Pincus Fund Board

Moshe Vigdor has been the director general of the Mandel Foundation – Israel since November 2012. He holds an MSc in industrial and management engineering from the faculty of technology at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and served as an officer in the air force with the rank of lieutenant colonel (reserves).

In his previous position, Moshe was the director general of the Israeli Council for Higher Education and the Planning and Budgeting Committee. Before that he served for five years as the director general of the Jewish Agency for Israel and since that time he has been a member of the board of trustees of the organization and of its executive management. He previously served for 12 years as vice president and director general of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Moshe began on his professional path in 1974 as director of production and operations at a Jerusalem biotech company owned by America’s Miles Laboratories. Later, he was appointed director general of “Yissum” the Hebrew University of Jerusalem’s research Development Company, which he institutionalized as a leading international organization in the commercialization of technologies responsible for the protection of the intellectual property of the university.

Moshe served as a special consultant to UNESCO for a number of years on the subject of the transfer of technology from academia to industry, and has lectured, taught and advised in this framework to faculty and administration of universities and organizations around the world on issues of commercialization of technologies.

Moshe is a member of the Israeli Council of Higher Education.

Amira Ahronoviz is the CEO and Director General of The Jewish Agency.  She been working at The Jewish Agency for more than 24 years, first in various roles “in the field” and later in management positions. She has served as Director of Partnership Regions, Director of Budget & Finance (a position she held for eight years), Vice President for Strategy and Planning, and Deputy Director General & COO. In the latter position she led organization-wide strategic and programmatic development and operations, and supervised all program units and Jewish Agency operations worldwide.

In January 2019, Amira was appointed as the first-ever female CEO and Director General of The Jewish Agency.

Amira holds an M.A. in Business Management. Additionally, she held a two year fellowship at Jerusalem’s Mandel Educational Leadership Institute. There, her major research area was “social impact investing,” an innovative financial vehicle for addressing pressing challenges in society.

Amira lives in Mazkeret Batya and is the mother of three children. She is also a member of the Keshet Community, an urban group of religious and secular Jews who run a joint educational program in the spirit of pluralism and shared community life. She has served Keshet for 13 years, since its formation, in various capacities, and is a former member of its executive board.

Bruce A. Arbit served as Chairman of the Pincus Fund Board from 2012 – 2021. Mr. Arbit has held many leadership positions locally, in his home community of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, nationally and internationally. Locally he has served as President, Campaign Chair and Treasurer of the Milwaukee Jewish Federation. He has served on the Boards of his local JCC, Day School, and Community Relations Council. Nationally he has served as a member of the Boards of Directors of the Jewish Federations of North America, JDC, JTA and the Habonim-Dror Foundation and is a past Chairman of the United Israel Appeal. Arbit is a member the Board of the Tel Aviv Education and Culture Company and of the Jewish Agency for Israel’s Board of Governors, where he chairs the Government Relations Committee.

Mr. Arbit is founder and Co-Managing Director of A.B. Data, Ltd., a direct marketing and political consulting firm, which works closely with a number of Jewish organizations and political campaigns. He also serves as Chairman of the Boards of Integrated Mail Industries and Asset Development Group.

Bobby Brown comes to Ariel University after a long, diverse, and distinguished career in service to Israel and the Jewish world.

He has directed an impressive list of programs and projects for numerous organizations, including the World Zionist Organization, World Jewish Congress and the Jewish Agency. He directed “Project Heart,” a joint Government of Israel/Jewish Agency program established to identify and negotiate the return of Jewish property looted by the Nazis in World War II. Additionally, Bobby has served on the board of Yad Vashem, El Al, the Jewish National Fund, the Gush Etzion Development Corporation, the Israel Community Development Foundation (raising approximately $4.5 million annually for humanitarian services for communities in Judea and Samaria), amongst others.

Most notably, Bobby was the advisor for Diaspora Affairs to two Prime Ministers, serving as the liaison between the State of Israel and Jewish organizations and institutions throughout the Diaspora. He advised and prepared material for both Prime Ministers in matters concerning Jewish issues and community needs worldwide, and was instrumental in Israel’s government participating in establishing the Birthright program.

