Follow the Leader w/ Eli Mandelbaum

In this episode of Follow The Leader I sit down with the founder & President of United Hatzalah- Eli Beer. United Hatzalah is a tremendous organization as it is comprised of volunteers across Israel from Jewish, Muslim, Christian, Druze, etc. it's literally a melting pot with all focused on 1 objective, SAVING LIVES!!

So how did Eli start this fantastic organization, what caused Eli to become an EMT to begin with, what made him realize that there was a problem with emergency response time in Israel, most of all how did Eli get over 6,000 EMTs, Paramedics, & Doctors to volunteer 24/7, 365 days a year across all of Israel?

It's a great question and the answer is pretty amazing.

In this episode of Follow The Leader I sit down with Micael Freund the founder and chairman of Shavei Israel, one of the most important Jewish organizations as it identifies and reaches out to "lost" and "hidden" Jews reconnecting them with the Jewish Nation and Israel. So how exactly did Michael end up creating Shavei Israel, amazingly it the issue found him when he was working in the Israel Prime Ministers office. When you tune into this episode you will also get to know the following about Michael.

- How did Michael's late Grandmother have a lasting effect on him?
- What motivated Michael to start Shavie? (10:20)
- Biggest challenges Shavei Israel faces?
- Best way to communicate your message?
- What leadership characteristic defines Michael?
- What mistake should leaders try and avoid?

In this episode of Follow The Leader I sit with Russell Robinson, CEO of the Jewish National Fund (JNF) and discuss how he has been able to be an effective leader for 20+ yrs and ushering in new initiatives while overhauling the key donor landscape. Russell's passion for Israel and Zionism is infectious which is what makes him such an effective leader. In this episode, you will learn the following:

- What was Russell's first leadership role?
- Who recruited Russell to come on board to the JNF?
- Running JNF as a business as opposed to a non-profit? (14:35)
- Which project stands out over all others? (28:15)
- What leadership qualities does he look for in people?
- Biggest challenge currently facing with the JNF?
- The 3 leadership qualities that define Russell?

In this episode, I have the privilege of sitting with Rabbi Yehoshua (Josh) Fass the Co-Founder of Nefesh B’Nefesh and Executive Director. NBN which Josh started in 2002 and is the leading organization helping western Aliyah and has revamped the Aliyah process making the idea of moving to Israel a more realistic option for many.

So how did Josh come to not only start and lead Nefesh B’Nefesh but also become a leading advocate for Aliyah and making the idea of moving to Israel a more realistic option for many people including myself. This is one of the many questions I ask Josh along with the following;

- The first time he realized that he had leadership qualities
- What attributes a leader should have?
- What sparked him to leave Boca Raton, Florida as a Rabbi
- What challenges he faced early on starting Nefesh B’Nefesh
- How has he changed the perception of making Aliyah?
- The biggest challenge he is facing as a leader?

In the 2nd episode of Follow The Leader I sit with Arsen Ostrovsky, Executive Director of The Israel-Jewish Congress and one of the biggest advocates for Israel. His passion for Israel, Zionism, & the Jewish people knows no bounds. So how did an immigrant from Ukraine by way of Australia and later NY end up in Israel and one of the premier spokesperson and defender of Israel?

I ask Arsen that question and more as we discuss leadership in his case leading the battle against antisemitism in Europe, the US, and in the digital world of social media. In this episode, you will also find out the 4 leaders that keep on inspiring Arsen on a daily basis, how the IJC got started, why Daniel Pearl was a turning point in his life, and what leadership characteristic he believes every leader should have.

In the first episode of Follow the Leader, I am fortunate to have Joseph Gitler one of my oldest and closest friends and most of all the founder & Chairman of Leket. Joseph has an incredible story in Leket and over 17 years has built Leket into Israel's largest food bank, working with over 210 agencies in Israel and most of all feeding between 150,00-200,00 people weekly. The story is quite fascinating as he literally started Leket out of his car after doing research and realizing there is a massive need in Israel when it comes to food wastage and the poor.

The simple reality is Joseph led by example, he started with a problem he identified, organized everything early on, made the pickups and then asked for people to help with pickups. People followed as he led by example and with 110 employees, 50,000 volunteers coming every year to give back to Israel and the poor Joseph has truly personified what it means to be a leader.