Chani Goldengreen was born in Kfar Saba, the first-generation Israeli in her family after her parents made Aliyah from the UK.  Chani was raised in a Jewish and Zionist atmosphere, attended the TALI school, was an active member of the “Hod Ve’Hadar” congregation and was a member of the NOAM youth movement, which became her second home. In NOAM, she rose through the ranks, filling various positions. She joined the movement in the third grade, became a counselor, completed her army service through the Garin Nachal program, worked as a chapter coordinator and served as a Shlicha in Australia. Later on, Chani joined the management of the movement and worked as the head of the Leadership Training Program until 2017.

Since then, Chani has worked as an English teacher through Teach First Israel. Working in education to create social change is a strong passion of hers, and while she was working as a teacher, she helped form the organization MEGAMA, which serves as a community for LGBT educators across Israel.

Chani has a Bachelor’s degree in Education and Political Science from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and is currently working on completing her Master’s degree in Education Policy at Tel Aviv University.  

Chani currently lives in Tel Aviv with her wife, Adi.

Chani Goldengreen

Rabbi Alan Silverstein, Ph.D., has been the religious leader of Congregation Agudath Israel in Caldwell, New Jersey, since 1979. From 1993 to 1995, he served as President of the International Rabbinical Assembly of the Conservative Movement. From 2000 - to 2005, he was President of the World Council of Conservative/Masorti Synagogues. He served as Chair of the Foundation for Masorti Judaism in Israel from 2010-to 2014. He currently serves as the president of MERCAZ Olami. He is the author of It All Begins With A Date: Jewish Concerns About Interdating; Preserving Jewishness In Your Family: Once Intermarriage Has Occurred; and Alternative to Assimilation: A Social History of the Reform Movement in American Judaism, 1840-1930.

Rabbi Dr. Alan Silverstein

Born and raised in Liberty, New York, Emily and her husband Jack made Aliya from Boston almost 40 years ago.  Emily trained in Jewish Communal Service at the Hornstein Program at Brandeis University and began her professional career with the Jewish Community Centers in Boston. 

In Israel, she has held senior staff positions at the Yoseftal Institute for Community Development, the Hebrew University’s NCJW Research Center for Innovation in Education, the Israel Movement for Progressive (Reform) Judaism, and the Moriah Fund. She also served as the first Executive Director of the Counseling Center for Women and the Israel Heart Fund. She was a faculty member of the Hebrew University's Schwartz Program for Training of staff for Community Centers (Matnassim) and Early Childhood Centers. 

Having completed over four years of service as the Chairperson of the Masorti Movement in July 2014, Emily currently is the Chairperson of the Jewish Pluralism Watch and is a member of the Board of the Educational Center at Hannaton; She also is a member of the Boards of the Israel Association of Ethiopian Jewry and Agudat Adi for the promotion of organ donations.

Emily serves as KKL vice-chair and chairs the environment and science committee.

Emily Levi Shochat

Deputy Director, Masorti Olami & MERCAZ Olami

Tehila Reuben

John was the vice president of Kehilat Nitzan synagogue in Melbourne, Australia, and established MERCAZ Olami - Australia in 2011 with Eric Lundberg (Sydney). 

John has been serving on the MERCAZ Olami board since 2016. 

was born and raised in Tel Aviv and has been working in Jewish education for over ten years:  Between 2008 and 2010 she was a Jewish Agency Israel Fellow for Hillel at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and since she returned has been working for Hillel Israel as a program director at Hillel in Tel Aviv University and as the Director of Hillel at IDC Herzliya.

Nilli holds an MA in the History of Israel and a BA in the History of Israel and Studies of The Land of Israel from Bar Ilan University, and today is studying for a second MA in Learning Technologies at Holon Technological Institute (HIT).

Over the years she participated in various Beit Midrash programs including Kolot Fellows and Beit Midrash Heder MiShelach at the Hartman Institute and more. Today she participates in 248: A new global community action network, organized by Partnership2Gether, Rehovot – -Minneapolis.

Nilli currently lives in Rehovot with her family.

Nilli Glick Asaf

Director of Zionist Educational Projects & MERCAZ Olami Chapter Liaison MERCAZ Olami

Matt has been Chief Executive of Masorti Judaism since 2012. He began his career as a Noam movement worker and, before taking up his current role, worked for over 20 years in Jewish education in the UK, Israel, and the United States.

Matt has served as a board member of the national volunteering charity Timebank, London Citizens (now part of Citizens UK), and a founding governor of Alma Primary School.

Matt has been servicing on the MERCAZ Olami board since 2018. 

He has a Ph.D. in the philosophy of education from the UCL Institute of Education, where his research topic was Jewish Social Justice Education. Matt is a member of the New North London Synagogue.

Latin America Desk and Graphic Designer, Masorti Olami & MERCAZ Olami

Ariela Rosemberg-Garbatzky

Finance Manager, Masorti Olami & MERCAZ Olami

Suzanne Farber

Funding Liaison Coordinator, Masorti Olami & MERCAZ Olami

Cassie Weinstein

Rabbi Meiersdorf grew up in Jerusalem in an observant home with a solid Zionist background. His experiences working with Ethiopian immigrants and learning in the Otniel Yeshiva brought him into contact with the diversity of Israeli society. After his army service, he traveled to the Far East, where he encountered cultures and art that opened new windows into spirituality and meaning. After his undergraduate degree at Herzog College, Rabbi Yerach decided to deepen his knowledge of Judaism and went to Schechter for the Mishlei Jewish Studies MA program.  

