Staff

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For general inquiries please email director@hasbarafellowships.org

Executive Leadership
Staff
Campus Coordinators
Campus Advisors
Logistical Staff

Executive Leadership

Elliot Mathias
Executive Director
emathias@hasbarafellowships.org

Elliot Mathias is the Founder and Director of Hasbara Fellowships, a leading pro-Israel campus activism organization working with over 100 Universities across North America. Elliot founded Hasbara Fellowships in 2001. Hasbara Fellowships trains and supports students on Universities to defend and promote Israel, providing them with information, tools, materials and motivation to stand up to the wide range of anti-Israel activism and propaganda prevalent on University campuses. Elliot frequently speaks both on and off campus about topics relating to Israel, Israel activism and Jewish education. Elliot graduated from Northwestern University in 1997 with a degree in Communications and received his Rabbinical ordination from Yeshiva Aish HaTorah in Jerusalem in 2007.

Natalie Menaged
Director of Education
nmenaged@hasbarafellowships.org

Since 2006, Natalie Menaged has been on the management team of Hasbara Fellowships, serving as Managing Director, National Director, and now as Director of Education. In her current capacity, Natalie oversees the Hasbara Fellowships curriculum and campaigns, activism training programs in Israel, leadership development, public relations, and other strategic initiatives. Natalie was a participant on the very first Hasbara Fellowships and was the founder and president of Gators for Israel at the University of Florida. She was extensively involved in university and state politics, as well as the Jewish community, during her time at UF. Upon graduation Natalie worked for Hasbara Fellowships as a Campus Coordinator, and then studied in Israel. With her husband Eli, Natalie was active in Jewish education and outreach in Brooklyn for many years. The Menaged family recently made aliyah to join the Israel XP program at Bar-Ilan University, where they look forward to continuing their work in Jewish education and Israel advocacy.

Alan Levine
Managing Director
alevine@hasbarafellowships.org

Alan has been part of the Hasbara Fellowships team since 2009. In that time, Alan has trained hundreds of student pro-Israel activists. Previously, Alan focused on research and writing, where he focused on the activities of Hezbollah and Iran in Latin America. His writing has been featured in prominent publications such as Front Page Magazine, InFocus Magazine, and National Review Online. He received his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science with an emphasis on international relations from UC Santa Barbara, where he first became involved in pro-Israel activism through Hasbara Fellowships. Alan speaks English, Spanish, and Hebrew, and is based in Los Angeles.

Ephraim Shore
Israel Director
eshore@aish.com

Ephraim Shore received ordination at Aish HaTorah in Jerusalem. As a student, he founded the Jerusalem Fellowships program, which has become the most popular study program for college students in Israel. He founded Aish HaTorah's successful branch in South Florida, then became the Executive Director of Aish HaTorah Toranto, overseeing the building of two major community centers, and the expansion into 4 separate Aish centers. He co-founded Hasbara Fellowships and works at Aish HaTorah Jerusalem in new projects, fundraising and public relations.

Staff

Chananel Weiner
Director of New England Region
chananelw@aish.com

Rabbi Chananel Weiner is the director of both the Hasbara Fellowships' New England Region and Aish Campus Boston. Rabbi Chananel's passion is to develop leaders while engaging students on important issues relevant to their lives. His personable and approachable style and ability to connect to people of all backgrounds makes him a much sought after leader for Boston's Jewish students. Rabbi Chananel earned his B.A. from the University of Maryland, his rabbinical training was conducted at Yeshiva Aish HaTorah in Jerusalem, Israel and he was a visiting contributor to Harvard’s ILR program in a course on Israel and the Middle East conflict. Rabbi Weiner has spoken on topics pertaining to the Jewish future and Israel issues in North and South America, Europe, and the Middle East.Rabbi Chananel lives in Boston with his wonderful British born wife and three "enthusiastic" children, all of whom enjoy shabbas guests.

