Who We Are
The Namal program is a joint venture of the “Matzmichim” Association, and the Social and Youth Administration in the Ministry of Education, under the auspices of the Entrepreneurial Incubator of Co. Lab run by the UJA (Jewish Federation of New York).
What We Stand For
"Mazmichim" , winner of the Knesset Speaker's Award for Quality of Life, was established in 2004 to provide a solution to the problem of violence in schools in Israel, among other things through applicable tools to increase the sense of belonging and reduce alienation in students' lives. Out of years of fieldwork in the educational field, "Matzmichim" has developed The home port program (NAMAL) - an innovative leadership program that aims to create change agents from the student community.
Our Idea of Success
Our goal is to empower participants in the program with the will and responsibility to be involved socially in their environment.
We achieve our goals when program participants start to identify something in an area of their life that bothers them and act using the techniques received during the program to cope with it.
We are successful when program participants find a way to identify with members of the other groups on the basis of mutual development and techniques that generate cohesion.
Our History
Why We Started
Israeli society is characterized by ongoing tension and growing divisions. It is in dire need of people with the capacity to create social cohesion: People who are calm and treat others with respect and fairness. People who are sensitive to the aspects of behavior that can lead to stopping the pain and suffering of others. People who are able to diffuse a conflictual social situation with determination, but in a gentle way. Such individuals possess a talent for creating cohesion, and can be identified in various social situations when they use their gifts to “make peace and create bonds”. We define such individuals as having high levels of CQ (Cohesive Quotient). It is assumed that high levels of CQ can be identified in children at early ages, but it needs to be nurtured, developed, and legitimized over time.
To meet this need we launched our Shared Society Leadership Program titled “NAMAL” (English: “Home Port”) in November 2017 in collaboration with The Shdemot Center for Community Leadership at the Oranim College and the Ministry of Education’s Community Engagement Program, The program is under the auspices of the UJA-Federation of New York’s Co.Lab – Collaboration Laboratory for Social Innovation. We started pilot projects with six different schools within the Municipality of Haifa with the vision of promoting social cohesion among adolescents. In only two years, we were able to double the number of schools with whom we cooperate, as we started implementing the same methods in the city of Tiberias and its surroundings.
The program’s aim is to enable pupils with natural leadership skills and a high CQ to become agents of societal change. The training we provide strengthens dialogue and mediation skills and increases the pupils’ inborn talents for furthering social cohesion.
This ability to be leaders in a multi-sectoral situation, coupled with a willingness to pay the price of promoting growth, are indicators that these are the best future leaders of Israel!
Our Staff
Yony Tsouna
Founder and Co-Director of Matzmichim
One of the founders of the Matzmichim Center and served as CEO ever since. Yony as a master's degree in Public Policy from the Hebrew University . From the time of his studies he analyzed the national policies and external programs for dealing with violence in schools. As part of the center, Yoni conducts workshops for children and youth at risk, for teachers, parents and educators; Professional consultant for policy planning for dealing with and reducing violence, a lecturer in the academia, in Israel and abroad.
Avishag Marcow
Head of the NAMAL program
Avishag has a bachelor's degree in educational counseling and special education and a master's degree in political communication, coming from the field of work in non-formal education with at-risk youth. Avishag conducts courses for counselors and educators and delivers lectures to parents alongside the facilitation of student workshops in schools and non-formal education. Manages the "NAMAL - Home Port" project for multi-sectoral leadership for high schools.
Ori Levinson
Program and Content Coordinator
Ori Levinson holds a BA in Social Work from the Tel-Hai Academic College. he is an advisor at the Elam Association for the program 'Youth-at-Risk' and works over 10 years in informal education with children and youth. Uri volunteered as a counselor at the 'Wheelhouse' Association for about 3 years – where he promoted the independence of children and adolescents with cerebral palsy syndrome.
Amani Ruhana
Group Facilitator
Amani has a MA in International Relations from the International Security and Diplomacy of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and a BA in Psychology and International Relations. She worked as a lecturer in the Preparatory Program for students from abroad and as a research assistant at the Hebrew University. She served as CEO in “Building Bridges Jerusalem”, a non-profit organization focused on leadership training and partnership between Israeli and Palestinian youth. She has previously worked with groups of youth, adults in Israel, the Palestinian Authority, or mixed communities and trained teams of organizations. She currently works as an instructor in various programs and studies the Master of Anthropology at the University of Haifa.
Lior Ben Rei
Group Facilitator
Lior is a graduate of the Institute for Democratic Education at the Seminar Hakibbutzim Teachers College. He taught religion and history at the junior high schools, and has extensive experience in informal education.
Jasmine Daniel
Group Facilitator
Jasmine Daniel is a women’s educator and group coordinator in the Arab society. She worked as coordinator for the Arab society in Jafa. she is a eacher in the primary and middle school. Jasmine strongly believes in education and dreams of improving the quality of life with people surrounding her.
Or Zahavi Katz
Group Facilitator
Or is a group coordinator and organizational consultant. She has an MA in Organizational Sociology from the University of Haifa and a group guidance certificate. Or has experience in guiding groups of different audiences in various fields such as promoting employment, integration into citizenship after military or national service, personal empowerment, support of educational staff, and more. Or believes in the power of children to create a good and healthy reality.