In recent years, business owners have been operating in an atmosphere of great uncertainty – due to corona, inflation, war or another crisis.

Among the other assistance we offer business owners, the large, high-level conference provided information and tools to overcome the frequent crises and  move forward with their businesses.

Over 150 Haredi businessmen recently participated in a conference – “From Crisis to Opportunity” – in Jerusalem held by the Bizmax Center. The conference was designed to help businesses that have been grappling with continuous global and local crises over the past few years, creating ongoing uncertainty in the business world.

The event was attended by leading economic figures, who shared their professional experience with the audience and their ways of dealing with crises. Jerusalem businessman Rami Levy shared his personal story and explained how he reached his current position. Among other things, he noted that “a good CEO brings managers who are better than he is to manage his business.”

Eran Yaacov, the former director of the Tax Authority, told the business owners: “You are people for whom education is an integral part of your lives. Along with studying the Daf Yomi, it’s always necessary to learn from real life and discover new opportunities.”

Other senior officials who participated in the event were the Deputy CEO of Bank Hapoalim, Ram Gav; the CEO of the Ministry of Jerusalem and Heritage, Assaf Yazdi; the VP of Regulation and External Relations at New Med Energy, commentator Nadav Perry; and members of the Bizmax management: Moti Feldstein, CEO of the KEMACH Foundation; Moti Eichler, Chairman of Global Brothers; Gideon Cooperman, CEO of Bereshit; and Avreymi Yustman, Esq.,vice president of KEMACH.

The conference takes place annually as part of Bizmax’s routine activity, to promote Haredi businesses by providing a comfortable and spacious work/business complex, professional workshops, courses in various fields, business programs and the support of senior advisors and mentors.

Following speeches by the senior economic officials, professional workshops were held in the areas of sales, setting business goals and creating a budget. The workshops were given by consultants from MATI Jerusalem, which helped fund the conference, during which the MATI vice president Akiva Ganz presented a new track for Haredi business owners who are interested in receiving business consultation.

The Bizmax Innovation Center was established and operates in cooperation with the KEMACH Foundation, Global Brothers and the Jerusalem Development Authority along with the Ministry of Jerusalem and Heritage.

“In recent years, business owners have been operating in an atmosphere of great uncertainty; sometimes it’s corona, sometimes inflation, sometimes it’s war and sometimes it’s another crisis,” Bizmax CEO Eliyahu Dinowitz. “Among the tools that we give Haredi business owners throughout the year, we sponsor the conference “From Crisis to Opportunity,” to strengthen the Haredi business ecosystem in Jerusalem and to provide business owners with the best information and tools that will help them overcome the frequent crises and move  forward with their businesses.”

The conference was held with the support of Bank Hapoalim, which assists Bizmax activities throughout the year at the initiative of Yisrael Dekalboim, manager of the Haredi section of the bank.

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A year and a half of intensive study in the first cycle of MEGO – the high-tech training program for Haredi men – has concluded!
A graduation ceremony was held at the offices of the Kaltura company; diplomas were distributed to almost a hundred graduates of the first cohort.
So what happened? Projects were presented, speeches were made by partners, judges were there from leading hi-tech companies. But mainly there were ultra-Orthodox graduates who were imbued with motivation to succeed, integrate and to become the “Nachshons”– pioneers, who will pave the way for those who come after them….

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For over 12 hours, nine development teams, accompanied by mentors from Google, Amazon, Salesforce, Ness, and other companies developed outstandingly creative technological systems.
The winning development is a system that helps connect farmers who need working hands with volunteers who want to help. The winning team will receive a financial grant to continue developing the system and will be accompanied by a group of students who will assist in the development process.
Thanks to Tzachi Ovadia and the Kivun-Tech team for setting up a professional event in record time.
We will meet in 2024, with many more quality surprises that will help you integrate into the job market.

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As part of Kivun’s “Developing a Future” hackathon, in which some 70 Haredi computer science students took part, systems to help businesses that were hurt by the war were developed. The winning development was is an AI-based system that helps farmers who need working hands.
About 70 Haredi programmers from various educational institutions in Jerusalem participated in the “Developing a Future” hackathon held at Kivun-Tech, the high-tech branch of the Kivun Center, designed to help businesses in times of crisis – the largest employment guidance center for Haredim. For over 12 hours, the participants worked on developing systems to help businesses from Gaza border communities, the south and other regions of the country struggling with business challenges as a result of the Swords of Iron War.
They received support from 20 mentors from Google, Amazon, Salesforce, Ness, 3Base, Israel aerospace Industries and other leading companies in industry. The judges were professionals from Dell, Elisra, Eubitech, Glilot, IpOp, Tevel Metro and Matrix.
The students developed, for example, a system that helps companies whose employees were called up into the reserves that need substitute workers; the system connects employers with people looking for temporary jobs in a wide range of fields. Another development focused on finding a solution for professionals in the field of therapy that will be a leading center for the people who suffered emotional damage as a result of the war. Other developments included solutions for dealing with stock left over as a result of the war, an artificial intelligence-based bot for businesses to help realize rights, and a system to promote the businesses of reservists and businesses that were negatively impacted by the war.
The development selected by the team of judges is “Farming of Iron” – a system that integrates AI, navigation software and other technologies to connect farmers who were impacted by the war due to lack of manpower with volunteers from throughout the country who are ready to help them. The winning team will receive a financial grant to continue developing the system and will be accompanied by a group of students who will assist in the development process.
The hackathon was initiated by the high-tech department of the Kivun Center in Jerusalem operating on behalf of the Municipal Employment Authority and the Ministry of Labor. The students took “mutual responsibility” to a practical stage and developed real solutions by thinking creatively and outside-the-box,” says Tzachi Ovadia, director of Kivun-Tech, adding “The students demonstrated curiosity and motivation to grapple very professionally with technological challenges and to develop excellent products that will help businesses in distress”.
Attorney Avraham Yustman, Deputy CEO of the KEMACH Foundation, which operates the Kivun Center: “We decided to prioritize helping businesses that were impacted by the war, in order to contribute our part to strengthening the economy specifically at this time. The students participating in the hackathon, who will soon be integrated into the high-tech industry workforce, internalized the importance of every business and company that continues to work and support many families, and mobilized to help. The integration of more Haredi programmers in the high-tech industry is a national mission that will allow many more Haredi families to earn a quality living with dignity and will help the high-tech industry deal with its manpower crisis.”
“The Ministry of Labor stresses the integration of diverse populations in quality jobs in all branches of the economy, said director-general of the Ministry of Labor, Israel Ouzan who visited during the hackathon. “The representation of the Haredi public in the high-

tech industry is still very low, and we are working with a variety of tools to promote the training and integration of Haredi into high-tech. The successful hackathon, which embodies the spirit of volunteerism and mutual responsibility to help the residents of the south and businesses impacted by the war, is one of the activities of the Ministry of Labor that enable Haredi youth to gain experience in development. In the coming year also, we will continue to support and lead initiatives and programs to promote the integration of Haredi in the high-tech industry.”

