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“For my children and their generation, to whom we are committed to do all we can to build an exemplary society in which they would want to live and of which they would be proud.”

Applications for the 2026-27 Bachar Fellowship will open in late summer 2026

“The goal is change, and I believe wholeheartedly that it can be achieved.”

Yossi Bachar, 1955 – 2020

 

The Yossi Bachar Fellowship for Leading Systemic Change in Israeli Society via JDC – Elka was established by JDC – Elka, the Bachar family, and partnering philanthropists from Israel and throughout the world to reflect the spirit and legacy of Dr. Yossi Bachar z”l. The initiative harnesses the experience, knowledge, and abilities of Israel’s senior leadership to help advance discourse and reciprocity between the public and social systems, focusing on initiatives that will improve life in Israel for disadvantaged populations.

The fellowship aims to promote change at the level of government policy that will impact on the quality of life of each and every person living in Israel. Dr. Yossi Bachar strove tirelessly to harness leaders of Israel’s business and public sectors to promote dialogue with the social sector and generate engines for policy change. He believed that only by combining the forces of the three sectors (public, social, and business) could successful resolution of Israel’s complex social issues be achieved.

The prestigious Yossi Bachar Fellowship will be granted annually to an outstanding senior figure who has successfully headed widespread change and impacted on the public, social, and /or business sectors. The Fellowship will enable visionary men and women to bring about real change in Israeli society.

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JDC – Elka

  • JDC – Elka reinforces the public systems’ ability to provide high quality services to Israeli citizens

  • JDC – Elka heads inter-ministerial and inter-sectorial task forces

  • JDC – Elka untangles complexities within the public systems whilst re-establishes processes to resolve challenges

JDC – Elka strives to strengthen the public systems’ ability to efficiently and beneficially provide Israeli citizens with social services.

  • Better systems
  • Better services
  • Better lives

JDC – Elka is an ideal infrastructure for Fellowship recipients.

Dr. Yossi Bachar 1955 – 2020

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In the 1980’s Yossi Bachar received an MA, cum laude, in Economics and Accounting from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. After acquiring a Ph.D. in Business Administration from the University of California, Berkley, specializing in Funding, he served as a lecturer at Columbia University Business School in New York (1986 – 1991).

As CEO of the Ministry of Finance (2003 – 2007) he headed the Bachar Committee which generated a change in the structure of the Israeli capital market to provide better quality of services. The impact of this reform is felt by Israeli citizens to this day.

In 2007, while serving as Chair of Haifa University’s Executive Committee, Yossi received the Knight of Quality Government award from the Movement for Quality Government in Israel for his unique contribution to advancing the Israeli market and Israeli society and improving the quality of public administration. In 2010 he was appointed Chair of Discount Bank, in which capacity he also served as Chair of Mercantile Discount Bank, and Chair of Israel Credit Cards (until 2018). He was then appointed Chair of the Haifa Group (Haifa Chemicals) (2019 – 2020).

From 2014 to 2020, Yossi Bachar held the role of Co-Chair of JDC – Elka’s Advisory Committee. During these years he helped formulate JDC – Elka’s organizational strategy for the benefit of public and social systems, in parallel to forging collaborations between the public, social, and business sectors – collaborations he was highly skilled at creating. He established a committee comprised of senior government representatives, international philanthropists, representatives of Jewish communities around the world, and Israeli representatives.

During his term, Yossi strove to promote a world view that placed involvement in the public sector at the heart of business activity in order to increase the effectiveness of the public system, and emphasized the business sector’s need to engage in social action.

In addition to formulating policies and reforms, a central part of Yossi’s social approach was expressed through one-on-one meetings in which he provided advice and mentoring to men and women who went on to become key players in his spheres of involvement.

Thanks to his charismatic and inspiring personality, Yossi was able to engage a broad circle of colleagues and friends in social action.

During Yossi’s years of activity, JDC – Elka promoted a variety of programs on the national level.