Today, Rabbi Yerach serves as the rabbi for Marom, the young adults’ organization of the Masorti/Conservative Movement. 

Rabbi Mauricio Balter was born in Uruguay. He received an MA in Jewish Thought from the University of Haifa. He received his rabbinic ordination in 1991 from the Seminario Rabínico Latinoamericano Marshall T. Meyer. He attended the prestigious Educators Graduate Program at the Melton Center for Jewish Education at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and continued his educational leadership training at the Leatid program in Argentina. He was a Rabbi in Argentina for 14 years at the Kehilot of Tucuman and Salta (Northern Argentina) and Or Hadash Kehila of Buenos Aires. He was also the first director of the Masorti Movement in Argentina. He made aliya in 1995 and was rabbi of Kiryat Bialik community for 15 years. Since 2010, he serves as the Rabbi of Kehilat Eshel Avraham in Be’er Sheva. He is a member of the executive committee of the Masorti movement in Israel and co-president of the Rabbinical Assembly of Israel.

Rabbi Mauricio Balter

Following his military service, Yizhar earned a BA in Political Science and Hebrew Literature at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. 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 his Ph.D. in Sociology and Education from Sussex University in Brighton, England. 

Yizhar has a broad range of experience in Jewish communal service. After holding the Deputy Director position at the Shorashim Centre for Jewish Studies, Yizhar served as the Jewish Agency’s community shaliach to Tucson. On his return to Israel, he worked for the Jewish Agency as Director of Partnerships.

Yizhar has professional experience in advertising and journalism. He is a regular contributor to the Israeli press on religion and state and is the co-editor of the book, Questions About God, published by Ma’ariv.

Between 2007-2020 Yizhar served as the Executive Director of the Masorti Movement in Israel - part of the worldwide Conservative/Masorti Movement dedicated to a traditional, egalitarian, and pluralistic vision of Israel and Judaism. Yizhar represented the Masorti Movement in the negotiations with the Israeli government regarding egalitarian prayer at the Kotel. He is one of the leading voices in Israel promoting Jewish pluralism.

Yizhar Hess is a 10th-generation Jerusalemite. Today, he lives in Modi'in with his wife Yael, a former colonel in the IDF, and their two children, Achiad and Mica.

Ex Officio Member, senior representative of MERCAZ Olami at WZO. Vice-chair at WZO

Rabbi Philip Scheim has entered his thirty-ninth year at Beth David Congregation in Toronto, Canada, where he has served since his ordination at JTS in 1981. Immediate Past International President of the Rabbinical Assembly, Phil has been active in Masorti causes through the years, and in numerous charitable organizations in Israel and Canada. He co-edited the RA/Schechter Institute Megillat HaShoah, and was instrumental in the creation of the newly published Pirkei Avot – Lev Shalem.

Ex Officio Member, President of Masorti Olami

Rabbi Wernick has been the Senior Rabbi at Beth Tzedec community since February 2019.

Rabbi Wernick currently serves in leadership roles in many community organizations and has been named one of Newsweek’s 50 Most Influential Rabbis in America and was on the Forward's List of Influential Jewish Leaders.

Before joining Beth Tzedec, Rabbi Wernick served as the CEO of the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism (USCJ) and was instrumental in the effort to create a permanent space for pluralistic and egalitarian prayer at the Kotel (Western Wall).

Rabbi Wernick is happily married to Jody Wernick and the proud father of three daughters.

Tehila Reuben is the Deputy Director at Masorti Olami and MERCAZ Olami, responsible for Masorti Olami’s ninternational communities and resource development network. She has worked at Masorti Olami since May 2011. She has organized and coordinated missions and events, including missions to Budapest, Paris, London, and the past six Annual Tribute Events in New York. 

Tehila is also very involved in the everyday running of the Jerusalem and New York offices. When she is not in the office, Tehila is an avid cook and has a hen channel for her healthy gourmet creations. She is originally from Teaneck, New Jersey, and made Aliyah in 2005. She currently lives in Jerusalem next to one of her favorite hang-outs, the Machane Yehuda Market.

Ex Officio Member, Deputy Director of Masorti Olami and MERCAZ

Ex Officio Member, President of Masorti Israel

Ro’ee has nearly two decades of experience in leadership and directing social and educational projects. He created ‘Face to Face,’ a Jewish-Arab dialogue group at Givat Haviva. 

For the past ten years, Ro’ee has been involved with Jewish Education and was a Jewish Agency community Shaliach in the USA. 

Ro’ee holds a master’s degree in organizational behavior from the Hebrew University and a BA in sociology and political science from Tel Aviv University.

He is married to Michal and the proud father of Na’ama, Matan, and Or.

Tammy is originally from Rehovot, Israel and currently lives in Jerusalem. She grew up in the Masorti Movement in Israel, and is a member of congregation Adat Shalom Emanuel.

Tammy is the Associate Director of Communications & New Initiatives at the Masorti Movement in Israel.  She was a senior staff member in the NOAM youth movement and has been working for the Masorti Movement in Israel since 2014 as the Social Media and Communications Director.

Tammy served as a combat soldier in the Karakl unit of the IDF, back in the days when very few women joined combat units. Tammy holds a BA in Political Science and Communications from Bar Ilan University, and is currently completing her Master’s Degree in Jewish studies at The Schechter Institute.

Tammy serves as a member of the Zionist Executive of the World Zionist Organization, representing MERCAZ and Masorti Olami. She has also been a member of Women of the Wall for over 13 years, and is currently the Vice Chair of the organization.

Ex Officio Member, Director of Organizational Development and Zionist Projects  

Team Members