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We hosted the Minister of Jerusalem and Israel Tradition, Rabbi Meir Porush, for a study tour of the Bizmax complex, the Haredi innovation center. Minister Porush wanted to see from close up the activities of Haredi business owners as well as the entire Haredi business community in Jerusalem.
Bizmax CEO, Eliyahu Dinowitz, explained to the minister the courses, workshops and all of Bizmax’s extensive activities designed to grow the Haredi business ecosystem in Jerusalem, and the assistance Bizmax provides to Haredi business owners in the capital who wish to employ Haredi workers.
Participating in the tour were also Assaf Yazdi, Director General of the Ministry of Jerusalem Affairs and Jewish Heritage; Shimi Albom, the minister’s head of staff; Eyal Haimovsky, Director General of the Jerusalem Development Authority; Rabbi Yossi Deitch, Chairman of the KEMACH Foundation; Motti Feldstein, CEO of the KEMACH Foundation; Avraham Yustman, Esq., Deputy CEO of KEMACH; Rabbi Gideon Cooperman, CEO of Bereshit and a member of the management of Global Brothers, our partner in operating the Bizmax complex; and other senior officials at the Ministry of Jerusalem Affairs and Jewish Heritage.
“In general, and in these complex times in particular, Haredi business owners in Jerusalem have a significant contribution to make to the city’s economy. It is known that the work done by Bizmax contributes to the development of Haredi businesses and consequently, to the city’s economy. The office I head, which is entrusted with the economic development of Jerusalem, does this, among other ways, by properly investing in the growth of Haredi businesses in the city,” said Minister Porush during the visit.

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 The KEMACH Foundation received the award in the category of organizations that have made a unique contribution to the State of Israel.  British Jewish philanthropist, KEMACH founder Leo Noe, and KEMACH CEO, Moti Feldstein, accepted the award on behalf of the Foundation.

President Yitzhak Herzog noted that KEMACH was chosen to receiving the award “for leading groundbreaking moves to integrate the Haredi public into the employment world.”

“It is a great privilege and honor for the KEMACH Foundation to receive this important recognition for its unflagging activity over the past 15 years to create suitable employment opportunities for the Haredi population so that they can support their families with dignity and integrate optimally into Israel’s economy,” said Moti Feldstein.  “This award belongs to the foundation’s dedicated employees and to the variety of projects that make up the infrastructure designed to strengthen the Haredi and Israeli economy.”

 “The KEMACH Foundation – Haredi Professional Promotion” is an innovative, groundbreaking and inspiring organization that promotes the optimal inclusion of Israel’s Haredi population in the world of employment while establishing infrastructures for professional development based on respect and loyalty to the values of Haredi Judaism, its culture and traditions.

 The President’s Award was bestowed on the KEMACH Foundation – Haredi Professional Promotion for exceptional leadership, responsibility and commitment, which help both Haredim who took part in the Foundation’s  various projects nationwide and Israeli society in general;  for its complex and innovative training system, which includes guidance and counseling at every stage, which positively changed the lives of thousands of men and women from the ultra-Orthodox  community and helped them to grow and integrate with faith and security in the world of employment; and for being a ray of light and hope in Israel’s multifaceted and diverse reality, which emphasizes our obligation to work together, shoulder to shoulder, on behalf of our common future.”

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Yechiel Amoyal, CEO of the Kivun Center, presented Kivun’s programs in the high-tech field and other professions as well as activities to advance Haredi women in industry.

The minister expressed his commitment to improving the status and salaries of Haredi women in the high-tech professions, noting that he would also provide resources to help alleviate the plight of Haredi women.

“Minister Ben Tzur has been closely familiar with the field of employment in general and the employment of Haredim in particular for many years,” said Moti Feldstein, CEO of the KEMACH Foundation. “We thank him, the CEO of his office and the staff at the Ministry of Labor in the field of Haredi employment for their trust in us and for choosing the KEMACH Foundation to operate the employment guidance centers for Haredim in the north and in the communities around Jerusalem.  We are confident that by working together we will be able to increase the  participation of Haredim in the employment market and to also reach significant achievements with regard to the salary and status of working Haredi women.”

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Our extensive accumulated experience and knowledge will, please G-d, be put to the service of the Haredi population in the north and the communities surrounding Jerusalem.

The KEMACH (Haredi Professional Advancement) Foundation thanks the Population Employment Administration and the Ministry of Labor’s Tenders Committee for the great trust they placed in us by choosing the KEMACH-BDO partnership to run the program to advance and integrate the Haredi population in the employment market (key centers) in the north and in the communities around Jerusalem.

Accordingly, the KEMACH-BDO partnership will operate the employment guidance centers for Haredim in Safed, Haifa, Netanya, Beit Shemesh, Beitar Illit and Modi’in Illit, utilizing the extensive experience and knowledge garnered by the two bodies over the years in integrating Haredim in the work world.

The largest organization of its kind in Israel, the KEMACH Foundation, which started in 2008, seeks to integrate Haredim into the economy through a variety of programs and projects. For the past decade, it has operated the very successful “Kivun Center,” an employment guidance center in Jerusalem, alongside many other projects designed to promote the integration of  the Haredi community into all branches of the economy.

BDO is one of the largest and most important consulting and accounting firms in Israel and part of an international network. Through the Public Administration Division, which is part of its  consulting arm, it leads many public programs, based on a vision of introducing business professionalism into the public service; emphasis is placed on the fields of employment, entrepreneurship and the promotion of small and medium-sized businesses in Israel.

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המקום ינחם אתכם בתוך אבלי ציון וירושלים
May you be comforted among the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem.

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It is a great honor for us to receive this important award for making a unique contribution to the State of Israel, together with artists, intellectuals and activists who also contribute significantly to Israeli society.

The KEMACH Foundation and the staff of the various projects will continue their dedicated work to provide scholarships, and to promote the work of the Yaad Institute, the Kivvun Center, Bizmax, Movilot and the MeGo project – all designed to further the integration of Haredim into the Israeli economy and quality jobs.

On the occasion of Israel’s 75th anniversary, the president of the State decided specifically to bestow the President’s Award on individuals and organizations that have made a unique contribution to the State of Israel.

In the category of organizations that have made a unique contribution to the State of Israel, the KEMACH (Haredi Professional Development) won. Among the reasons noted by the advisory committee to the president was the fact that the organization has been operating for about 16 years and is leading a crucial revolution in everything related to the integration of the Haredi public into the world of employment.

“The innovative idea of creating a place that combines aptitude assessment, educational consultation, and employment guidance under one roof, was groundbreaking in the Haredi community and created a significant change in thinking and change of approach to integrating Haredim in the work world.

The organization was founded by Haredi-British businessman Leo Noe and Haredi social entrepreneur Moti Feldstein. To date, the association has provided employment guidance services and significant scholarships for both vocational training and academic studies to tens of thousands of Haredi men and women.”

