Yehuda Yaakov, at The Blogs

Dec 19, 2024, 4:23 PM

"The next five-year plan." That mantra, reflecting hope for a continuation of the robust government budgets and actions that have empowered Israel's Arab citizens during the past decade, was uttered repeatedly during a recent conference here on the future...

Nov 19, 2024, 1:38 PM

Social Impact Shines in Higher Education

Israel's young adults are currently tasked with pursuing their dreams while simultaneously dealing with the ramifications of war and contributing to our resilience. Mission impossible? Some 335,000 students among them returned to campus this month as the country's new higher...

Oct 29, 2024, 11:05 AM

Promoting Tolerance Under Fire

I admit doing a double take when learning of the anti-racism training our Justice Ministry has been conducting with Israeli soccer teams. Who has time for this now? Besides the challenges of war, there's also that infamous subset of marginal...

Oct 8, 2024, 1:56 PM

Disabilities in Post-October 7 Israel

"We are all dealing with mental health issues, either directly or by supporting loved ones," ever since the October 7 Hamas massacre last year. That sobering comment was made at a recent conference by none other than Israel's Health Ministry...

Sep 25, 2024, 1:55 PM

Rockets? Climate Change Waits for Nothing

With war raging, it's understandable if the recent Israel government Hebrew website headline "Readying for the COP29 climate conference in Baku, Azerbaijan" seemed a bit out of place to some. In fact, it was spot on. That headline referred to...

Aug 14, 2024, 10:45 PM

LGBTQ in Wartime: Israel or Hamas?

LGBTQ IDF fighters during recent Boston visit

How regimes treat LGBTQ speaks volumes about what they are about. In Israel's neighborhood, this definitely applies to Iran, Hezbollah and Hamas. For those who've forgotten: Iran’s death penalty for same-sex relations is not only codified in law, it's carried...

Jul 16, 2024, 1:26 PM

Featured Post

On Israel, we need to speak the language of social impact

The author briefing Israel Foreign Ministry cadets

Younger adults abroad care about justice – they should find out about Israel's massive investment in closing racial and ethnic gaps

Jun 25, 2024, 2:56 PM

Rebounding Labor Market, Post-October 7th

How can Israel bounce back socioeconomically from the myriad ramifications of October 7th? That question topped recent deliberations by about 200 representatives of the country's government, civil society and private sector elite at the Israel Democracy Institute's annual Jerusalem...

Jun 5, 2024, 2:35 PM

Looking in Israel’s social equality mirror

How many countries can honestly say they regularly critique themselves and seriously act to improve their own social equality performance? Israel definitely can, which is why we've continually scaled up in this context throughout our 76 years of independence. Progress...

May 8, 2024, 12:21 PM

Celebrating Independence Day with Higher Education

Israel's Declaration of Independence has something for everyone. With my own focus on social impact, I'm intrigued by its call on the country's minority populations to "participate in the upbuilding of the State." Have they? Better yet: Have they...

About Me

A 35-year Israeli diplomacy veteran, Ambassador Yehuda Yaakov has directed the Foreign Ministry's Social Impact Policy unit since launching it in 2019; previously, he served as Consul General in Boston after receiving the Director General's Award as part of the "Iran Team." Yaakov has also served as board member of an NGO promoting Israeli-Ethiopian excellence. Raised in a NYC housing project, he began his career reporting about social justice issues. Active on LinkedIn and "X" (@YehudaYa).