Mission Statement
The goal of CompassIsrael is to give our students the ability to view themselves as an essential part of the Jewish people, not just in the future but in the present. CompassIsrael will provide the opportunity for them to be immersed in Jewish knowledge, Jewish experience and The Jewish State. This immersion will inform their purpose and missions as Jews as they acquire tools to lead an independent Jewish life.
Our Team
Rabbi Shmuel Greene
Executive Director
Rabbi Shmuel Greene was born and raised in Minnesota and made Aliya to Israel with his family before high school. He served as an Israeli Paratrooper and studied Jewish History and Thought at Hebrew University in Jerusalem.
Under the guidance of Rabbi Adin Even-Israel (Steinsaltz) he received Rabbinic Ordination and set out to work in Jewish informal education in North America since 2001.
Rabbi Shmuel Greene is a veteran NCSY professional and long-time Jewish educator with experience at Hillel, Federation, and yeshivot. For over two decades Rabbi Greene has been involved in creating, implementing and running Jewish educational programs for young Jews in order to build life-long relationships with Israel and Jewish life.
As a Jewish educator Rabbi Greene has constantly strived to empower Jews of all backgrounds to connect to and be invited to explore the richness of Jewish living and The State of Israel.
Through his work at NCSY Rabbi Greene has an extensive and successful track record of inspiring public school teens to explore their Jewish identities through Torah based programs. Rabbi Greene’s professional network will deliver unique access for CompassIsrael to NCSY teens who participate in NCSY summer programs, Yarchei Kallah, and the general teen population that participates in ongoing NCSY programming around the world.
Rabbi Ariel Wilchfort
Recruitment Director
Rabbi Ariel Wilchfort is a highly experienced and deeply dedicated educator. Rabbi Ariel possess the talent, educational background, tools and extraordinary ability to relate to youth of all ages and diverse backgrounds to bring them to the Jewish path. My background and extensive experience have brought me to a position where I can make a difference in their lives. In addition, throughout the past few years I have developed extensive organizational, operational and managerial skills that allow me to run a major, impactful program.
Our Board
Marc Turansky
Marc Turansky is a Managing Director and the Head of the JPMorgan Wealth Management Portfolio Advisor (PA) & Portfolio Manager (PM) programs. Originally from London, Marc began his career in financial services in 1987. He has enjoyed working for a number of large financial institutions, some of which provided him the opportunity to work in several parts of the world including Amsterdam-Netherlands, Dublin-Ireland, Melbourne-Australia and Bermuda.
Leslie Blank Ostrin
Leslie Blank Ostrin is Corporate Counsel for Micro Stamping Corporation, a manufacturer of medical devices and other products, where she manages the company’s legal matters, including contract negotiations and counseling on a wide range of legal and business issues. She started her legal career as a litigator at Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft in New York City, and moved to the medical device manufacturer Medtech Group, Inc.
Andrew Getraer
Andrew Getraer is Executive Director of Hillel at Rutgers University, serving the largest Jewish undergraduate population in the US. Under his leadership Rutgers Hillel has been transformed from a longstanding but under-performing organization into one of the most successful Hillels in the country, increasing revenues and student engagement by over 500%, and building a new, state-of-the-art 40,000 SF facility, the largest in the country.
Partner Organizations
NCSY/OUNCSY is the premier organization in America dedicated to connecting, inspiring, and empowering Jewish teens and encouraging passionate Judaism through Torah and Tradition. NCSY professionals connect, in one way or another, to approximately 12,000 Jewish public school students during the year. In addition, close to 900 of those teens participate in and NCSY summer program. There is strong consensus at all levels of NCSY leadership that there is an urgent need for a Torah-based gap year program designed to fulfill the needs of public school teens. The input, support, and encouragement of NCSY leadership, particularly at the regional and local levels, is mission critical both for recruitment and funding.
The NCSY national office has agreed verbally to match regional scholarship commitments, initially for the first year or two of our program, and potentially longer. The NCSY Regional Directors have agreed to award this type of scholarship to potential CompassIsrael participants. The NCSY/OU-CompassIsrael partnership will enable robust student recruitment efforts and make scholarships available to NCSY participants.
World Mizrachi - The Religious Zionist Movement
Mizrachi is the global Religious Zionist movement, spreading commitment to the Torah, the Jewish People and the Land of Israel across the world and strengthening the bond between the international Jewish community and the State of Israel.
Discussions are currently underway with the executive leadership of the World Mizrachi on partnering with CompassIsrael to facilitate fundraising, introduce CompassIsrael to other major Jewish/Israeli organizations, and enhance participant recruitment efforts.
World Bnei Akiva
Bnei Akiva is a Jewish religious Zionist youth movement, which inspires and empowers young Jews all over the world with a sense of commitment to the Jewish people, the Land of Israel and the Torah, placing an emphasis on the value of Aliyah to the State of Israel. Discussions are currently underway with the executive leadership of World Bnei Akiva and CompassIsrael are working together on promoting the common educational goals of both organizations.
The Israeli Volunteer Association
The Israeli Volunteer Association (IVA) is an Israeli nonprofit organization with over 40 years experience operating a wide variety of volunteer programs. With over 7,000 volunteers annually, the IVA is the largest and oldest organization in Israel in its field. Promoting solidarity, equality and social justice, the IVA enables young people from all cultures and religions to engage in meaningful volunteering work, endowing them with social and professional skills. The IVA will be administering and coordinating the volunteer/internship activities, as well as, potentially, overseeing all the room and board operations.
Jerusalem College of Technology
The Jerusalem College of Technology (JCT) is an Israeli college, recognized by the Council for Higher Education. JCT specializes in providing high-level science and technology education to students from diverse segments of Israeli society including Ultra-Orthodox, Ethiopian-Israelis, national religious and international students. JCT offers bachelor's and master's degrees in several fields of study combined with intensive Jewish studies. JCT will provide CompassIsrael students with two courses (semester-long/accredited) exploring Jewish issues within the modern world, including Jewish Business Ethics and Jewish Ethics in Modern Technology.