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May your work be blessed!

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And one great big feeling of satisfaction!

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Guest speaker Shlomo Filber, prominent pollster, owner and partner in the polling institute Direct Plus, spoke on the topic of “Think like a customer.” He explained to the businessmen how to analyze who their target audience is and how to build a package of services and products tailored to that audience.

Throughout the day, the participants held meetings with professional advisors from Mercantile Bank and MATI – The Center for Entrepreneurship in Jerusalem and heard empowering lectures on time management, building a target plan and government-guaranteed financing possibilities.

Moti Feldstein, CEO of the KEMACH Foundation, told the participants that their uniqueness as Haredi business owners is their ability to combine excellence in business with loyal representation of the Haredi public. “When you go out into the business world, you have to remember who you are and make sure you don’t give up even the smallest iota of your Haredi lifestyle,” he said.

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Roni Linder – TheMarker

Ella Segal (24) knew from a very early age what she wanted to do in life. “Already as a little girl I was drawn to the sciences and dreamed of studying medicine,” she says.  Her parents knew about this and supported her, and she started trying to figure out ways to be admitted to medical school. “During a visit to the pediatrician when I was 13, I asked what to do in order to be accepted. He told me: ‘Study English and mathematics at a high level.’ That was very good advice.”

So far, this is a standard story of a medical student. But Segal is a Haredi woman from the Lithuanian stream, and as a girl from B’nei Brak, becoming a doctor was not supposed to be her dream.

Haredi girls do in fact study English and math for more years and at a higher level than boys, who attend yeshivas, but in the high school where Segal studied, a Beit Ya’akov, matriculation exams were not given, and the level of English and mathematics was equivalent to only three units. This, of course, was an impossible starting point for anyone who wants to pursue academic studies – and certainly in order to be accepted to most prestigious academic track at university. “I wanted to do the matriculation exams but I couldn’t; there was simply no such option at our seminary,” Segal says.

Determined to make her dream come true, Segal found a creative solution to the challenge: a detour around matriculation. At the end of high school, while she was still studying at the seminary to become an English teacher, together with her friends, and without telling practically anyone, she registered for the Open University – which does not require matriculation or psychometrics – and did a bachelor’s degree in life sciences. “It was a complete secret. Only my closest family knew about it. When materials with

the university’s logo would arrive at the post office, I would wrap them in two opaque bags and take them home from.  It was only toward the end of my studies that I told my close friends and extended family. But until this day, not everyone who studied with me at Beit Yaakov knows about this.”

What would have happened if your friends or someone at the seminary had known about it in real time?

Segal: “I probably wouldn’t have remained at Beit Yaakov, and that was important to me, because I really liked the place.”

Segal completed her bachelor’s degree magna cum laude in four years and was admitted to the four-year bachelor’s degree medical studies program at the three universities to which she applied – Tel Aviv, Bar-Ilan and Ariel.  She also obtained rabbinic approval for her highly unusual procedure in a creative way: “I consulted my rabbi, who is my father, and he gave his approval.  She is now finishing her sixth year at Tel Aviv University’s medical school and is deliberating where to apply for her internship year.

“Haredim need to become involved in all areas of life”

The number of Haredi doctors, both men and women, in the world of medicine is still negligible.  The reasons are clear: the chances of a young  Haredi man who did not study core subjects or a young Haredi woman who studied English and mathematics at a low level being admitted into a field that even graduates of the most prestigious high schools find it very difficult to get accepted into – it is virtually nil. And this, even before taking into account equally great obstacles, such as gender-mixed classes, which are only the first step on a career path and lifestyle that are in stark contrast to the sheltered and separate Haredi way of life. In addition, medical studies take many years, during a time when Haredim focus on building large families, so that strong financial support is essential – but most Haredim live on a very low socioeconomic level.

At a time when the prospect of expanding core studies in Haredi educational institutions is diminishing due to the coalition agreements, the chance of Haredi girls and boys studying medicine is growing ever smaller. And yet, despite this complex reality, there are young people in the Haredi community who want to conquer this summit without giving up their Haredi way of life, and they receive formal help from within the community. For example, the KEMACH Foundation is a Haredi organization that receives government funding and encourages Haredi employment through grants, career counseling and career guidance. It has been in existence for over a decade and several years ago expanded its activities into a field to which only several hundred select individuals with almost unreal grades succeed in being admitted to every year. “In Israel there is a shortage of Haredi doctors; we identified a severe underrepresentation,” says KEMACH Vice President, Avraham Yustman. “Looking ahead, we think that we Haredim should enter all areas of life – including medicine.”

The foundation offers budding doctors career guidance and support, and if necessary, study and subsistence scholarships: “It is a large and ambitious project, because the studies are intensive and demanding, and it is necessary to offer significant financial assistance,” says Yustman. “The moment we made scholarships available, we created more demand on the part of the Haredim; otherwise, it is very difficult to study medicine. Today, there are already 30 Haredi medical students at various stages of their studies, 19 Haredi doctors, both men and women, who received financial and professional assistance from KEMACH, and dozens more who applied for the coming year.

David Kook (30) from Netanya grew up in a Chabad family and studied in a yeshiva where core studies were not taught.  “In elementary school, I studied basic math until grade 6, and barely knew English,” he says.  At age 19, he enlisted in the IDF, serving a full three years as a medic in the Golani Brigade, but didn’t dare dream of studying medicine, because “I didn’t think there was any chance of my studying anything like that.” After his discharge, he became a Chabad emissary in Mexico and Guatemala, and then went on to a Chabad yeshiva in New York. The usual track in Chabad is rabbinic certification, marriage, study in a kollel and work. But Kook had other dreams: “At the age of 22, I decided that I wanted to study medicine, but I didn’t exactly know where to start.”

So he started like this: “I went into Google and wrote, ‘How do you get accepted into medical school.’ I saw that you need to pass the psychometric exams, but I didn’t know exactly what that means. So I typed into Google, ‘Sample exercises for psychometrics,’ and got a list of exercises. When I return to Israel, I enrolled in a psychometric preparatory course and they asked me what I wanted to study. I said ‘history,’ because I was afraid that if I said medicine, they would laugh at me. They responded: ‘Okay, we’ll work really hard with you and you’ll get a 500.’ We really worked hard, and I scored over 700. Afterwards, I improved and got an even higher grade.”

Kook’s matriculation exam story was similar: “I did a regular preparatory course at the Hebrew University, because I didn’t even know there was a preparatory program for Haredim. This was a course that people attended to improve their already excellent matriculation exam results in order to be accepted into the most difficult courses of study, but I hadn’t even done the matriculation exams. After two months, I went to the secretary and told her I wanted to study medicine. She advised me to take the most basic preparatory course, to get a first degree – and then to apply for the four-year medical studies program. I also contacted the course coordinator, who was a lecturer in physics, and he told me ‘don’t leave.’ So I stayed and studied, and every time he said something that I didn’t understood, I would check it out in Wikipedia – and in this way, I progressed.  In the end I got a high grade in the preparatory course, improved my psychometric score, applied to medical school at the Hebrew University and was accepted. Next week I’m starting my internship at Laniado Hospital in Netanya.”

