. Before coming to New York in 2008, Adina was the Director of Focus Israel at the St. Louis Jewish Federation, where she worked to foster engagement between synagogues and Israel. In addition, Adina received a Bachelor of Music from Stetson University and Cantorial Investiture from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute for Religion. She is a graduate of the Mandel Executive Leadership Program. Adina is the proud mother of four children and an alum of Young Judaea.
Gil Galanos
Gil Galanos is the Co-Founder and CEO of itrek. Prior to launching itrek in 2011, he served as Founder and President of the U.S.-Israel Business Council (USI), a trade association he established in 2010. USI connected investors, entrepreneurs, and business executives across key growth sectors to spur innovation and promote business between the United States and Israel.
From 2006 to 2010, Gil served as Deputy Economic Minister to North America for the Government of Israel Economic Mission. Earlier in his career, he worked in the Israeli high-tech sector.
Gil lives in Israel with his wife and their three daughters.
Meir Holtz
Meir Holtz serves as the CEO of Masa Israel Journey, founded by the Jewish agency and the government of Israel.
Meir joined Masa after serving as the CEO of Mosaic United, a partnership between the State of Israel and the global Jewish community, dedicated to mapping the broad spectrum of Jewish experiential opportunities, strengthening each area of engagement, increasing the number of meaningful interactions, and deepening the impact of Jewish experiences for young Jews.
Prior to that, Holtz held the position of Deputy Health Coordinator in the Civil Administration of Judea and Samaria. Additionally, Meir has previously served as a Shaliach of the Jewish Agency and the Bnei Akiva movement in Sydney, Australia, and as the head of the informal education department at Moriah College in Sydney.
Meir Holtz brings to Masa a rich experience and deep understanding of the Jewish world, both from his previous roles and from his personal experience as someone who immigrated to Israel (made Aliyah) at a young age with his family from the United States.
Meir is married to Moria, and they have five children.
Dr. Shelley Kedar
Dr. Shelley Kedar is the Chief Impact Office at the Jewish Agency, spearheading. the development and implementation of The Jewish Agency's strategic vision through comprehensive three-year planning grounded in research, professional evaluation, and institutional knowledge. In her previous roles Shelley was the Director of The Jewish Agency's Connect unit, where she initiated and led innovative education and engagement programs across Israel and around the world; served as the founding director of The Adelson Shlichut Institute chaired by Natan Sharansky, developed and implemented the comprehensive vision, strategy, and business plan that established it as a leading institution for shlichut content and training. She served as the Director of the Jewish Agency Israel Fellows program and senior representative to Hillel. Kedar was Hillel International’s first VP of Israel Education and Engagement and oversaw the creation of an Israel Action Program that strengthens and supports Hillel’s Israel related programming on campus. Shelley Kedar served as Director of the International School for Jewish Peoplehood Studies at Beit Hatfutsot,, was the Director of Professional Development at the Leo Baeck Education Center and the Jewish Agency for Israel educational emissary to Liberal Judaism in Great Britain.
Kedar earned a BA in Political Science, Media and Jewish Studies and an MA in Leadership and Informal Education Institutions Management at Bar Ilan University and a Doctorate in Jewish Education at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York. Shelley lives in Moshav Tzur Moshe with her husband, Architect and Urban planner Dr. Boaz Kedar, their three children and a dog.
John Lowenstein
John Lowenstein currently holds two roles as a Jewish professional. Since 2011, he has worked at the Jewish United Fund where he currently serves as Senior Vice President Engagement, He also works as the Executive Director, IsraelNow Education Foundation (INEF), an independent 501(c)3. In his roles at JUF he oversees all programming from early childhood, teen, campus which includes addressing the rise in antisemitism and BDS, young families, and Israel educational travel experiences. In his INEF role he is responsible for the national expansion of IsraelNow, an 8-day trip to Israel for eight graders.
Prior to 2011, as a volunteer, he has served in numerous leadership roles. His major responsibilities at JUF as a lay leader included President of YLD, Vice Chairman, member of the Executive Committee and the Overall Planning and Allocation Committee, Chairman of the Israel and Oversees Commission, Chairman of the Community Building and Continuity Commission, and the lead solicitor for Jewish Day School Guarantee Trust Fund as well as the End of Year JUF Campaign Chairman.
Beyond his work with JUF, John has served as chair of the Midwest Region of Friends of the I.D.F. and as chairman of the capital campaign for the Ida Crown Jewish Academy. John has served on multiple Jewish communal boards, including Solomon Schechter Day School, Northwestern University Hillel, and the Hillels of Illinois Governing Commission.
