Yachad

Click on the names below to find out more about our board members

Alexander Bodin Saphir

Alexander is a filmmaker currently working with Israeli and Palestinian filmmakers on an ongoing joint film project. He is also a trustee of New Israel Fund UK and co-chair of its New Generation group. He grew up in Bnei Akiva.

Danny Friedman QC

Danny is a barrister practicing at Matrix Chambers who specialises in human rights, international humanitarian law and national security issues. He is a member of Alyth Gardens Synagogue and is married with three children.

Elana Friedman

Elana grew up in South Africa where she was an active member of the South African Union of Jewish Students and the youth movement Habonim Dror. She moved to the UK 14 years ago and works with strategic leader across Sub-Saharan Africa and the UK as an organisational development consultant with a specialism in leadership and education. 

Stephen Grabiner

Stephen has just retired from Apax Partners, a private equity partnership, where he led the Global Media Team and London office. He was also responsible for Apax's investments in Israel. Prior to Apax, Stephen was Chief Executive of ONDigital Plc and Managing Director of the Telegraph Plc. He is involved as an advisor and supporter to a wide range of Jewish community charities and Israeli organisations. Stephen lives in north London and is married to Miriam with three children.

Manuela Grayson

Formerly a current affairs TV producer at the BBC, Manuela is now an adviser on broadcasting regulation, a magistrate, and Panel Chair on Fitness to Practise Hearings at the Health Professions Council. She is also on the Management Committee of the Camden Community Law Centre. She has a Law degree from Cambridge University and a Masters in International Relations from LSE. Manuela's mother came to England as a refugee from Egypt during the Suez War which gives her a particular personal interest in working for peaceful coexistence in the Middle East. She is married with three children and holds a passionate belief that being a Jew means making a contribution to "healing the world".

Ben Jackman Overlander

Ben is a communications professional. He grew up in RSY-Netzer and was its Mazkir (national secretary) in 2000-2001. He worked for BICOM as Head of Media from 2007-2009.

Daniel Reisel

Daniel is a junior doctor working in the NHS. He received his PhD in Neuroscience from the University of Oxford in 2004. He also holds a BA in Comparative Religion from the University of Cambridge. A graduate of Bnei Akiva, he has been involved in Jewish education across the community. He served as an infantry soldier in the Second Lebanon War in 2006.

Jonathan Simmons

A graduate of RSY-Netzer, Jonathan is the managing director of Public Zone, a digital communications agency specialising in the not-for-profit sector. Having grown up in an environment where he was encouraged to discuss Israel in an open manner, he believes that many of his generation feel alienated from the community because they are no longer able to do this. He hopes Yachad will help create the space for Jews who love Israel to have more honest conversations.  

Our Staff

Click on the names below to find out more about our staff

Hannah Weisfeld

Hannah is the director of Yachad. She grew up in Habonim Dror and was its education director for two years on completion of her undergraduate degree. She chaired the Jewish Social Action Forum for two years, bringing together leading Jewish communal organisations to develop the community's social action agenda and also worked as a consultant for the Pears Foundation. She has spent time living and working in Israel and Malawi and holds a BA in English Literature from Sussex University and MSc in Global Politics from the London School of Economics. 

Watch a short film about Yachad