Kook says that before he started his studies, he consulted a rabbi “about everything” – questions about studying in mixed-gender classes and about specific dilemmas: “For example, about doing dissections [autopsies, which are part of anatomy studies; RL].  There were religious guys in the class with me who got permission. The rabbi I went to asked me what I need to do in order to learn and I explained that I needed to see everything and he told me to be in the room, but not to touch the corpse.”  Kook admits that “it wasn’t easy, because I want to be a surgeon and I wanted to have the experience, but there will be many other opportunities.”

“Culturally you are still an anomaly”

Tsila Reichman (24) was also raised in a Chabad family and studied at Chabad institutions in Be’er Sheva. She, too, dreamed big from a young age. “I knew I wanted to be a doctor. My parents are ba’alei teshuva, my father is a family doctor and my mother a nurse, so I was exposed to the world of medicine, and my parents supported me and encouraged me. I believe that if a person does not take advantage of his talent, it is a waste, and if I can – then why not?”

Despite her determination and the support she received, Tsila faced a major obstacle that was beyond her control: “At the Chabad high school for girls in Be’er Sheva where I studied, they take matriculation exams for the purpose of being admitted to a teachers seminary, but only at level 3 or 4. I asked to do 5 units in English and math, but they explained to me that they would not start a major for only one girl. So with the help of private tutors that my parents hired, I did 5 units and took the matriculation exams.”

How did they react at school?

Reichman: “They didn’t really believe that I would succeed, because I had to make up eight weekly hours of material in math and more hours in English, while attending school as usual. But I was very sure of myself, and I explained to the principle that this is what I want to study in the future. I am a very respectful person, and when you respect your surroundings, you receive respect in turn. I took the matriculation exams in the first exam session and received an 80 or something like that, and I was so upset that I said I would do it again. The teacher said to me: ‘What do you want to get? 100?’  The second time, I got a 99.  I also had a teacher who thought that if I started studying at the university I wouldn’t be so Hasidic and would stray from the path (I would become less religious; RL).  At the end of the year, she apologized and told me ‘well done’ and said that she hadn’t believed it was possible to pursue general education and stay on the path.” The second time Tsila took the psychometric exam, she received 710 – which, combined with her high matriculation exam grades, was enough for her to be admitted to dental school at Tel Aviv University.” Today she is in her fifth year, out of six years, of study at Tel Aviv University.

Tsila’s husband, Avraham Reichman (27), is an intern in medicine. He was born and raised in Texas to a family of Chabad ba’alei teshuva. His father is a doctor and from

childhood, his parents encouraged him to study for an academic profession alongside his religious studies. Such a goal is easier to achieve in the US:  Avraham did indeed study in Haredi yeshivas his whole life, but in the US, Haredi boys also study core studies, including mathematics. “The most Haredi people there study at this school,” he says. He did his first degree in biology at Yeshiva University, an Orthodox institution that combines religious studies in the morning with academic studies in the afternoon.

After finishing his first degree, Avraham applied to medical school in the US and also to the Technion American Medical Studies Program, designed for students with a bachelor’s degree.  He was admitted to the Technion and during his studies, worked as a physician’s assistant at the Asuta Hospital in Ashdod.  He now lives in Be’er Sheva and is doing an internship at Soroka Hospital, after which he will do a residency in internal medicine. The couple has a baby of one year and two months.

“It’s not suitable for everyone”

 The difficulties for young Haredim who are accepted into academia’s elite program continue and possibly even increase during their studies, as enormous challenges present themselves. People who grew up in a kind of bubble, apart from the secular world, with gender segregation and strict rules, now must live in a completely different world.

“It’s not suitable for everyone,” says Kook, “for a person who maintains a Haredi lifestyle, it’s not a natural environment. I served in the army with secular and religious people, and the preparatory program I did before my academic studies was also aligned with the outside world,  but you are still a cultural anomaly. I’m quite a sociable person and I’ve integrated socially, but you still look different and your lifestyle is different.”

“It’s a bit strange for example to study together with men or to be exposed to another culture,” says Tsila.” But I came with support from home, and I know that I’m here to learn and I have a goal, and when you have a goal you are more likely to stay on track. People are very respectful, but some people are more aware and others are less. For example, in the beginning there were boys who patted me on the back. It sometimes creates socially embarrassing situations, but slowly people begin understand. They already know not to curse near me.”

 Segal talks about another type of challenge: “I don’t know and have never had access to a doctor, a medical student or anyone connected to the medical profession, so I have no one to consult with or to learn from. Everything in academia is new to me. I arrived at university with no idea of how to write a paper. Talking to patients was also difficult at first, although as a student in my last years and as a physician’s assistant, I am constantly meeting patients, and today it is much easier.”

All four of them talk about Shabbat as one of their biggest challenges, for example, when they have an exam on Sunday. “Even ordinarily, we have one less day to study, so exams on Sunday after Shabbat is an additional difficulty,” says Avraham. “On the other hand, the fact that we got used to studying Torah for hours on end in yeshiva helps us now.”

“Starting next year, my internship year, I am going to work on Shabbat,” says Segal. “This entails both religious and emotional issues.  To me, as a woman, Shabbat is the most amazing day of the week, which I look forward to already the previous Saturday night. I know that working will ruin something for me – the very fact that I’ll be walking around with a mobile phone, that I’ll have to write on the computer, the entire routine. But in a way, I’m also looking forward to it, precisely because it is permitted and mandatory to rush to help the sick on Shabbat – I want to be the person who offers medical assistance.”

Sometimes the challenges come from home: “When I had just started studying, someone told my mother that she wanted to introduce me to someone who also became irreligious,” says Tsila.  “People thought that if I was studying medicine, I’m for sure no longer religious. Now you can see that I’m still Haredi. I dress the same way as before and go to synagogue.   At first there was more suspicion and people weren’t sure what was happening.”

Segal: “There’s a scale of reactions. There are people to whom it is strange and who don’t know exactly what to make of you. They say to me – ‘Well you’re American, you’re from abroad,’ or ‘you’re a ba’alat teshuva,’ but I grew up Haredi in B’nei Brak. Or when I say that I’m studying medicine, they say – ‘Oh, a nurse.’”

To the KEMACH Foundation, the question of whether the young doctors remain Haredi is critical: “The personal example is a very important element of the success stories of Haredi employment,” Yustman says.  People see a Torah giant and they want to emulate him. The same principal applies here too: the key to the program’s success is that others see that they do it and remain Haredi. It’s part of our DNA, and we try very hard to achieve that. We also have a program to preserve Haredi identity called Avnei Derech (Milestones), which meets weekly to study Torah and to talk about difficulties in academia.”

Let’s say you invested money and effort in a Haredi medical student and he suddenly is exposed to the outside world and decides that he doesn’t want to be Haredi anymore. What does that mean for you?