These included:

  • Promoting policies with a regional approach (the Regional Clusters) and decentralizing national government, whilst establishing mechanisms to realize government budgets in local authorities
  • Involvement in myriad government decisions targeting social issues, such as promoting and supporting the government decision for the benefit of East Jerusalem residents and supporting the five-year plan for the Bedouin and Arab sectors
  • Running focused leadership programs to improve the public system in fields such as finance, digitalization, and procurement
  • Promoting a select team of social directors to integrate the business sector into the executive boards of social organizations
  • Launching long-term infrastructures to promote collaboration, training, and networking of senior public leaders of all sectors, while founding spheres and mechanisms for joint action

“The goal is change, and I believe wholeheartedly that it can be achieved.”

Dr. Yossi Bachar’s career was marked by diverse and extensive action, including senior roles in the public and business sectors. Yossi set an example of striving for excellence and achieving goals in every field he was active in while exhibiting accountability, wisdom, commitment, and honest compassion.

During Dr. Yossi Bachar’s term as Co-Chair of JDC – Elka’s Advisory Committee (2014 – 2020) he headed a process which resulted in changing JDC – Elka’s vision from developing leadership as a goal to developing leadership as a means to generate systemic change.

Dr. Yossi Bachar passed away in December 2020 at the age of 65, after battling cancer for years. He is survived by his wife Orit, four children, and grandchildren.

Fellowship components

Philanthropic Partners

Steering Committee

Senior accompaniment by JDC-Elka CEO

International networking

Bachar Family

Bachar Fellow

Joint Elka – Professional team

Joint-Elka infrastructure

“Yossi’s Bus” Club

Entrepreneur in Residence Fellowship of 100K$

Research assistants

רשתות הג’וינט
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The Steering Committee

  • Selecting a Bachar Fellow

  • Supporting the Fellow in drawing up an annual work plan, defining the products, and actual implementation

  • Monitoring achievement of the required products

  • Recruiting partners

  • The Committee will be aided by a forum of senior professionals tailored to the selected Fellow

orit bachar

Orit Bachar

Steering Committee Honorary President

Committee members:

Rani Dudai

Rani Dudai joined JDC-Israel in 2011 as director of the civil society field and of the Center for Lay Leadership. In 2014 he was appointed CEO of JDC – Elka, in which role he headed a significant change in JDC – Elka’s work approach – from a center of training, management, and leadership to partnering with the Israeli government in everything relating to promoting the efficiency of Israel’s public systems.

Rani holds an MBA from Haifa University, specializing in strategic personnel management; an MA in social work from Bar Ilan University, specializing in clinical work; and a BA in social work from Tel Aviv University. He has also completed several leadership programs for senior directors at Harvard Business School.

For over a decade Rani served as CEO of the Gevim Group, which offers consulting services to directors in the fields of mediation, constructing agreements, and negotiation. He is among the founders and entrepreneurs of the Kedem Association for Children and Youth in Israel, which is active in the field of healing justice. Currently he serves as a board member of the Ruppin Academic Center.

In April 2021 he was appointed CEO of JDC – Tevet.

Rani Dudai

Committee Chair

Ori Gil

Ori joined the JDC in 2013, holding several positions within the organization. From 2018 to 2020 he served as Deputy Director General of JDC – Elka and Director of Cross-Sectorial Collaboration. In this role he initiated and headed varied collaborations with the government and civil society to bolster their ability to work together, promote agents of change networks, head processes of innovation in the public sphere, and more. In April 2021 he was appointed Director General of JDC – Elka.

Before joining JDC – Elka Ori served as a strategic consultant for the BDO Group, working with a range of companies in the public and private sectors. Ori holds an MBA from Ben Gurion University of the Negev’s Honors Program, and a BA in philosophy from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem (both cum laude). He served as a combat pilot in the Israel Air Force and serves as a flight instructor in reserves.

Ori Gil

CEO of JDC – Elka

Dana Snierson (Bachar)

Dana Snierson (Bachar)

Representing the Bachar family, Dana is the eldest of Yossi z”l and Orit’s four children, and the mother of three.

