World Changers from Jerusalem

Proud to be J · World Changers from Jerusalem

The people repairing the world – from Jerusalem.

Each of them carries Jerusalem into the world in a different way: saving lives, building companies, telling stories, feeding people, opening eyes. Next to each story stands a verse from the vision of Isaiah – the prophet of Jerusalem – that their work brings to life.

Know someone who belongs here? Nominate a World Changer.

Erel Margalit

Founder & Chairman, Jerusalem Venture Partners (JVP)

  • Studied mathematics and philosophy at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem before continuing his studies at Columbia University.
  • In his thirties he worked alongside legendary mayor Teddy Kollek at the Jerusalem Development Authority.
  • Founded Jerusalem Venture Partners (JVP) and built it from a Jerusalem headquarters into one of Israel's leading venture firms.
  • Was named to the Forbes Midas List of the world's top venture investors.
  • Helped lead the sale of Chromatis Networks to Lucent Technologies in 2000, valued at about $4.8 billion.
  • Created the JVP Media Quarter on the grounds of Jerusalem's old train station, turning neglected railway land into a creative hub.
  • Launched there what was described as Israel's first multimillion-dollar animation and gaming studio.
  • Renovated an old hangar into "The Lab", a Jerusalem venue where theatre and technology meet.
  • Chairs JVP-Community, which brought educational programs to some 3,000 children in more than a dozen schools in Jerusalem's poorer neighborhoods.
  • In September 2020 launched Margalit Startup City in Jerusalem, a planned 50,000+ square-meter hub for foodtech, cyber, media and health.
  • Served as a Member of Knesset from 2013 to 2017, on the Finance and the Foreign Affairs and Defense committees.
  • Leads the Innovation Initiative for the Mediterranean Basin, engaging 14 Arab countries in innovation and cyber cooperation.
  • His Jerusalem story shows how capital, culture and community together can bring a city's forgotten corners back to life.

From the vision of Isaiah · Isaiah 58:12

“And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in.”

וּבָנוּ מִמְּךָ חָרְבוֹת עוֹלָם, מוֹסְדֵי דוֹר וָדוֹר תְּקוֹמֵם; וְקֹרָא לְךָ גֹּדֵר פֶּרֶץ, מְשֹׁבֵב נְתִיבוֹת לָשָׁבֶת.

From old railway yards to startup hubs, he rebuilds Jerusalem's "waste places" into foundations for the next generations.

Support & connect: JVP – Jerusalem Venture Partners

Eli Beer

Founder & President, United Hatzalah

  • Born in Jerusalem in 1973.
  • At age seven he witnessed the bombing of the No. 12 bus near his Jerusalem home, a moment that shaped his life's mission.
  • Began volunteering on an ambulance at age 15.
  • Joined Hatzalah Jerusalem in 1992 as fundraiser and operational coordinator.
  • In 2006, after the Second Lebanon War, united more than 50 local volunteer groups into United Hatzalah, headquartered in Jerusalem.
  • United Hatzalah is described as the world's largest fully volunteer emergency medical service, with more than 8,000 volunteers.
  • In 2024 its volunteers responded to more than 700,000 medical emergencies.
  • The "ambucycle", an ambulance on a motorcycle, was developed after a 2002 terror attack in Jerusalem's Beit Yisroel neighborhood.
  • Volunteers reach patients in under three minutes on average nationwide, and in about 90 seconds in cities.
  • In 2008 the organization launched Israel's first GPS-based dispatch system, alerting the closest responders within seconds.
  • Care is free and given to everyone; Jewish, Muslim, Christian and Druze volunteers serve side by side.
  • After October 7, United Hatzalah sent more than 1,500 volunteer EMTs to the Gaza border communities.
  • His recognitions include the Schwab Foundation's Social Entrepreneur of the Year (2010) and the Israeli Presidential Award for Volunteerism (2011).

From the vision of Isaiah · Isaiah 58:8

“Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily.”

אָז יִבָּקַע כַּשַּׁחַר אוֹרֶךָ, וַאֲרֻכָתְךָ מְהֵרָה תִצְמָח.

"Healing that springs forth speedily" – the promise his volunteers keep, within minutes, every day.