Yustman: “It would be a total failure. We had a discussion about that because people become acclimated to different social groups and there are temptations. That’s why

expanding the program to include more young Haredim depends on the fact that the talent remains Haredi, that the father of the next young man or woman sees that the others remains Haredi. Otherwise we are in trouble, because then it will come back like a boomerang.”

That is, they will blame you, and say that specifically because of this program, young people became non-religious

“Yes. We feel that we are constantly being held accountable. The day I fail like that I will be in trouble also with myself, because I will understand that something in my mission isn’t working properly.”

Students, you have a great responsibility on your shoulders

Kook: “With all the individualism, we live in a framework and have responsibilities. I’m quite mature, and I made decisions about my life and decided where I am.”

“Core studies are not a key parameter for me”

When you talk to the four young people, who are imbued with motivation and love for their profession, it’s easy to forget that they are an extremely unusual phenomenon in Haredi society, and have four unique personal stories.  They succeeded in overcoming a long list of obstacles – from the lack of core studies and a basic knowledge of mathematics and English, to overcoming the challenges of gender-mixed studies, autopsies and working on Shabbat. The common denominator they all share, besides natural talent and courage, is a supportive family that is not put off by academia or the reactions of the conservative environment.

 It is also difficult to ignore the fact that our meeting takes place during a period when core studies in Haredi educational institutions – or rather their absence – are in the headlines and in the eye of the storm, after it was decided to remove the requirement for core studies as a condition for receiving government funding for Haredi schools. In other words, in the coming years, Haredi boys and girls are actually going to be farther away from the dream of one day reaching the pinnacle of academia – medical studies.

Surprisingly, those who managed to penetrate the ivory tower after enormous efforts and great difficulties are not necessarily in a rush for their children to do the same: “My son will study in a talmud Torah and a yeshiva (that is, without core studies; RL),” Kook says. “The Lubavitcher Rebbe was asked about this many times, and he said that at this age it is very important for a child to acquire a set of values and at a later age he can complete what is necessary.” Segal says, “Core studies are not a key parameter for me, maybe in the fourth or fifth place. It’s more important to me that he learns how to learn and most important is the peer group with which he is studying.”

Even Avraham, who studied core subjects as a child in the US, says, “I also think it’s not the most important thing.”

The only one who offers a different opinion is Tsila: “It is important to me that he learns math and English. It’s true that won’t determine whether he’ll be the genius of the generation, but it is important to broaden horizons. If he doesn’t study core subjects in yeshiva, and unfortunately, there are almost no yeshivas that invest in math studies, I’ll get him a private tutor.”

“Haredi society is aware of the price that it pays for the lack of core studies and it is also clear that there is no religious problem with English or mathematics, which are ‘pure’ subjects. But the perception of the majority of the Haredi public in Israel is that you should devote all your time to Torah study, certainly from bar mitzvah age. It’s one of a person’s religious obligations and it shapes him,” says Yustman. “Like any parent, Haredi parents also want the best possible for their children and we understand the way we were raised and the way we are going to raise our child. We understand that he will have to work hard at an older age to get his English, and to complete core studies if he wants to become a doctor – and we are all aware of that and are ready to pay the price.”

What are the chances, then, that apart from individual cases, each of which is a unique story in itself, we will see more and more Haredim pursuing medical studies in the future? Yustman responds carefully: “We see an increase in demand, but to be admitted to medical school is very difficult even for someone who has a matriculation diploma and it is also a heavy financial burden for a Haredi family.”

And yet, he says, increasingly larger numbers of Haredim are beginning to study related fields that also require a high academic level: with help of the KEMACH Foundation about 2,500 men and women have already integrated into paramedical study programs, such as nursing, speech therapy, and occupational therapy, and over 80 have begun working in the life sciences, like biology, pharmacology and medical laboratory sciences. “A very high psychometric score is also needed be accepted into speech therapy at Hadassah,” he explains.

And perhaps in the end, the personal example and the initial breakthrough have the greatest power to bring about change: “After I graduated from high school and took the 5-unit matriculation exam on my own because there was no possibility of doing it in school, they introduced 5 units of math and English,” says Tsila. “It’s a big school and they can allow themselves to do it. They said: ‘We saw that it’s possible because one of our own did it.’ 

“One day when I was on the train someone stopped me and asked: ‘Are you studying medicine?’” says Segal. “‘Yes,’ I responded and she started asking me lots of questions, because she was also thinking about it. It’s great fun to help because I went through it, and it was hard for me and I didn’t have many people to consult with.”    

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MEGO is an innovative high-tech training program for ultra-Orthodox men.  It was developed in conjunction with representatives of the high-tech industry in order to focus on the practical content that is needed for work in the high-tech companies. As part of the training, participants study basic subjects needed for work in high-tech, along with basic programming and advanced programming. They receive a diploma from the Government Institute for Technological Training, and acquire the training and skills for intensive high-tech work.

The Deputy Ambassador greeted those present and thanked the management of the KEMACH Foundation and British Jewish philanthropist Leo Noe, who provides support for the foundation’s activities and for the integration of Haredim in the job market, particularly in high-tech.  She also encouraged the MEGO program participants to excel in their studies and said that the embassy would continue to assist and to enhance the efforts to integrate the ultra-Orthodox into high-tech companies and into the job market in general.

Rabbi Eliezer Simcha Weiss, a member of the Chief Rabbinate Council, was honored with the lighting of the second candle. Before lighting, Rabbi Weiss emphasized that the essence of Hanukkah is the dissemination of light all over the world.  He said that the activity of the KEMACH Foundation to integrate Haredim into the job market brings the light of livelihood to many families and is a direct extension of the dissemination of the light of Hanukkah. Moti Feldstein, CEO of the KEMACH Foundation, thanked the embassy for the gracious hospitality it extends every year, and for its support, over the years, of the KEMACH Foundation’s intensive activity to promote employment and entrepreneurship in the ultra-Orthodox sector.

Itzik Crombie thanked the embassy staff for their warm hospitality. “This is the fifth year that we are holding the KEMACH Foundation’s Hanukkah candle lighting at the home of the British ambassador,” he said. “Like the message of the menorah – adding an additional candle and more light every night, the menorah lighting at the home of the ambassador, which has become a tradition, highlights the KEMACH Foundation’s wonderful projects designed to integrate Haredim into all sectors of the economy.

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It was heartwarming to see the connections made among students from different places and backgrounds for whom the challenges of life and higher education and the common goal of preparing for Yom Kippur constituted the common denominator.

The meeting combined a developing sense of community and life stories together with songs that pierced the heavens, led by the one and only Itzi Ackerman, along with a lecture by Rabbi Zeevi Katzenelenbogen on soul-searching without guilt, according to the teachings of the Mesilat Yesharim.  

Rafi Feldstein, deputy director-general of the KEMACH Foundation and director of the Avnei Derech program, briefly reviewed the purpose of the meeting and of the Avnei Derech program in general – to stop the rat race and, together, to do something for ourselves, to re-chart our course and to plan renewed spiritual growth in the world of work and personal development.