Dana designs processes and services and is an expert in developing and implementing design thinking and heading co-creation processes for leading organizations in the three sectors (public, business, and social).

In the Bachar household there were constant conversations regarding the importance of realizing personal potential while harnessing one’s abilities to significantly contribute to society. These values have guided Dana throughout her life and molded her professional outlook. Dana is deeply familiar with the public and social sectors, proficient at forging cross-sector collaborations, and has much experience in working with JDC – Israel, especially JDC – Elka. Dana currently heads the field of Client Experience and User Experience at Deloitte Digital. Previously she directed the public sector unit and headed activities in the social sector at EY Israel.

Dana Snierson (Bachar)

Raanan Dinur

Raanan Dinur

Raanan Dinur was born in Jerusalem in 1952. After 13 years of service in the IDF he was appointed CEO of Telad and director of development at Audionautics. In the late 1980s he was among the founders of Young Entrepreneurs at the Van Leer Institute (the Karev Program) for educational enrichment. In the 1990s he served as Director General of the Jerusalem municipality. In 2003 he was appointed Director General of the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor, where he established the Tevet employment program in collaboration with JDC – Israel, and the Mehalev Program (also known as the Wisconsin Plan).

In 2006 he was appointed Director General of the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), a role he held for three years under Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. In this role he worked to strengthen the PMO’s abilities and was a partner to establishing the National Economic Council, integrating the National Security Council into the PMO, establishing the Policy Planning Division, the tri-sectorial roundtable, and the Authority for the Economic Development of the Minority Sectors.

Dinur laid the groundwork for the government planning guide and determined the way in which ministries were required to plan and report.

Raanan holds an MA in Public Administration and Policy, and as of 2012 he serves as Chair of the Ruppin Academic Center’s Board of Directors. Currently he divides his time between the business sector – in the Taavura Group and Pilat Group (Chair) – and volunteer activities as a social entrepreneur at the Wexner Foundation, the Mandel Institute for Educational Leadership, the Jerusalem Institute for Policy Research, and more.

Raanan Dinur

Binny Shalev

Binny Shalev is an expert in the field of resource development and philanthropy in Israel, with a special affinity for the Galilee, and has served as the Israel CEO of the Russell Berry Foundation since 2007.

Between 1991 and 1997 Binny led the development and establishment of the Tzipori National Park. Following that role, he focused on Israel and the Diaspora between 1997 and 2000, initially as a representative of the Federation of Jewish Communities of Palm Beach and Pittsburgh in the USA and then as a senior advisor to the Minister for Diaspora Affairs in the Prime Minister’s Office.

When this position ended, and until 2004, Binny served as Director of the Safed Fund whose goal is the preservation and development of the cultural assets of the Old City of Safed. In 2005, he founded EPI Consultants – Effective Philanthropy in Israel, to provide planning, strategy, and management services in the field of philanthropy in Israel to investors and foundations.

Binny holds an undergraduate degree in Philosophy from Yeshiva University, and an LLB from Bar Ilan University. He lives in Hoshaya.

Binny Shalev

liora propper_1

Leora Propper

As of 2018, Leora leads the philanthropic activities of her family – the Dan and Susan Proper family. The activity is focused on promoting the social mobility of children and youth through education and is built on trust-based and long-term partnerships with social organizations in the field. As part of her role, Leora accompanies CEOs and directors and, among other things, serves as Chair of the Ofanim association, as a member of the board of directors of Yeladim – Fair Chance for Children, and the Appleseeds association.