Daniel Cohen
Regional Coordinator, Midwest
dcohen@hasbarafellowships.org

Daniel Cohen is the Midwest Regional Coordinator. He is a recent graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he received his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Bachelor of Science in Psychology. Daniel studied abroad at Hebrew University in Jerusalem and became a leader in Israel advocacy upon his return, working as a student reporter for Israel Campus Beat, an intern for MASA Israel, and an intern at Hillel while planning Israel events with Israel Illini. In addition, Daniel worked as an Internal Development Coordinator with Illinois Business Consulting, the largest student-run consulting firm in the country, where he led recruitment and training efforts across three colleges. Daniel is very excited to join Hasbara Fellowships and looks forward to meeting campus leaders and helping them bring Israel advocacy to their campus!

Galia Nurko

Regional Coordinator, Mid-Atlantic
gnurko@hasbarafellowships.org

Galia Nurko graduated from The Ohio State University where she studied Historyand minored in Security and Intelligence. After graduation Galia worked for asmall think-tank where she conducted research on Iranian penetration into LatinAmerica and the ongoing development of nuclear weapons. Prior to that sheserved as a Hasbara Fellowships campus coordinator for Oho and Pittsburghuniversities, interned at the Embassy of Israel and was a leading Israel activiston her campus. Galia speaks Hebrew, Spanish, and English and is based inWashington D.C.

Molly Tobin
Regional Coordinator, New England
mtobin@hasbarafellowships.org

Molly Tobin is a recent graduate of Wheaton College in Massachusetts, where she majored in History with minors in Judaic Studies and Education. Molly was the founder of "L’Chaim," the first Jewish club on her campus. In that capacity, she coordinated and planned numerous pro-Israel initiatives on campus. In addition to Israel activism, Molly served in Student Government and as an intern to the Dean of Service. Molly was a Hasbara Fellow on campus and is excited to be working with Hasbara Fellows throughout New England.

Netanella Refael
Administrative & Programming Coordinator
nrefael@hasbarafellowships.org

Netanella Refael is the Administrative Coordinator for Hasbara Fellowships. She is a graduate of John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City where she received her Bachelor of Arts in Forensic Psychology. As a freshman in CUNY John Jay, Netanella helped renew and form the Hillel at John Jay where she served as the Treasurer, Vice President and then President. Netanella attended the Hasbara Fellowships program in 2009 and became an active fellow on her campus and in the New York City area. Additionally, Netanella was the New York Campus Coordinator for Hasbara Fellowships during her senior year. She is fluent in English and Hebrew, and is very excited to continue working with Hasbara Fellowships.

Yael Steinberg
Regional Coordinator, West Coast
ysteinberg@hasbarafellowships.org

Yael Steinberg is a graduate from University of California Davis, where she majored in English and Art Studio. While in college, she was actively involved in the UCD Jewish community; working as a Hillel intern, Sunday school teacher, and as the President of the Jewish sorority (Sigma Alpha Epsilon Pi). She became involved in Israel advocacy after attending “Israel Amplified,” which inspired her to become a founder and executive board member of “Aggies for Israel.” Yael attended Hasbara Fellowships as a student in Winter 2010, and loves being a member of the Hasbara team as West Coast Coordinator.

Campus Coordinators

Melanie Goldberg
Campus Coordinator, New York City
mgoldberg@hasbarafellowships.org

Melanie Goldberg plans to dedicate her life to advocating for Israel. As a Journalism and TV/Radio major and a Marketing minor at Brooklyn College, she served as a Hasbara Fellow, ICC intern, and was selected for the Brooklyn College Presidential Scholars Program. In addition to her advocacy experience on campus, Melanie worked for Frank PR, FOX News, and for the corporate team at 5W PR. She has also published writing in The Times of Israel, The Jewish Week, and Jewocity. As the granddaughter of a Palmach fighter, Melanie is excited to help New York City college students stand up for Israel on their campuses.