Yizhar Hess

Yizhar Hess is a 10th generation Jerusalemite. In 1987, he graduated with distinction from the Israel Defense Forces’ Officers Training Program and the Educational Officers Course, later serving at the Military Academy for Officer Education. He also served as commander of the IDF’s Hasbara (Information) Unit at the Jerusalem Education Center, before honorable discharge as a lieutenant.

Following his military service, Yizhar earned a BA in Political Science and Hebrew Literature at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, which he followed with some graduate work in Hebrew Literature. A member of the Israeli Bar, his law degree is from the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya. He holds an MA in Jewish Studies from the Schechter Institute in Jerusalem and is working on his PhD at Sussex University in Brighton, England.

Yizhar has a broad range of experience in Jewish communal service. After holding the deputy-director position at both the Shorashim Centre for Jewish Studies and the annual Kfar Blum Jewish Studies Festival, Yizhar served as the Jewish Agency’s community shaliach to Tucson, Arizona, also directing the local Federation’s Israel Center.

On his return to Israel, he continued working for the Jewish Agency as director for partnerships; in this capacity he forged links between the city of Beit Shemesh and Mateh Yehuda regional council and between the Jewish communities of Washington, D.C. and South Africa, as well as between the city of Modi’in and the Jewish community of Rochester, N.Y. He also has professional experience in advertising and journalism.

Yizhar is a regular contributor to the Israeli press on the subjects of religion and state, as well as pluralism. He is also the co-editor of the book "Questions About God," published by Maariv in 1998. In March 2007, Yizhar was appointed Executive Director and CEO of the Masorti Movement in Israel, a position he holds until today.

Yizhar lives in Reut with his wife Yael, a colonel in the IDF, and their two children Achiad and Mikah.