You are invited to stay updated on registration for the third cycle of the program (soon) as well as our other events here and on the KEMACH Foundation’s website. 

Photo: Yitzchak Hertz

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This week we met some of them at a bonding meeting we held in honor of the new year, which was combined with a fascinating tour of Jerusalem. We heard from them about the difficulties and challenges, their expectations of themselves and especially, about the sense of mission they carry on their young shoulders.

You will hear a lot about them.  May it be a year of good health!  

The post To be a doctor is hard, to be a Haredi doctor is almost impossible… appeared first on kemach.

For donations click here: https://kemach.org/donate/

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At the closing event, program participants met the CEOs of MAOZ and the KEMACH Foundation, Shimrit Beinhorn and Motti Feldstein respectively. They talked about the program with the graduates and the journey they had taken, both as individuals and a group, and discussed  the goal of the training, i.e., to enhance the professionalism of the managers and enable them to build trust in their organizations, while preserving their personal and community identity.

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No, this is not the beginning of a joke. This is the reality that we work hard to create. This week,  47 new students in various degree and vocational training tracks – including medicine, psychology, animal care, social work, programming and others with a job horizon and the prospect of a good livelihood – joined the ranks of our scholarship recipients. 

Good luck to them, good luck to all of us

Photo: Scholarship applicants in the process of evaluation and counseling at our Ya’ad Institute

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Avi is a graduate of our Leadership program “Avnei Derech”.

In a post that was uploaded last week on Amazon’s official LinkedIn page, 26,000,000 followers were exposed to Avi’s success.

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The KEMACH enterprise was dear to Rav Shulem’s heart, and he played a key role in realizing the organization’s goals and furthering the integration of Haredim into the job market, enabling them to earn a living with dignity.
His enormous chesed activity will redound to his merit and that of his dear family, until the coming of Mashiach.

The post the esteemed Rav Yaakov Shalom Fischer z”l 🕯️ appeared first on kemach.

Your friendship and concern for all our Kemach grantees will be appreciated for generations to come.
 With wishes for a Kosher and Happy Pesach, 

Moti Feldstein
CEO The Kemach Foundation

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A 220% increase in the number of Haredi students, both men and women, attending academic institutions between 2010 and to 2021.
In 2021 alone, there was a 14% increase in the number of students from the Haredi community.
(Statistical Report on Ultra-Orthodox Society in Israel 2021, Israel Democracy Institute)

We are happy to witness the fruits of years of hard work and investment in scholarships, guidance, counseling, and support, and see a significant increase in the number of Haredi students attending institutions of higher education.
The continuation of the growth trend depends, first and foremost, on the ability of the students to maintain their Haredi lifestyle during their studies, without giving in to outside influences to change their value system.
We at the KEMACH Foundation will continue to support Haredi men and women in academic institutions to help them succeed, maintain their Haredi identity and find quality employment.

In the photos: Haredi students in KEMACH’s Avnei Derech program

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At an event held last night in Nazareth with the participation of the US Ambassador to Israel, Mr. Thomas R. Nides, the embassy announced the sponsorship of KEMACH Foundation’s Mobile Training Centers project, through the US Government’s Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI), to promote partnership in the Middle East.

Representatives of the Kemach Foundation, Director of the Community Program, Israel Yom Tov, and Foundation Director General Moti Feldstein presented the program, its goals, and the unique actions that take place in collaboration with the Rabbis and Hassidic leaders of these communities.

Following the election of the kemach Foundation, the US Ambassador, Mr. Nides, expressed his admiration for the project and said that the United States sees great importance in integrating diverse populations into the Israeli labor market.

The ambassador visited Bnei Brak last week, met with rabbis and community leaders, and learned the importance of facilitating employment for the ultra-Orthodox public.

“We are pleased to work with organizations such as the Kemach Foundation, which has proven its continued dedication and commitment to the social and geographical periphery of Israel.

“The United States sees tremendous importance in advancing the economic conditions of the ultra-Orthodox communities by integrating them in the employment circle, which will contribute to both the Israeli economy and the financial stability of the ultra-Orthodox families,” said the ambassador.

Kemach Foundation Director General Moti Feldstein thanked the Ambassador and the Embassy staff for the honorable choice and stated that “the project is intended to provide an employment solution for the ultra-Orthodox concentrations in the periphery as well as Hassidic circles that choose to leverage employment independently within their communities.”
This project and its sponsorship Indicate the United States’ understanding of the appropriate and efficient means to contribute to the Israeli economy and the warm relationship between the United States government and ultra-Orthodox Jewry.

The post The US Embassy has chosen the Kemach Communities’ Project appeared first on kemach.

!Picture courtesy of: KEMACH alumnus Miki Spitzer Photography

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Watch the article that aired on News 13 and brings the significant part of BizMax – the Haredi Innovation Center and the Kivun Placement Center for Integration of Haredi Men in High-Tech

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We participated in the employment fair with booths of our Kivun Placement Center and Bizmax – our Haredi innovation center. These projects provide many job seekers with services of occupational diagnosis and detailed information on vocational training, entrepreneurship, employment, job or business courses and a variety of services for successful employment.

It is our pride to take part in events that help promote the integration of Haredim in employment.

The post Employment fair for Haredi volunteers of the national-civil service appeared first on kemach.

.A special greeting to his wife, our next First Lady, Mrs. Michal Herzog. Mrs. Herzog represents The Wohl Foundation in Israel.

Mr. and Mrs. Herzog are familiar with the extensive activities of The Kemach Foundation and they are both deeply involved in developing Haredy employment in Israel.

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הַמָּקוֹם יְנַחֵם אֶתְכֶם בְּתוֹךְ שְׁאַר אֲבֵלֵי צִיּוֹן וִירוּשָׁלַיִם

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Interview with Rabbi Nechemia Steinberger on Channel i24NEWS English following the terrible disaster on Mount Meron.

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אָבִינוּ מַלְכֵּנוּ שְׁלַח רְפוּאָה שְׁלֵמָה לְחוֹלֵי עַמֶּךָ

בִּלַּע הַמָּוֶת לָנֶצַח וּמָחָה ה’ דִּמְעָה מֵעַל כָּל פָּנִים

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Just this week we approved 1804 new academic scholarships totaling NIS 38,000,000.

Behind each scholarship is another Haredi who can support his or her family with dignity without relying on charity or government allocations

Your generosity has made these marvelous
achievements possible.

For our Hebrew speaking friends, this is a link for our new Haredi economic development magazine:

In just 13 years, the KEMACH Foundation has achieved impressive results. We were not deterred by the corona crisis, and continued to build the future of the State of Israel and Israeli society.

Just this week we approved 1804 new academic scholarships totaling NIS 38,000,000.

Behind each scholarship is another Haredi who can support his or her family with dignity without relying on charity or government allocations

Your generosity has made these marvelous
achievements possible.