His varied professional background includes eleven years at Sportmart Inc, a national retailer of sporting goods, where he rose to be its Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. He has had other roles in importing, logistics, and real estate. Through these significant professional and volunteer roles, John has demonstrated strong management and fundraising skills and an abiding commitment to building Jewish identity that is imbued with strong ties to the community and to Israel.
John received his B.A. from Tufts University and his J.D. from the Northwestern University School of Law. He is married to Amy, lives in Skokie, IL and has five married children and several grandchildren. His "fun fact," while at Tufts he majored in American History with an emphasis on women's history.
Adina Navon
Adina Navon is a Senior Program Officer on the U.S. Jewish and Israel teams at the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies. She focuses on social welfare issues in Israel and on Israel education and engagement in the U.S. She previously managed the Arab society portfolio in Israel.
Before joining the foundation, Adina worked for Young Judaea Israel and the Abraham Initiatives. She also completed a year of service through the JDC's Jewish Service Corps program at the Agahozo Shalom Youth Village in Rwanda.
Adina holds an MBA in nonprofit management from Haifa University and a double B.A. in Middle Eastern and Environmental Studies from Ben Gurion University.
Simon Amiel
Simon Amiel is the Executive Director of RootOne, a multi-million-dollar philanthropic initiative
dedicated to expanding access to immersive Israel experiential education for North American
Jewish teens and strengthening the long-term impact of those experiences. As RootOne’s
founding Executive Director, Mr. Amiel has built and led a bi-national organization spanning
North America and Israel, scaled the initiative to serve more than 15,000 participants through
over 40 partner organizations, and stewarded more than $200 million in foundation
investment. He has positioned RootOne as a field leader through a strong emphasis on
evaluation, learning, and the use of data to inform strategy, assess outcomes, and drive
continuous improvement.
Prior to RootOne, Mr. Amiel served as Chief Development Officer at Kline Galland in Seattle,
where he led philanthropic strategy and significantly expanded revenue for a longstanding
senior care organization. Previously, he was Executive Director and Vice President of City Year
Seattle, overseeing a $3 million AmeriCorps organization focused on addressing the high school
dropout crisis, and Executive Director of MENTOR Washington, where he led a statewide
public-private partnership to strengthen the capacity and sustainability of youth mentoring
programs.
Earlier in his career, Mr. Amiel spent ten years with Hillel, including service as Executive
Director of Hillel at The George Washington University and as Director of Campus
Engagement Strategies for Hillel International, where he helped shape national engagement
models, professional training frameworks, and standards of excellence for Jewish campus life.
Mr. Amiel is known for his expertise in organizational leadership, building and sustaining strong
management teams, stewarding major philanthropic relationships, public speaking, and
employing data-driven approaches to decision-making. He regularly represents organizations in
public, communal, and philanthropic settings and volunteers as an emcee for nonprofit
fundraising events.
Born and raised in Seattle, Mr. Amiel is a first-generation immigrant, the son of parents from
Turkey and Egypt. He holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Washington and has
completed significant coursework toward a Master of Public Administration at New York
University’s Robert F. Wagner School of Public Service. He is married and has four children, a
daughter-in-law, and a grandson. His personal interests include music as a percussionist,
Sephardic and Mizrahi food culture, and collecting vinyl records.
Elisheva Kupferman
Elisheva Kupferman is Chief Strategy Officer at Mosaic United, where she leads the development of strategic initiatives to deepen Jewish engagement and strengthen global Jewish connections. In this role, she oversees research and innovation, ensuring that Mosaic’s investments are data-driven and focused on measurable impact. She works in close partnership with the Ministry of Diaspora Affairs and a range of international stakeholders to advance the organization’s mission.
Previously, Elisheva served as an Israel Educator and Strategic Planner at MAKOM, the Israel Education unit of the Jewish Agency for Israel, where she contributed to educational content development, training, and organizational strategy. She has also held leadership roles in Bnei Akiva of North America, along with positions in research, project management, and nonprofit administration.
Elisheva holds an M.A. in Nonprofit Management and Leadership from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and a B.A. in Psychology and Jewish History from Bar-Ilan University. She lives in Israel with her husband and their four children.
Orit Mizner
Orit is a visionary executive leader with more than two decades of experience helping mission driven organizations translate vision into sustainable growth and measurable impact, combining big picture thinking with disciplined execution. She currently serves as COO of Momentum and previously held executive roles at itrek, the Israeli American Council, and the Israel Innovation Institute. She also served three times as a Jewish Agency Shlicha, bringing deep experience across global Jewish organizations and innovation ecosystems.