Bobby served as a combat medic in the IDF, and is a founding father and resident of the thriving Tekoa community in eastern Gush Etzion, chairing its Town Council for several terms. He has also sat on numerous boards and councils throughout Gush Etzion, contributing to the region’s development and prosperity.

Mr. Shimon Doron previously served as VP of Planning and Logistics at Bar-Ilan University and is the owner of a strategic consulting firm. He currently serves as joint CEO of the Island Hotel in Netanya, and as member of administration of the Sephardi Federation in Jerusalem.

Mr. Doron has an MA in Political Science and International Relations from the Open University

Sergio Edelstein was born in Uruguay in 1962 and was educated in the Jewish education system and the youth movement “Hanoar Hatzioni”, where he served as educator and madrich. Sergio held key positions in the Latin American hanhaga – as the continent Education Coordinator and twice as Head of Machon Continental among other positions. Sergio is a graduate of the Machon L’Madrichei Chutz Le’Aretz in Jerusalem.

He made Aliyah in 1985, completed Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Educational Management and served in the IDF. After completing his military service, Sergio started working at the Hanoar Hatzioni movement as a member of the Mazkirut Olamit. He held various educational and management  positions in the movement and served for years as the movement’s General Director.

Among Sergio’s other positions are: Mazkir Kibbutz Ein HaShlosha, Chair of the Council of World Zionist Youth Movements, Chair of the Machon L’Madrichei Chutz Le’Aretz in Jerusalem and the Marva program, a member of the Zionist Management and Keren Hayesod Board of Governors and other commissions.

Sergio is a lecturer in various fields of education in different frameworks, an educator and creator of educational materials and a writer in the area.

Sergio is married to Dorita and is the father of Nicole and Dan.

Andy is a Principal of Belz Enterprises, a family-owned, multi-faceted real estate and investment company based in Memphis, Tennessee. Andy is also involved with many local, national and international boards. In Memphis, Andy is Past President of the Memphis Jewish Federation and has served as a Past President of Baron Hirsch Congregation and two Orthodox Jewish day schools in Memphis. Nationally, Andy serves on the National Council of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). He is Chairman of the United Israel Appeal (UIA), and is a Trustee of Yeshiva College of Yeshiva University. Internationally, he is on the Board of Governors of the Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI) and Chairman of its Companies Bureau and IEF Companies Committee. He also is a Past Chairman and current Board member of the Pincus Fund, an Israel-based endowment fund dedicated to Jewish education, and is on the Executive Committee of the American and International Societies for Yad Vashem. He is President and Founder of the International Center for Jewish Peoplehood.

Andy and his wife Jan have been married for 38 years and have two children, daughter Ariel who is married to Josh Weiner, and son Adam who is married to Julie Krausz. They are proud grandparents to five grandchildren, Ilan, Yael and Meirav Weiner, and Liam and Shane Groveman.

Gael Grunewald is the Head of the Department of Education at the World Zionist Organization. He previously served as the Head of the Settlement Division of the World Zionist Organization and the former Deputy Chairman of KKL and Secretary General of World Bnei Akiva.

Gael Grunewald was born in France and grew up in Paris. After graduating from Etz-Haim Yeshiva in Switzerland he made Aliyah and joined the IDF. After his military service he returned to France to teach and coordinatw the Bnei Akiva youth movement. Following that, he retrned to Israel and studied computer engineering as well as education and qualified as a science teacher. He worked for five years for World Bnei Akiva and also managed the Jewish Agency’s Counselors Training Institute.

For four years Grunewald served as the Jewish Agency representative in Europe and was also an educational advisor for the Committee of European Rabbis . At the end of his term, Gael was elected Secretary General of World Bnei Akiva and as Chair of the Youth Movements World Council. In 2006 he was elected to the World Zionist Organization Executive and served as the Head of the WZO Hagshama Department. In addition, he served as Chair of the Beit-Shemesh/Washington/South Africa Partnership 2000 and Chair of the Vaad Amuta of World Bnei Akiva. Gael also serves as a member and Chair in several organizations dealing in a range of areas and interests.

