Shared Society in Israel: From the Government to the Grassro...

The Jewish Funders Network 2013 Annual Conference is taking place at the Los Angeles Beverly Hilton from March 17th - 19th and includes a session on shared society developments in Israel.

Join us on March 19th at 10:45 AM for: Shared Society: from the Government to the Grassroots with: Sigal Shelah Director of JDC-TEVET Aiman Saif Director of the Authority for the Economic Development of the Arab, Druze and Circassian Sectors Jimmy Levy Founder and Managing Partner of Al Bawader Shuli Dichter Executive Director of Hand in Hand Moderated by Jeffrey Solomon President, the Andrea and Charles Bronfman Philanthropies

Arab citizens make up 20.6% of Israel's population, yet they contribute only 8 percent of its GDP, at an estimated annual loss of NIS 31 billion, and constitute only 8 percent of public-sector employees. The session brings together Israeli government, business and social-sector leaders to discuss top-down and bottom-up approaches to advance opportunities for social mobility among Israel's diverse populations. The panel addresses the recent and unprecedented investments by the government in economic development for the Arab community, how Israeli entrepreneurs are working to grow the Arab business sector; civil society's role promoting shared society; and gaps where philanthropic investment can make a meaningful difference.

Learn more and register online at: http://www.jfunders.org/resources/blog/3-great-days-city-angels

Speaker Bios

Sigal Shelach
Sigal Shelach became director of JDC-TEVET, JDC's employment initiative in Israel, in 2012. She oversees the development of employment programs and promotes the adoption of successful JDC initiatives by the government of Israel. In 2002, Sigal served as an advisor on municipal employment practices for the education division of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Local Municipalities, and was later senior research fellow at the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor. Today, she continues to be a key partner with the government and third sector in advancing the entrance of the chronically unemployed into the workforce and out of poverty. She is a founding member of the Israel Forum for Diversity.

Aiman Saif
Aiman Saif has worked in Israel's Prime Minister's Office for 14 years-first as senior economist, and since 2008 as the director of the authority of economic development of the minority sectors. Aiman sits on the boards of the Investment Centre, the Authority of Planning and Construction, and the Authority for Advancement of the Status of Women.

Jimmy Levy
Jimmy Levy is the founder and managing partner of Al Bawader, the first investment fund focused on the Arab private sector in Israel. The fund has committed capital of $50 million. Jimmy is also the founder of Galil Software, the leading software outsourcing provider for Israel's high tech industry. The company is headquartered in Nazareth and is the largest high-tech company operating in the Arab private sector. He was the co-recipient of the 2011 Prime Minister's Prize for Initiatives and Innovations, and the 2010 Israel Management Center's CEO of the Year Award in the category of "Business Breakthrough.

Jeffrey R. Solomon
Jeffrey R. Solomon is the president of the Andrea and Charles Bronfman Philanthropies, a group of foundations operating in Canada, Israel and the United States. An author of over 80 publications, he served as an adjunct associate professor at New York University and sits on numerous nonprofit and foundation boards. He served on the board and executive committee of the Council on Foundations, where he chaired the Committee on Ethics and Practice. He is the author of two books with Charles Bronfman, The Art of Giving: Where the Soul Meets the Business Plan, and most recently The Art of Doing Good: Where Passion Meets Action, which explores the principles and practices of nonprofit social enterprise, extracting lessons from the journeys of 18 social entrepreneurs