Zach Bauer
Zach joined Passages as their CEO in January 2025. He brings 14 years of distinguished experience in public service, government affairs, and strategic leadership. He served as Special Advisor to the Vice President during the first Trump term and was most recently the Strategic Development Officer at Advancing American Freedom. In his role as CEO of Passages he oversees their strategic direction, partnerships, and initiatives, ensuring the organization empowers young Christian leaders and deepens the connections between the United States and Israel. He resides in Northern Virginia with his wife Meghan and two sons—Charlie (4) and William (2)
Ilan Wagner
Ilan Wagner is an Israeli nonprofit leader who served as President and CEO of Onward Israel, where he helped shape one of the leading immersive Israel experiences for young Jewish adults. Originally from the United States, Wagner made aliyah from Boston in the 1980s and built a career within the Jewish Agency, including leadership roles focused on Israel education and engagement in North America. Over the past decade, he played a central role in developing Onward Israel into a global internship and professional immersion platform, designed to deepen young adults’ connection to Israel through hands-on work experiences. Following the 2022 merger of Onward Israel with Birthright Israel, Wagner transitioned into a senior leadership role overseeing Onward programming within the combined organization, continuing his work to expand opportunities for young Jews to live, work, and engage meaningfully with Israeli society.
Avi Rubel
Avi Rubel is the co-founder and CEO of Honeymoon Israel, an organization dedicated to creating a more welcoming and inclusive Jewish community through trips to Israel for groups of diverse couples. Before co-founding Honeymoon Israel, Avi was the founding North American Director of Masa Israel Journey, bringing more than 10,000 North Americans to Israel annually. Avi has lived in Israel for several years and also spent more than a decade working on Jewish community development in the former Soviet Union with Hillel and the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee. Avi served as a United States Peace Corps volunteer for two years in Kyrgyzstan. Avi earned a BA from Binghamton University and a Masters in Public Policy from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.
Robyn Judelsohn
Robyn Judelsohn is the Executive Vice President and Chief Movement Experiences Officer at BBYO, where she oversees seven global divisions that shape and elevate the teen experience, including international travel, leadership development, Jewish enrichment, and International Convention. A key member of BBYO’s C‑Team and Management Team, Robyn has been a driving force for fourteen years, helping guide strategy, operational excellence, and the long‑term vision of the Movement.
Our Leadership
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Anna Langer
Acting Executive Director, Israel Educational Travel Alliance
Anna is a leader in building and strengthening Israel education, engagement, and advocacy for North Americans. Anna currently serves as founding Vice President of North American Israel Strategy for Jewish Federations of North America with prior leadership at Schusterman Philanthropies, Hillel International, and The iCenter for Israel Education. Anna holds Masters Degrees from University of Chicago and George Washington University and a BA from Mount Holyoke College.
Roey Kruvi
Deputy Director, North American Israel Strategy
Roey Kruvi was born in Haifa and moved to California at age 10. He spent nearly a decade at Moishe House, where he developed global programs that helped young adults build Jewish community and belonging. Roey is the creator of Camp Nai Nai Nai, a Jewish summer camp for adults launched in 2017, and helped develop Retreatology, a program that trains participants to design and lead Jewish retreats in their communities. His work has focused on building immersive experiences that connect young adults to Jewish life and learning.
Steering Committee Organizations
Birthright Israel
Birthright Israel - Onward
BBYO
Honeymoon Israel
Jewish Agency for Israel
Israel Now
Masa Israel Journey
Momentum
Passages
RootOne
Young Judaea Global
Partner Organizations
Academic Engagement Network
AJC Project Interchange
Alexander Muss High School in Israel
Authentic Israel
Camp Morasha
Camp YTT
Camp Ramah
Canadian Young Judaea
Chabad on Campus
Christians United for Israel
CTeen
EarlyJ
ENTER Peoplehood
For the Sake of Argument
Foundation for Jewish Camp
George Washington University
Habonim Dror North America
Hebrew Public
Hillel International
The iCenter
Israel Experts
Israel Food Rescue
Israel Tech Mission
Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest
Jewish Federation of Greater Nashville
JEWISH colorado
Jewish Federation of St. Louis
Lappin Foundation
Livnot U'Lehibanot
Maccabee Task Force
Maccabi USA
Minneapolis Jewish Federation
Mosaic United
NCSY
OLAM
Ramah Israel
Real Israel Tours
Repair the World
San Diego Hebrew Day School
Shalom Hartman Institute
TAMID Group
Task Force on Arab Citizens of Israel (JDC)
The Bronfman Fellowship
UJIA Israel Experience
URJ Camps and Immersives
Yahel