Support & connect: United Hatzalah – support & donate

Matan Adelson

Owner, Hapoel Jerusalem Basketball Club

  • Born in 1999 in Los Angeles, the youngest son of Dr. Miriam Adelson and the late Sheldon Adelson.
  • Graduated from Stanford University in economics, where he also studied sports management.
  • Moved to Israel in 2021.
  • In June 2023 bought a 90% stake in Hapoel Jerusalem for $20 million, becoming the youngest owner of an Israeli sports team.
  • The remaining 10% of the club is held by the Hapoel fans' association, keeping the fans as true partners.
  • Brought in Alon Kremer as CEO and former NBA player Gal Mekel as consultant and minority stakeholder.
  • Has described buying the team as "a Zionist act" and himself as a proud Jew.
  • Under his ownership the club won the Israeli State Cup in 2024 and the Israeli Super Cup in 2025.
  • In 2025 Hapoel Jerusalem played the Brooklyn Nets, the club's first-ever game against an NBA team.
  • His goal is to build Hapoel into an international brand and bring it into the EuroLeague.
  • Has searched for a site for a state-of-the-art training facility in Jerusalem and aims to grow the fan base through community outreach.
  • After October 7 he attended funerals and shiva houses and stood with the family of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, whose image appears on team merchandise.
  • Released hostage Ofir Engel lifted the 2024 State Cup together with the players at the club's invitation.

From the vision of Isaiah · Isaiah 40:31

“But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”

וְקוֹיֵ ה' יַחֲלִיפוּ כֹחַ, יַעֲלוּ אֵבֶר כַּנְּשָׁרִים; יָרוּצוּ וְלֹא יִיגָעוּ, יֵלְכוּ וְלֹא יִיעָפוּ.

Renewed strength for a city and its team – running and not growing weary, even in the hardest year.

Support & connect: Hapoel Jerusalem (club profile)

Gal Mekel

Consultant & Minority Owner, Hapoel Jerusalem · Former NBA Player

  • Born in 1988 in Ramat HaSharon, Israel.
  • Played two college seasons at Wichita State in the United States (2006–2008).
  • Was named MVP of the Israeli Basketball Premier League in 2011 and again in 2013.
  • In 2013 led Maccabi Haifa to the Israeli championship.
  • In July 2013 signed with the Dallas Mavericks, becoming the second Israeli ever to play in the NBA.
  • Later played for the New Orleans Pelicans in 2014.
  • Represented Israel's national team at EuroBasket 2009, 2011, 2015 and 2017.
  • Played professionally until 2022, finishing his career with MoraBanc Andorra.
  • Joined Matan Adelson at Hapoel Jerusalem as a consultant and minority stakeholder.
  • The club's goal is to become an international brand and compete at the top of European basketball.
  • Hapoel Jerusalem won the Israeli State Cup in 2024 and the Israeli Super Cup in 2025.
  • In 2025 the club played its first-ever game against an NBA team, the Brooklyn Nets.
  • He brings NBA experience home to Jerusalem, showing young players that the path to the top can start here.

From the vision of Isaiah · Isaiah 40:29

“He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.”

נֹתֵן לַיָּעֵף כֹּחַ, וּלְאֵין אוֹנִים עָצְמָה יַרְבֶּה.

A player who reached the NBA now passes that strength on to a Jerusalem team.

Support & connect: Hapoel Jerusalem (club profile) · Career statistics

Rama Burshtein-Shai

Film Director & Screenwriter

  • Born in New York in 1967 and raised in Tel Aviv.
  • Graduated in 1995 from the Sam Spiegel Film and Television School in Jerusalem.
  • Became an Orthodox Jew at 25, a journey that would shape her entire body of work.
  • Was part of a collective of Orthodox women filmmakers who funded and made films for women in their own community.
  • Her debut feature, Fill the Void (2012), took about 15 years to complete.
  • Fill the Void premiered at the 69th Venice International Film Festival, where Hadas Yaron won the Volpi Cup for best actress.
  • The film won three Ophir Awards, Israel's Oscars, for directing, writing and producing.
  • It was released in North America by Sony Pictures Classics, carrying a story from the religious world to global audiences.
  • Was invited to direct a short film for the Venice Film Festival's 70th anniversary in 2013.
  • Her second feature, The Wedding Plan / Through the Wall (2016), earned Noa Koler best actress at the Haifa Film Festival.
  • Created Fire Dance (2022), a drama series set in Haredi society.
  • Her productions follow Jewish law on set, including no filming on Shabbat.
  • Her films open a respectful window into the inner lives of religious women – a bridge between worlds that rarely meet on screen.

From the vision of Isaiah · Isaiah 62:5

“As the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee.”

וּמְשׂוֹשׂ חָתָן עַל כַּלָּה יָשִׂישׂ עָלַיִךְ אֱלֹהָיִךְ.

Her films are stories of brides, longing and joy – the same image Isaiah uses for God's love for Jerusalem.

