Amitim: Partnering with Israel’s Non-Profit Sector
Four years ago, Amitim (Hebrew for “colleagues”) was established to mobilize and engage former Jewish Federation Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) as partners with Israel’s non-profit organizations and strengthening their executive professional capacity in Israel. Seasoned and accomplished Federation CEOs provide pro-bono guidance and mentoring to their Israeli counterparts in critical skills areas, coupled with having open conversations generated by the Israeli execs on the critical issues they face daily.
Amitim began as a pilot initiative, matching 8 former US Federation execs with the heads of 8 Israeli non-profits, working together over a period of 9-12 months on significant issues and challenges facing the organization. Following the success of the pilot, a second cohort of 14 retired Federation execs and 14 Israeli CEOs were recruited and matched by Amitim. Due to the current success of this second cohort, a third cohort of 20 pairs is set to launch in early fall, 2025. Combined, 50 pairs of American mentors with 50 mentees, will have planted the seeds for helping strengthen the Israeli non-profit sector, precisely at a time of national crisis in Israel, requiring both nimble adaptation and resilience.
Much of Amitim’s success lies in the initial preparation and planning: candidate screening both in Israel and the US, the matching of the executives, and the foundational work of clarifying the nature of the mentor-mentee partnership. American CEOs would not be fundraising for the non-profit but rather listening to and supporting the Israeli executive in having more effective governance, strategic thinking, and nurturing senior team management. Clarifying the roles of the mentor- mentee relationship allowed for trust and empathy to lead the way, and for the Israeli executive to be both the driver and framer of the weekly zoom agenda.
As an Amitim participant, I can safely say that all the former American CEOs have benefited as much from this process as our mentees, providing great meaning and purpose while strengthening each of our own individual connections to Israel. Our professional skills have been valued and respected, and we have contributed to broadening professionalism within the Israeli non-profit sector. As American Jews and particularly since October 7th when we have felt somewhat helpless, our collective contributions have laid the foundation for meaningfully working together with our Israeli counterparts to adapt to multiple unfolding crises, helping to sharpen priorities and tolerance for risk-taking. Each Israeli organization’s core mission either needed re-affirmation through a “call to action”, or a necessary pivot to develop new programs and services to meet the expanding needs of the nation.
Meeting the Moment- 3 Factors
- The judiciary crisis in Israel
Before October 7th, the weekly demonstrations over challenges to the judiciary’s power and authority, laid the groundwork for unprecedented grass roots mobilization. People from all walks of society showed up weekly by the thousands to protest. According to the Jerusalem Post, this sense of civic responsibility proved to be crucial following the October 7th attack by Hamas, resulting in over 50% of the country volunteering in support of the immediate needs of the nation. Israeli Amitim non-profits, benefited from this huge groundswell of volunteerism, and were able to provide much needed manpower for direct service programs to offset the staggering staff shortages resulting from massive reserve duty mobilization. The American Amitim mentors have also become new volunteers at a time when more was needed at the executive leadership level.
2. October 7th and its aftermath
The extended wars in Gaza, Lebanon, Yemen, and Iran changed everything. Israeli non-profits had no choice but to pivot to provide emergency services, trauma care, and a daunting array of new services to address emerging needs, such as mental health support, aid for victims of terror, and assistance for families whose entire world was turned upside down. This included the relocation of families from their impacted communities in the South and the North, setting up new childcare, schools, special needs programs, food pantries, transportation, and launching trauma support groups for reservists and soldiers, often finishing multiple tours of duty. This list continues to grow, underscoring the importance of collaborations between the non-profits. All these organizational and structural adaptations required senior executive Israeli leadership to turn on a dime, with which Amitim mentors assisted during regular sessions with their mentees.
According to one Israeli Amitim exec, “We are not even at the point of dealing with PTSD. Every day in Israel is a continuous trauma: a friend who died in combat… funerals to go to, helping one’s children who are afraid to sleep for fear of bombs… and then there is the suffering of the hostages and the unimaginable agony of the hostage families. We have a shortage of seasoned organizational employees as they are being called up by the IDF. Crazy politics…on and on. Sometimes work is a safe-haven. While we each have our own organizational missions, our collective mission right now is first survival and then to adapt. Our Amitim mentors have helped us to focus on the necessity of adapting and given us the tools and support to do it”.
Another commented, “I know that my Amitim mentor “gets me” and has my back. I know I have my mentor who I can call anytime if I need advice and support. It is amazing to feel the connection, the love.” Similarly, his American mentor marveled at the tireless and tenacious dedication of his Israeli mentee including the ability to hold a zoom call from a bomb shelter, as ballistic missiles were landing in Tel Aviv.
The following examples illustrate the scope of work done together:
- Developing business plans for new programs and services
- Working with the Israeli CEO to become a confident fund-raiser, developing specific donor targets and fund-raising goals
- Rebuilding boards with new trustees, capable of becoming vocal ambassadors for the organization and willingness to open doors for new collaborations and funding
- Developing philanthropic partnerships for people with Autism
- Expanding the non-profit to serve in new geographic areas in Israel, including new program and administrative space to operate
- Identifying and establishing strategic partnerships with other Israeli non-profits, focusing on food insecurity, providing supplies for shelters, and securing transportation for people with disabilities to physically get them to a shelter during a missile attack
- Expanding the groundbreaking work that Amitim has started
Civic organizations, like Israeli non-profits, have a mandate to transcend political- ideological disputes, with the goal of combining forces around agreed-upon goals. For Amitim, community rehabilitation, providing trauma care and family support, and helping marginal populations that have long been underserved, remain the primary focus. People with disabilities and special needs, helping with the transition from the army to civilian life back home, are crucial to supporting national efforts by the government, while ensuring that they do not become a substitute for the State of Israel’s responsibility. Non-profits can discover the power of collaboration and reconnect the parts that are separated by politics.
As the non-profit sector continues to grow in Israel, the expertise which retired Jewish communal executives in diaspora communities have in the areas of strategic planning, fundraising development, entrepreneurship, and organizational leadership, can play a vital role in the resilience of this crucial sector.
After all, we are truly, am echad – one people. Just as the citizens of Israel have learned the necessity of “nobody sits on the sidelines”, retired professionals in the US are eager to get back into the game we have supported for many years – Jewish communal life – with the love of Israel as core to our global Jewish identity
Dr. Reuben Romirowsky, Teaneck NJ