Leora Propper

Products and goals of the Fellowship term:

  • Networking: a tri-sector network of relationships to help promote change and create collaborations with relevant entities, such as government ministries, the Knesset, voluntary organizations, and promote necessary legislative change
  • Connection to JDC – Elka: generating an infrastructure for continued promotion of change as part of JDC – Elka’s fields of activity
  • Drawing up the change theory, including a policy paper presenting the method of change actualization, together with the legislative adaptions required
  • Striving for actual implementation of the policy paper
  • Long-term guidance in creating an infrastructure for continued promotion of the change and structuring a mechanism to examine the effectiveness of the recommendations after implementation
  • Constructing a knowledge center to head reforms
  • Leading a team of students and scholars

Resources at the Fellow’s disposal:

  • A living stipend during the Fellowship period and a designated budget for consultations, research, and publications
  • Assistance in harnessing partners among leaders in government, civil society, and the private sector through JDC – Elka networks, and comprehensive support to promote action
  • An international research trip to develop international and academic networking in the Fellow’s field of expertise and to foster familiarity with Jewish communities worldwide
  • Research assistants who will accompany the Fellow throughout the scholarship period (students from Israel’s social and geographic periphery)
  • Professional and administrative support provided by JDC – Elka
  • Personal mentorship by the Chair and members of JDC – Elka’s Advisory Committee, JDC – Elka’s CEO, and the CEO of a leading business firm
  • Support from Yossi’s Bus
יוגב גרדוס

Yogev Gradus, Bachar Fellow for 2025-26

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Yogev Gradus was born and raised in Haifa and later in Kiryat Bialik. After completing his military service as a fighter in the Air Force, he began his undergraduate studies in 2006 in Economics and Accounting at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He graduated Summa cum Laude in 2009.

In 2009, Yogev began working in the Budget Division of the Ministry of Finance, in the Macro Team, which is responsible for leading and managing the budget process and for the fiscal frameworks of the state budget. After three years, he was appointed team manager until 2015. During his work in the team, he coordinated the biennial budget process for the years 2011-2012 and 2013-2014. He also promoted the formulation and enactment of the numerator mechanism for managing the budget frameworks on a multi-year basis, and led the handling of regulating the legislative mechanism of the Gas Revenue Wealth Fund together with the National Economic Council.

In 2015, he travelled to the United States to study for a graduate degree in Public Administration (MPA) at Harvard University. During his studies, he specialized in complex negotiation management and regional economic development.

Upon his return to Israel, Yogev managed the team responsible for welfare, immigrant absorption, Holocaust survivors, and National Insurance at the Ministry of Finance. As part of his role, he handled the disability benefits reform that was implemented following the protest of people with disabilities that began in 2016, the expansion of maternity leave, various immigration programs, the nursing field, and more.

In 2017, he was appointed Deputy Budget Commissioner responsible for macro, employment, financial, wage, and pension issues. In addition to heading the budget processes, he also promoted a large number of reforms in the financial sector aimed at increasing competition in the system. Among other things, he promoted a reform of account transfers between banks, the enactment of the Payment Services Law, and the establishment of a Banking Computing Bureau.

In 2019, Yogev completed a comprehensive one-year international program to specialize in negotiation management (NSI) under the guidance of the Harvard Negotiation Project.

In 2020, following the resignation of the Budget Commissioner, Yogev was asked by the then Minister of Finance to fill his position. Due to the re-election campaigns that took place during this period, he served as acting Budget Commissioner until the summer of 2021, when he was officially appointed to the role. Yogev, the youngest person appointed to this important position, worked under three different Finance Ministers and served in the position until the summer of 2025.

During his five years as Budget Commissioner, the economy experienced many upheavals. The budget division he headed led the Israeli government’s economic response and construction of economic solutions to the COVID pandemic from 2020 to 2022. The relief packages totaled over NIS 200 billion, and included a wide variety of tools, ranging from assistance to households and the unemployed, to assistance to businesses and certain industries (e.g. airlines, sports and culture, high-tech companies, and more).

From 2021 to 2023, the department headed by Yogev formulated and promoted the two largest and most comprehensive Arrangement Laws in Israel’s history. The laws included dozens of reforms in all areas of the economy in order to accelerate growth and competition and deal with various structural problems in the economy. He helped promote, among other things, the various import reforms (“What is good for Europe”), raising the retirement age for women, designated bond reforms, enactment of congestion fees in the Dan area, the Metro Law, the National Infrastructure Law, the establishment of the Housing Incentive Fund, and other reforms in the financial sector such as the Health Insurance Reform and the Open Banking Reform.