Support & connect: Filmography (IMDb) · Through the Wall – The Match Factory

Assaf Granit

Chef & Restaurateur, Machneyuda Group

  • Jerusalem is his hometown, and its market is the heart of his cooking.
  • Has no formal chef training; he began as a barista at age 20, after his military service.
  • In 2009 he opened Machneyuda with chefs Uri Navon and Yossi Elad, named after Jerusalem's Mahane Yehuda market.
  • Machneyuda's menu changes every day according to what the market offers.
  • The restaurant became Jerusalem's hottest reservation, drawing diners even from Tel Aviv.
  • He kept restaurants running in Jerusalem even through the Second Intifada, when dining rooms were often empty.
  • The group grew across Jerusalem with Yudale, Mona at the Jerusalem Artists' House, HaSadna and Talbiya.
  • In 2014 he brought Jerusalem's flavors to London with The Palomar in Soho.
  • By 2023 the group had grown to about 14 restaurants in Jerusalem, London, Paris and Berlin.
  • His Paris restaurant Shabour earned a Michelin star in 2021.
  • In Berlin he opened Berta, named after his German grandmother.
  • In Paris he also created Boubalé, inspired by Hungarian, Polish, Russian and Austrian kitchens.
  • Through his restaurants and TV shows he has become a cultural ambassador of Jerusalem to the world.

From the vision of Isaiah · Isaiah 25:6

“And in this mountain shall the LORD of hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees.”

וְעָשָׂה ה' צְבָאוֹת לְכָל הָעַמִּים בָּהָר הַזֶּה מִשְׁתֵּה שְׁמָנִים, מִשְׁתֵּה שְׁמָרִים.

A feast for all peoples, from this mountain – exactly what he serves from Jerusalem's market to the world.

Support & connect: Shabour, Paris – Michelin Guide · The Palomar, London – Good Food Guide

Prof. Amnon Shashua

Co-founder & CEO, Mobileye · Founder, OrCam, AI21 Labs, ONE ZERO

  • Professor of computer science at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem since 1996, holding the Sachs Chair since 2007.
  • Headed the Hebrew University's School of Engineering and Computer Science from 2002 to 2005.
  • Co-founded Mobileye in 1999 – in his words, "Mobileye was born in Jerusalem."
  • Mobileye listed on the NYSE in 2014 and was acquired by Intel in 2017 for about $15.3 billion.
  • In 2022 Mobileye went public again on Nasdaq.
  • In March 2024 inaugurated Mobileye's new global headquarters at Har Hotzvim, Jerusalem: a 128,000 square-meter campus.
  • The campus houses about 2,700 research and management employees.
  • Co-founded OrCam in 2010, creating wearable devices that help blind and visually impaired people read and recognize faces.
  • Co-founded AI21 Labs in 2017 and serves as its chairman.
  • Founded and owns ONE ZERO, an Israeli digital bank.
  • Co-founded Mentee Robotics in 2022; its sale to Mobileye for $900 million was announced in 2026.
  • Received the Israel Prize in 2023 for lifetime achievement and the Dan David Prize in 2020.
  • Through the Shashua Family Foundation, about $60 million has been donated, supporting ultra-Orthodox and Arab communities, women in STEM and the periphery.

From the vision of Isaiah · Isaiah 35:5

“Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.”

אָז תִּפָּקַחְנָה עֵינֵי עִוְרִים, וְאָזְנֵי חֵרְשִׁים תִּפָּתַחְנָה.

From cars that "see" the road to devices that read for the blind – a Jerusalem mind opening eyes.

Support & connect: Mobileye · OrCam · AI21 Labs · ONE ZERO Digital Bank

Jon Medved

Founder & CEO, OurCrowd

  • A veteran pioneer of Israeli venture capital and angel investing.
  • In the 1990s co-founded Israel Seed Partners, which raised $260 million.
  • Founded Vringo, which went public in 2013.
  • In February 2013 launched OurCrowd in Jerusalem, opening startup investing to the global crowd.
  • OurCrowd passed $2 billion in investment commitments.
  • The platform has more than 200,000 registered members around the world.
  • Its portfolio includes about 370 companies, plus some 410 more through 40 partner funds.
  • OurCrowd has had more than 60 exits, including Beyond Meat, Lemonade and Innoviz.
  • Hosts the OurCrowd Global Investor Summit in Jerusalem.
  • The summit grew from 700 attendees from 27 countries in 2014 to over 23,000 registrants from 183 countries in 2020.
  • He has said OurCrowd is "uniquely positioned to bring the global startup ecosystem together in Jerusalem."
  • OurCrowd operates offices in ten countries, linking Jerusalem with investors on every continent.
  • His life's work turns Jerusalem into a meeting point where the world invests in Israeli innovation.