Grunewald is the Chairman of Zurba Merabana, The Higher institute for Halacha Studies. Zurba Merabana has 200 chapters in Israel and the Diaspora.

In January 2012 Grunewald was elected as Deputy Chairman of KKL. In October 2015 he was elected Chairman of the Settlement Division of the World Zionist Organization. In November 2020, following the coalition agreement of the 38th World Zionist Congress, Gael was appointed Deputy Chairman of the World Zionist Organization and Chairman of the Department of Education at the World Zionist Organization.

Gael is married to Shira and they have 7 Children and live in Bet Shemesh.

Elad brings extensive management experience from both the public sector and social startups.

Previously, Elad served as the Head of Delegation for Scandinavian countries at the Jewish Agency.  He was one of the founders of Simcha LaYeled, a non-profit dedicated to improving the quality of life of disabled and seriously ill children and their families.  Additionally, he helped to establish the 929 Project, which has made the Bible accessible to hundreds of thousands of Jews of all backgrounds.

In recent years, Elad has served in a variety of senior positions at the National Institutions, including as an Overseas Affairs Advisor for Director of the Education Division at KKL-JNF and the Chief of Staff of the Rural Growth & Development Division at the World Zionist Organization.

Elad holds a BA in Education and Bible from Herzog College and an MA in American Jewish Studies from Haifa University.

Shlomo Ne’eman is the current Mayor of the Gush Etzion Regional Council, elected to office in February, 2017. He is now responsible for the 22 Gush Etzion communities home to 25,000 Israelis.
Ne’eman was born and raised in the former Soviet Union and immigrated to Israel at the young age of 17, residing in Jerusalem.

He went on to obtain a degree in Jewish Philosophy from Herzog College, as well as a degree in Talmud from the prestigious Yeshivat Har Etzion.

In his professional life, he has worked for a slew of Zionist organizations and became a division manager in the education department of the Jewish Agency for Israel with 1,500 employees under his wing.

Throughout his career Ne’eman raised tens of millions of dollars on behalf of philanthropic organizations. Working in the private sector, Ne’eman served in management capacities for three different publicly traded companies.

Ne’eman also served as a senior advisor for Israel’s Minister of Environmental Protection and Jerusalem Affairs Likud MK Zev Elkin. Through this experience he became well acquainted with how government offices are run, as well as the process of passing laws, promoting budgets, and advancing many new projects.

Ne’eman is married to Shlomit, and is the father of five children and grandfather of two. He has been a resident of the Gush Etzion community of Karmei Tzur for more than a quarter century.

In February 2021, The Jewish Agency’s Board of Governors elected Adv. Yaron Shavit to the role of Deputy Chairman of the Executive of The Jewish Agency.

Yaron completed his law studies at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and holds a master’s degree from Bar Ilan University. He is a graduate of the first mediation course initiated by the Supreme Court President in conjunction with the Israel Bar Association and the Israel Court Administration.

Throughout his life, Yaron has combined professional activity with service in the military reserve, during which he performed a wide variety of roles and was promoted to the rank of colonel. He continues to perform active reserve duty as part of his social commitment and volunteer work.

Yaron lives in Mevasseret Zion where he is an active member and past chair of the Kamatz Reform Jewish congregation. He served as chairman of the Reform Movement in Israel in 2008-2012, and is serving as a member of the Zionist Executive and the Board of Governors of The Jewish Agency since 2006. In October 2020, he was elected by the members of the 38th Zionist Congress to serve as its President – the three-day congress was the first to be held as an “online” Zionist Congress.

Yaron is married to Michal and is the father of three children, and a happy grandfather to four grandchildren (so far). His family has expanded to include a young Na’aleh program participant and a young lone soldier who graduated from the Kol Ami Mechina program.