During his tenure, he led and participated in a large number of initiatives in collaboration with the private sector, including negotiations with Intel to establish its factories in Israel, the establishment of the Initiative 2.0 Fund to increase institutional investments in high-tech, the formulation of aid packages for airlines during major aviation crises, the privatization of Israel Post and the Port of Haifa, and more.

In 2023, with the outbreak of the war in Gaza, he led his department in handling the economic and civilian responses required for the Home Front and security forces in the context of the war. Over the course of two years, responses totaling over NIS 200 billion were formulated to support businesses, employees, and the civilian and security needs that resulted from the war.

Throughout his five years in office, Yogev emphasized the importance of integrating the Arab and Haredi populations into the economy. The department he headed, together with other partners, formulated the 550 Plan to reduce gaps in Arab society. Yogev also led a clear line of opposition to the increase in negative work incentives given to Haredi men. In addition, he consistently presented the extensive economic implications of enacting a conscription law that would integrate Haredi men into military service in light of the effects of the war on the burden of army service.

During his years at the Ministry of Finance, he served on numerous public and governmental boards of directors and committees: as a director of Pi Glilot, as director and chairman of the Haifa Port Finance Committee, as a member of the board of directors of the Israel Atudot Department, a representative of the Electricity Authority plenum, and most recently as chairman of the team for increasing competition in the banking system.

Yogev is married to Bella, a veterinarian, and they live in Kfar Saba with their three children, Gal, Amit, and Alon.

Yogev Gradus is a respected director and economist who, throughout his career, gained extensive experience in formulating and promoting systemic structural changes. Yogev has also gained experience in managing and dealing with large-scale crises at the national level.

For the past five years (2020-2025), Yogev has served as the budget supervisor at the Ministry of Finance. During his years as head of the department, he led the formulation and promotion of the two largest and most comprehensive Arrangement Laws in Israel’s history. The laws included dozens of reforms across all sectors of the economy aiming to accelerate growth and competition and deal with various structural problems in the economy.

At the same time, the department under his lead dealt with unprecedented crises that afflicted the entire country and required rapid and creative responses from the Ministry of Finance. Yogev understood that, in routine and certainly in emergencies, weaknesses in human capital recruitment and management mechanisms dramatically affect the ability to deal with economic problems. This led him to establish a team within the department that focuses on human capital issues and works with the other government agencies responsible for this.

As a direct continuation of his work at the Ministry of Finance, and due to his proven ability to head large-scale structural changes and his deep familiarity with the public sector, Yogev was selected to promote the issue of human capital management in the public sector as a Bachar Fellow with the aim of strengthening its status and improving its quality and efficiency. To this end, he will draw on JDC’s extensive capabilities in this field, and he will work together with government officials and other civilian entities working in the field.

Fellowship topic – Strengthening human capital in the public sector

The quality of a country’s public service clearly affects its citizens’ quality of life. The more effective and high-quality the public sector, the better the service provided to the public and the more it fulfills its goals. The more efficient and flexible the service, the less resources it consumes, allowing the economy to develop and the public to pay less for public services.

Various indicators show a decline in the quality and efficiency of Israel’s public service in recent years. Also, various surveys and studies indicate a decline in the image of the public service and a decline in the public’s trust in it.

In addition, an analysis of data regarding public service employees indicates a decline in the quantity and quality of those who apply to join the service.

In parallel with these phenomena, there is an increasing need for the government and the public sector to deal with crises that are becoming more and more frequents, and naturally, the public’s desire to receive quality public services is also increasing. These trends, combined with global technological changes (especially the widespread use of AI tools), require a change in the way human capital is structured and managed in the public service.