For our Hebrew speaking friends, this is a link for our new Haredi economic development magazine: https://bit.ly/2QzQ1pc

Wishing you and yours a Happy and Kosher Pesach

The post a Happy and Kosher Pesach appeared first on kemach.

Hodaya studied at Rabbi Grossman’s institutions in Migdal Haemek and, despite many difficulties, managed to complete a full matriculation certificate. Hodaya was looking for a degree in the social and interpersonal field and so she chose the field of social work. Hodaya strives to develop professionally in this field, she believes in social involvement and personal and social investment. She strives to combine more treatment methods and be the most professional.

“The UJIA scholarship gives me peace of mind and the ability to study comfortably, I live on loans and hardly work. Unfortunately, my parents cannot help, they do not have enough for themselves. Without the UJIA scholarship I would not be able to study today.”

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In the beginning of 2020 Chaim reached out to Kemach in order to find an organized and fulfilling job. Chaim went through a process of career consultation which included a psychotechnics test and a meeting with a career counsellor . During his interview Chaim told us how he loves to cook, the team was inspired by his enthusiasm.

As a result of the process Chaim was encouraged to take the leap and go to a culinary arts school and received a tuition scholarship from Kemach. Chaim is now on path to become a professional and certified chef.

When Chaim will graduate, Kemach will assist Chaim with finding a job.

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לתורם הנכבד,
כאם לעשרה ילדים, עם כל המשתמע מכך, אני רוצה להביע את תודתי מכל הלב על תמיכתך הנדיבה, המאפשרת לי להגשים חלום וללמוד רפואה תוך גידול ילדי בראש שקט ובנפש קור רוח, החיוני לשתי המשימות העצומות הללו.
תרומתך מאפשרת לי ללמוד ולהשקיע בלהפוך לרופא טוב יותר, לקדש את שם גן העדן ולמלא את שליחותי בצורה הטובה ביותר. אני מתרגש ונרגש מהמחשבה שאדם שאני לא מכיר נותן את הכסף שלו בכדי שהדבר הטוב הזה יכול לקרות. אני מקווה באמת כי הכשרון של נתינה שלך למען הציבור והחסד המגולם בעולם הרפואה יעבור לזכותך בקביעות לכל החיים מלאי נאתות, שפע ובריאות.
בהערכה רבה,
שירן שחר

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“Go and gather all the Jews”

In ancient Shushan, Hashem’s rescue comes after the Jewish people gather in a demonstration of unity and solidarity with Queen Esther and with each other.

The solidarity of the Jewish people – based on the principle that “Kol Israel Arevin” – “all of Israel is responsible for one other” – has been a key factor in our survival throughout our history. It is a value that the KEMACH Foundation works tirelessly to promote: by helping integrate Haredim into Israel’s economy and transforming them into meaningful players in Israeli society, we are furthering a sense of unity and common destiny among all sectors of the population.

Every donation to KEMACH gives more young Haredim the means to become financially independent and support their families with dignity. It enables them to get off the charity rolls and to become contributors, rather than burdens, to society.

We pray that the sense of mutual responsibility will bring Geula to our people today as well and that the Jews will have “light and gladness, and joy and honor.” “לַיְּהוּדִים הָיְתָה אוֹרָה וְשִׂמְחָה וְשָׂשֹׂן וִיקָר…”

We wish you and your families a happy and healthy Purim.
For donation opportunities click here: www.kemach.org/donate/

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The post !!!גייטס זיך וועקסענירן (In Yiddish- Go get the vaccine ) appeared first on kemach.

The leadership of Reb Avraham זצ”ל was defined by his family’s tradition of Chesed, in the footsteps of their father, the tremendous Baal Tzedaka, Reb Ze’ev Wolfson זצ”ל.

The world of Torah and Chesed lost one of its central pillars and for this, our heart grieves.

ת.נ.צ.ב.ה

The post Baruch Dayan Ha’Emet – Reb Avraham Wolfson זצ”ל appeared first on kemach.

Happy Chanukah from The Kemach Foundation

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The world has lost a huge scholar who left a tremendous impact on the Jewish communities all around the world.

The post ברוך דיין האמת appeared first on kemach.

For the past 13 years, the Kemach Foundation has been providing academic and vocational scholarships to help Haredi men and women obtain the education they need to integrate into Israel’s job market. Thank G-d, our Kemach family now includes 20,000 graduates who are employed in all sectors of the economy and are able to support their families with dignity.

The Kemach graduates serve as models of successful integration into the labor force for the entire Haredi world. 

You can make a difference by helping them make a living!

Although our budget is significant, it is insufficient to meet the thousands of requests for scholarship assistance that we receive every year. 

This year alone, we were forced to disappoint 4,852 men and women whose only chance of pursuing advanced studies is through Kemach assistance!  

Therefore, we are turning to you, dear friend, to help expand the circle of  scholarship recipients.  Your monthly donation of $180 for one year to the Kemach Scholarship Fund will enable one more person to provide a respectable living for his/her family, and, in turn, join the giving side – all thanks to you

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Since the outbreak of the pandemic we have:
Given over $13,525,000 in scholarships to 6,148 students.

Placed 1747 people in jobs through the Kivun Placement Center.

Helped 2,260 Young Men and Women understand themselves better and start their employment journey at our Guidance and Counseling Center

The next generation of Kemach students have been accepted into the Technion, Hebrew University, Bar Ilan University, and other top academic institutions and they will undoubtedly make their mark in the coming generation.
The impact of your generosity
The highest form of charity – tzedaka – according to the Rambam is enabling individuals to support themselves and to ensure that they don’t become dependent on others.

Since its inception, KEMACH has helped thousands of Haredim conquer poverty and distress. Additionally, KEMACH’s economic contribution to the State of Israel is some half a billion shekel in the past year alone! And our total economic contribution to date is estimated at a whopping NIS 4.8 billion!

But our impact can’t be measured in dollars alone! KEMACH has transformed the lives of so many young men and women. Our programs enable them to follow their dream to support their family with pride and to make meaningful contributions to society without compromising their beliefs or lifestyles.

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“I am eternally grateful to Kemach for facilitating the process which enabled me to maximize my potential while remaining true to Torah values.

I can still learn in Kollel every morning, because my qualifications enable me to support my family by working in the afternoons and teaching in the evenings. I could not have achieved this without Kemach’s transformative scholarship.”

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Rotem graduated with a teaching degree from Beis Yaakov, and started a second degree in geography and town planning at the Hebrew University, with a scholarship from KEMACH. She became manager of the Building Inspection Department of the Gush Etzion Regional Council. Rotem graduated with the fourth Movilot cohort in July 2018. She decided to set up a start-up in her spare time, providing online assistance with construction license applications.

“The dedicated Movilot team helped me to recognize my potential and led us all through a transformative life experience. They encouraged our self awareness, reinforced the legitimacy of our communal identity, and motivated us to make empowered choices. I am proud to volunteer through KEMACH to help other Haredi women find more rewarding and appropriate employment.”