From the vision of Isaiah · Isaiah 60:3

“And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.”

וְהָלְכוּ גוֹיִם לְאוֹרֵךְ, וּמְלָכִים לְנֹגַהּ זַרְחֵךְ.

Each year, people from more than 180 countries come to Jerusalem's light – through his summit.

Support & connect: OurCrowd

Nuseir Yassin (Nas Daily)

Creator & Founder, Nas Daily

  • Born and raised in Arraba in the Galilee; describes himself as an Arab, a Muslim and an Israeli.
  • A Harvard graduate who left his job as a software developer in 2016 to tell stories.
  • Published a one-minute video every day for 1,000 days, a journey that ended in January 2019.
  • Built an audience of tens of millions of followers around the world.
  • His most-viewed early video, "Jews vs. Arabs", with more than 58 million views, was filmed in an ultra-Orthodox neighborhood of Jerusalem.
  • In 2024 he spent a month in Jerusalem studying Judaism for a series on the world's great religions.
  • Filmed at the Western Wall, at Shabbat dinners and bar mitzvahs, together with the Jerusalem-based Aish World Center.
  • Held a four-hour conversation with Rabbi Dov Ber Cohen of Aish for the film.
  • The Judaism video drew more than 100,000 likes on Instagram within days.
  • Ben-Gurion University awarded him an honorary doctorate for his pursuit of harmony and goodwill.
  • The university honored his choice to call Israel home while speaking out for peace.
  • Since October 7 he has spoken out more strongly in support of Israel.
  • Through one-minute stories he shows Jerusalem to millions who would never otherwise see it.

From the vision of Isaiah · Isaiah 2:4

“Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.”

לֹא יִשָּׂא גוֹי אֶל גּוֹי חֶרֶב, וְלֹא יִלְמְדוּ עוֹד מִלְחָמָה.

He uses the language of our age – short videos – to teach people to talk instead of fight.

Support & connect: Nas Daily

Larry Mizel

Co-founder & Chairman, Museum of Tolerance Jerusalem

  • A Denver businessman and philanthropist, born in 1942.
  • In 1972 founded Mizel Development Corporation, which grew into the NYSE-listed homebuilder MDC Holdings.
  • Led MDC as CEO from 1988 and as Executive Chairman from 2020, until its $4.9 billion sale to Sekisui House in 2024.
  • Co-founded and chairs the Museum of Tolerance Jerusalem (MOTJ).
  • Is the museum's main benefactor and the driving force that carried it through more than 20 years of bureaucratic, architectural and legal obstacles.
  • The museum partially opened in May 2023 in the heart of Jerusalem, on Hillel Street where the city center meets the Old City.
  • The campus is a roughly $260 million, 185,000-square-foot project.
  • It includes a 1,000-seat amphitheater, a 400-seat theater, a convention center and a children's museum on the story of Moses.
  • A "social lab" in the museum invites visitors to explore relationships between Jerusalem's religious and cultural groups.
  • In his words: "For me, tikkun olam starts here."
  • Served for 20 years as international chairman of the Simon Wiesenthal Center.
  • With his wife Carol founded the Mizel Museum in Denver in 1982, and in 2004 founded the Counterterrorism Education Learning Lab (CELL).
  • Has served on the board of AIPAC since 2002 and supports Friends of the IDF, Hillel and BBYO.

From the vision of Isaiah · Isaiah 56:7

“For mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people.”

כִּי בֵיתִי בֵּית תְּפִלָּה יִקָּרֵא לְכָל הָעַמִּים.

He built in the center of Jerusalem a house where all peoples are invited to meet, listen and understand.

Support & connect: Museum of Tolerance Jerusalem · Partner with MOTJ

Rabbi Marvin Hier

Founder & Dean, Simon Wiesenthal Center · Co-founder, Museum of Tolerance Jerusalem

  • Born in 1939 in New York City to parents from Poland, and raised on the Lower East Side.
  • Received rabbinic ordination in 1962 and served as a congregational rabbi in Vancouver from 1964.
  • In 1977, after visiting Holocaust sites in Europe, founded the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles.
  • Leads the Center's Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles.
  • Founded the Yeshiva University High Schools of Los Angeles and served as its dean.
  • Heads Moriah Films, the Center's film division.
  • Won two Academy Awards, for the documentaries Genocide (1981) and The Long Way Home (1997).
  • In 1993 Jerusalem mayor Teddy Kollek, after visiting the Los Angeles museum, invited the Center to build a Museum of Tolerance in Jerusalem.
  • Provided the vision for the Museum of Tolerance Jerusalem, which he co-chairs with Larry Mizel.
  • The Jerusalem museum focuses on dialogue and on Israel's story as a Jewish and democratic state.
  • Joined President George W. Bush's 2008 delegation to Jerusalem for Israel's 60th anniversary.
  • Was honored as a torchbearer at Israel's national Independence Day ceremony in 2017.
  • Newsweek named him the most influential rabbi in America in 2007 and 2008; France made him a Chevalier of the Ordre National du Mérite in 1993.

