Staff Profiles
Dr. Benny Fisher ED.D. - Village Director
Village Director. Benny Fisher became the Village Director in late 2009, after serving as Superintendent for Israel’s Ministry of Welfare for Risk Youth Shelters where he was responsible for training directors, monitoring educational and therapeutic programs as well as developing initiatives and creating partnerships with other agencies. He received his senior teaching license from Herzog College and his BA from Tel Aviv University’s School of Education. His Ed.D. thesis was on at-risk adolescents’ rehabilitation. Benny is a combat company commander and is married with five children.
Susan Weijel - Director of Outreach
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Brooklyn native Susan Weijel, a member of the senior leadership team for twelve years, has internalized what visionary leader Chaim Peri calls the “magic of Yemin Orde Youth Village.” She is responsible for the development and implementation of many of the Village’s core programs. Susan was also one of the original strategists behind the creation of Yemin Orde Initiatives and continues to oversea the expansion of Yemin Orde’s philosophy and methodology to other youth villages in Israel.
Her academic credentials include a B.A. in Political Science and English Literature from the State University of New York (SUNY-Albany) and an M.A. in Public Administration and Urban Planning from the Hebrew University. Prior to joining the staff of Yemin Orde, she worked for the Jewish Agency and also spent three years as coordinator of the Joint Distribution Committee’s national project for the Ethiopian community in small towns and kibbutzim.
Susan Weijel is the liaison between Yemin Orde and supporting individuals and organizations around the world. Her passion for the mission informs each encounter with everyone she meets and works with.
David Konotofsky
became the Director of the Informal Educators in the Village in the summer of 2009. Next to the Director of the Village, this is the most important position in the Village, as the informal educators are our children's caretakers, role models, and educators twenty four hours a day. David has worked with Ethiopian new immigrant youth since his teenage years, when he began working as a youth movement group leader for Ethiopian youth at the age of sixteen. During his service in the Israel Defense Forces, David served as an officer in a golani unit. Following his release from the army, he worked for seven years at the Yemin Orde youth village, first as an informal educator and then as director of extra curricular activities and the Tikkun Olam Program. Last year, he crossed over to Yemin Orde Initiatives, under the direction of Dr. Chaim Peri, to work with other youth villages in Israel, disseminating the Yemin Orde methodology and supervising staff on effective work methods. David lives in a staff apartment in the Village with his wife and three children.
Shagau Mekonen
Village Rabbi. He immigrated to
Israel from Ethiopia in 1985 with his father, step mother and several
siblings, after having walked for days through Sudan. Shagau completed his high school
education at Yemin Orde in 1991 and went on to study at Yeshivat Har Etzion,
where he received his rabbinic ordination from the Chief Rabbinate. Shagau served in the IDF in a combat
unit. Prior to returning to Yemin Orde
as a staff member, Shagau coordinated a number of community projects in the
Netanya region for the Ethiopian community.
Upon his return to Yemin Orde, he worked as a counselor for several years
and then served as director of informal education for two years, with the aim to
give other young immigrants the encouragement and support he received while at
Yemin Orde. In the fall of 2009, Shagau undertook the task of Village Rabbi
while at the same time, he is attending his final year of studies towards a
Bachelor's degree in Social Sciences and Humanities, in the Interdisciplinary
Jewish Studies Department at the
Oranim College.
Shagau lives in the Village with his wife and five children.
Sarit Giora
became Director of the Psycho-Social Work Department at the Village in
2007 and in September 2009, she joined the internal board of directors of the
Village. Prior to these tasks, Sarit
established and ran the Graduate Support Program at the Village. With a BA in Social Work from the
University and Haifa and an MA in Social Work,
specializing in family therapy, Sarit’s graduate thesis focused on work with
immigrant youth from Ethiopia. Sarit has worked at the Village
for nine years. Sarit is married
with two children.
Oritz Hertz
received her BA in Social Work from the
Bar Ilan University
and her MA in Business Administration, specializing in organizational
psychology. She has an additional BA
fro Bar Ilan in Jewish Studies and a Teacher's Certificate. Orit has rich experience in community
work, both with youth at risk as well as with creating community-wide programs
for the treatment of various challenged populations. At Yemin Orde, Orit has been the
coordinator of the Graduates Program for the past two years, and she works
closely with graduates all over the country in order to provide support and
build networks for graduates of all ages.
Orit is married with three children.
Racheli Yaso
Racheli Yaso. Director of Visitor Relations and Outreach Programs.
Racheli joined the staff of Yemin Orde in July of 2008. Born in Ethiopia in 1977, Racheli made aliyah at the
age of seven with her mother and siblings in 1984, during Operations Moses.
Racheli's father was working with the Mossad at that time, helping Jews escape
Sudan, and he joined the family in 1985.
Upon arrival in Israel, Racheli's family settled in the northern town of
Kiryat Motzkin, following a two year
stay at an absorption center. Racheli was sent to a youth village from the
seventh grade through to her high school graduation and hence her understanding
and identification with the children at Yemin Orde. Racheli served in the
IDF as a soldier-teacher for children from underprivileged and challenged
backgrounds. Racheli tells us that her army service was a turning point in
her life because it was at this time that she discovered her true identity and
began to define herself as a Jewish Israeli woman, born in
Ethiopia. Racheli received her Bachelor's
degree in Social Sciences and Criminology at
Ariel College and she lives in Netanya.
Yonatan Aberra
Coordinator of the entire tenth grade and their staff) some 100 children and fifteen staff people). Yonatan made Aliyah in 1990, at the
age of 17. Upon Aliyah, he came
straight to Yemin Orde and he graduated high school in 1993. In the army, Yonatan served as a
combat soldier and unit commander.
He received his Bachelor’s degree from the
University
of Haifa in History and
Systems Management. Yonatan was a
member of Yemin Orde’s first mission of twenty Yemin Orde graduates (which also
included his future wife,Gudai, whom he met through this program) to Camp Ramapo
in New Jersey; there, he worked as a counselor during the summer months for
children with behavioral and learning disabilities. Following this summer experience,
Yonatan remained a few weeks in the United States
and then found himself “stuck” in New
York during the September 11 terror attack. This was an experience which he often
recalls during his work with the children at the Village. Yonatan joined the staff of Yemin
Orde in 2005 as coordinator and he is now studying toward his Master’s degree in
Public Management at the
University
of Haifa. Yonatan lives in the Village with his
wife and two children.
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