The post FACES BEHIND THE FIGURES appeared first on kemach.

After graduating Beis Yaakov with a Judaic Studies qualification, she decided to become a nurse. With the support of the KEMACH Foundation, Tzila studied at Laniado Hospital’s Tessler School of Nursing in Netanya where she worked for four years as a surgical nurse.

At the same time, she also studied for a Bachelors of Science degree through the Open University, with the dream of becoming a doctor. When she was accepted to the Bar Ilan University School of Medicine, KEMACH assisted Tzila with a new scholarship from The Max Barney Foundation. This allowed Tzila to focus on her studies and to bring up her young son without financial stress.

The pressure is intense, with weekly tests, but she appreciates KEMACH’s support and encouragement. Now in her second year, having completed her first year with a 74% average grade, Tzila dreams of becoming a surgeon or a gynecologist.

“Being a nurse was not enough for me. I have always wanted to give more, to the community at large and to the religious community in particular. I believe that the Haredi community needs female Haredi doctors who can understand their unique needs, and I am grateful to KEMACH for helping me to realize my ambition.”

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He came to Kivun in February 2018, took our aptitude tests and had interviews with career guidance professionals. He was extremely motivated, joining our Education Completion Program and taking our preparatory courses in Mathematics, English and Computing Skills.

We advised him to consider a career in computer programming and provided him with a 90% scholarship for a 6-month course. During the course he worked as a programmer with Quze, one of our Bizmax start-ups. Shortly after graduating, he was hired by one of Israel’s leading hi-tech companies as a front-end programmer, earning over 10,000 NIS a month. We hope that within 3 years he will be earning twice that amount!

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While involved in the management team of a national project to shorten waiting times in emergency rooms, he realized that the solution required Artificial Intelligence. He invented Quze to offer this solution to healthcare providers worldwide, and his team of seven is currently raising Round A funding for pilot projects.

“Entrepreneurship was always in my soul, but I would not have reached where we are now without the help and guidance of BIZMAX. Their mentors and workshops have helped me to clarify my goals and how to reach them”.

The post MEET EFRAIM & HIS STARTUP QUZE appeared first on kemach.

Bentzi Fergus is a nurse on the front line of the fight against COVID-19 in Ichilov’s Emergency Department, Israel’s largest Hospital. Bentzi Fergus is another KEMACH Scholarship recipient who is fighting Corona.

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He recently won two gold medallions in a national Israeli Chefs Competition, and his participation persuaded them to make this
formerly non-Kosher competition kosher from now onward! “It was thanks to the tuition scholarship that I received from KEMACH that I have been able to enter the business world, develop a fulfilling career and support my family with dignity.”

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According to the report, the Kemach Foundation has helped over 20,000 individuals to find jobs in the last decade. Kemach’s Guidance and Counseling services have resulted in an astonishing 85% of alumni working in the field in which they have trained. Based on an average monthly salary of 9,000 NIS, the Chief Economist in the Ministry of Finance has calculated that Kemach’s graduates are contributing 240,000 NIS a year to the Israeli economy. Further proof of the efficacy of Kemach is reinforced by its partnerships with governmental agencies, who see the Kemach Foundation as the most professional and expert organization championing Haredi integration into the workforce. The report also includes endorsements from the President of Israel Reuven Rivlin, the US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman, and the Rt. Hon. Alistair Burt, former UK Minister for Foreign Affairs.

Click here to download the Kemach Foundation’s 2018 Annual Report.

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The BizLabs Startup Showcase in London in September generated fantastic publicity for the businesses participating in Kemach’s Bizmax – ביזמקס  Haredi hi-tech start-up project.

Rabbi Nechemia Steinberger from the Kemach Foundation in Jerusalem, explains that the organisation’s overriding priority is to help Haredi entrepreneurs to remain true to Torah values while developing their business ideas. “Everything we do at Kemach is designed to maintain the integrity of the Haredi community that we serve. Our goal is to enable individuals to develop their potential with complete respect for their minhagim and lifestyle. Where Haredi entrepreneurs may face certain disadvantages when preparing to bring their innovative ideas to market, BizLabs gives them mentors to help them overcome those challenges and develop their presentations.”

One editorial in a non-religious UK newspaper said: “Efforts to support the few Orthodox high-tech entrepreneurs who don’t just dream about inventing something but design it, raise money for it and make it happen, all the while juggling religious and family commitments, are so vitally important, not just for Israel, but for Orthodox communities around the world. They are, in a very real sense, tech champions.” This article in Ami Magazine gave BizLabs another glowing review.

But Kemach is not resting on its laurels: a second cohort of BizLabs technology startups joined the program in September. We wish them hatzlacha rabba!

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The end of our BizLabs Technology Scalerator program was celebrated at President Ruvi Rivlin’s official residence. President Reuven Ruvi Rivlin has been working since the beginning of his term to help Haredim integrate into the labor market and achieve success both in the public and in the private sectors.

The event was attended by senior managers from the Israeli technology industry including the CEO of the Authority for Invocation Aharon Aharon, officials from the Authority for the Development of Jerusalem, Achim Global Foundation, representatives from the high tech companies which supported the program and provided mentors, and of course – the startup founders themselves.

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Have you ever asked yourself how a vision can be turned into a revolutionary initiative, and where the greatest success stories actually begin? How an unprecedented idea, which nobody has ever thought of before, is launched? How boundaries can be broken to reach new and better places? What the most effective formula is for achieving goals? What lies behind the inventions that have changed our lives? And who, for example, is behind Cofix?

Avi Katz is an Israeli businessman and entrepreneur who is one of the founders and owners of Cofix – the coffee shops that have become an Israeli success story, familiar to many of us through the dozens of branches sprouting in every corner around the country. The chain gained its fame thanks to its fixed price list: all products sold at all Cofix branches cost exactly five shekels. This makes the stores useful and attractive to customers. The chain’s sweeping success as evident in the high sales threshold, as well as the innovative revolution it engendered in the consumer culture, are only some of the excellent results of this unique initiative.

The initiative, like all other innovative initiatives that break into the market, began simply with a brave, determined and powerful vision.

In a fascinating lecture that will be delivered on the stage of the Kivun Center, Avi Katz, founder of Cofix and the Hagshamah Fund, will expose the secrets of his success story and the golden keys that can open the gates of success to each and every one of us. This lecture will launch an extensively-planned series of lectures by businessmen, brought by the Kivun Center with the goal of exposing the professional secrets of successful individuals, the real tips and the big and small stories behind the headlines.

The Kivun Center is invested in your personal success, and believes that you too can create your own success story. If you think that you can also take the keys into your hands and open the gates to success, we invite you to sign up for the fascinating conference that will take place on Thursday, 30 Adar I (March 10), at exactly 6:00 p.m. in the Kivun Center’s auditorium. Entrance is free of charge, for men only, prior registration required at the Kivun Center. Limited number of seats.

Be the next success story!

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