From the vision of Isaiah · Isaiah 62:6

“I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, which shall never hold their peace day nor night.”

עַל חוֹמֹתַיִךְ יְרוּשָׁלִַם הִפְקַדְתִּי שֹׁמְרִים, כָּל הַיּוֹם וְכָל הַלַּיְלָה תָּמִיד לֹא יֶחֱשׁוּ.

For half a century he has been a watchman who never stays silent – guarding memory and standing against hatred.

Support & connect: Simon Wiesenthal Center – Rabbi Hier · Museum of Tolerance Jerusalem

Miriam Peretz

Educator · Israel Prize Laureate

  • Born in 1954 in Casablanca, Morocco; her family made aliyah in 1963 and settled in Beersheba.
  • Earned a degree in literature and history from Ben-Gurion University.
  • Began her career as a teacher in Ofira in Sinai, where her sons Uriel and Eliraz were born.
  • In 1982 the family moved to the Jerusalem area, settling in Giv'at Ze'ev, just north of the city.
  • Became principal of Giv'at Ze'ev's first Israeli school.
  • In 1998 her son Uriel was killed in an ambush in southern Lebanon; her husband Eliezer fell ill and died not long after.
  • In 2010 her son Eliraz was killed in clashes on the Gaza border.
  • Turned her grief into a mission, lecturing to youth and IDF soldiers on Zionism, faith and coping with loss.
  • In 2011 published Shirat Miriam (Miriam's Song), the story of her life.
  • Lit a torch at Israel's 66th Independence Day ceremony in 2014.
  • Received an honorary doctorate from Bar-Ilan University in 2016.
  • Was awarded the Israel Prize for Lifetime Achievement in 2018.
  • In 2021 ran for President of Israel as an independent candidate, and today heads a teacher education center at the Ministry of Education.

From the vision of Isaiah · Isaiah 61:3

“To give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness.”

לָתֵת לָהֶם פְּאֵר תַּחַת אֵפֶר, שֶׁמֶן שָׂשׂוֹן תַּחַת אֵבֶל, מַעֲטֵה תְהִלָּה תַּחַת רוּחַ כֵּהָה.

From the deepest loss she brings strength, faith and hope to a whole nation.

Support & connect: Miriam Peretz – biography

Keren Kadosh

Pastry Chef & Co-owner, Café Kadosh, Jerusalem

  • Runs Café Kadosh, one of Jerusalem's best-loved cafés, together with her husband Itzik Kadosh.
  • The café was founded in 1967 by Meir Kadosh, Itzik's father, just days before the Six-Day War.
  • Meir had trained at the famed Demel pastry house in Vienna and was head pastry chef at a large Jerusalem bakery.
  • Keren and Itzik took over the family business and today run both the main kitchen and the pastry kitchen upstairs.
  • She brings nearly thirty years of culinary work in Jerusalem.
  • The café sits at 6 Queen Shlomziyon Street, in the heart of the city.
  • It serves a kosher dairy menu, with pasta, bread and pastries all made in-house.
  • Known for Austro-Hungarian pastries and for its babka, baked each week for Shabbat.
  • About 20 tables on two floors serve around 900 guests a day, with a team of some 60 people.
  • Was voted number one in the Jerusalem Post's list of the coziest coffee shops.
  • She describes Kadosh as a warm, crowded, homey place.
  • Was invited to the Jerusalem Theatre's "Jerusalem of Flavors" series to share how a city-center spot became a national institution.
  • She keeps a nearly 60-year Jerusalem tradition alive – a family table the whole city sits at.

From the vision of Isaiah · Isaiah 55:1

“Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters… yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.”

הוֹי כָּל צָמֵא לְכוּ לַמַּיִם… וּלְכוּ שִׁבְרוּ בְּלוֹא כֶסֶף וּבְלוֹא מְחִיר יַיִן וְחָלָב.

An open invitation to the table, in the language of milk and sweetness – the spirit of a Jerusalem café.

Support & connect: Café Kadosh – iTravelJerusalem · Café Kadosh – Time Out

Verses in English from the King James Version. Facts compiled from public sources, October 2026.

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