During the Fellowship year, a plan for the promotion and management of human capital in the public sector will be constructed in collaboration with partners in the government and civil society, in order to strengthen its status and improve its quality and efficiency. The plan will be structured while relying on the extensive knowledge and experience existing in the system, and through in-depth dialogue and analysis of the key problems in the field. In addition to providing a vision for necessary systemic changes in this area, the plan will focus primarily on creating operative mechanisms for its promotion.

  • Mordechai Cohen – Bachar Scholar for 2022/23
  • Hila Hadad Hamelnik – Bachar Scholar for 2024/25
  • Professor Nachman Ash – Bachar Scholar for 2024/25
Scholarship Subject
Malgai Bachar
Biography

Decentralization of powers to local authorities –

Following the Cohen-Bechar report, which presented recommendations for a reform to promote regionalism and decentralization of powers from the central government to local and regional governments, led by the Ministry of the Interior and in cooperation with JDC Elka (November 2020), Government Resolution 675 was adopted to decentralize powers from the central government to local governments and its implementation began within the framework of the 36th government.

Following the decision, a significant opportunity was created to influence the direction of decentralization on the one hand and to reflect on challenges and dangers while learning from the experience of other countries. Decentralization of powers is a broad systemic process that affects the citizen of Israel in their daily lives, hence its great importance. The steering committee agreed that decentralization of powers and empowerment of local government is significant for the functioning of the government and local authorities and that it is of great importance to advance it to implementation.

During the fellowship year, Mordechai promoted the field together with the JDC team Elka in 3 main arenas of action: policy design, research and knowledge development, meeting with change agents and language assimilation. In each of the arenas, several channels of action were taken and some of the processes have not yet been completed.

In the policy design arena, a roadmap for optimal decentralization was written for government ministries and consulting and guidance was provided to government ministries to promote decentralization. A pilot process of in-depth decentralization was carried out with the Ministry of Social Affairs. In the research arena, a “decentralization document” was written (in-depth research in the field), meetings were held with experts and cooperation with the OECD began. In the language and change agents arena, Mordechai gave lectures on the subject to cadets and employees of government ministries, local authorities and civil society, and learning and experience workshops on the subject were developed, among others with the National Midrash.

With the end of the scholarship year, Mordechai and Elka’s work in the field continues to maximize the progress of the process.

“Socio-systemic changes are not carried out at the stroke of a sword or recklessly, and for this purpose visionaries are required who act out of a public mission, persistence while recruiting partners and allies along the way. As the first fellow of the Bachar Scholarship, I allow myself to say that the Bachar Scholarship enables a work environment and intellectual development in this spirit, in the spirit of Yossi Bachar.” Mordechai Cohen

Throughout his entire professional and public career, Mordechai Cohen has acted in light of a coherent socio-economic vision. His main goal was and still is to establish Israeli statehood, reduce gaps between groups in Israeli society, strengthen democracy and social mobility, and improve the functioning of public systems for the benefit of the citizen. As part of his role as Director General of the Ministry of the Interior, he was appointed chairman of a team of experts to promote regional reform and decentralize powers to local government. Dr. Yossi Bachar, the late, served on this team as chairman of the advisory committee at JDC-Alka.

As a continuation of this path, Mordechai submitted his candidacy to be the first Bachar Fellowship Fellow, and after a complex selection process, the steering committee selected him in order to promote systemic change and fulfill his vision regarding the decentralization of local authority powers in the country and thus improve the quality of life of all its residents. Mordechai completed his work as a fellow in May 2023, after a year of activity.

During the fellowship year, Mordechai worked to promote the decentralization of powers to local authorities together with the JDC-Alka team in a variety of areas. By the end of the year, in-depth products were laid and several breakthroughs were created in the field. In addition, he led the two “Yossi’s Bus” tours that departed this year, one to the Negev to meet with Bedouin society in the Negev and the other to Yokneam and Migdal HaEmek – To examine innovative industry in the periphery and its relationship to local government.

Mordechai Cohen has completed his fellowship year, but the collaboration and deep connection that was created between him and the JDC Elka and the Bachar family will continue to produce systemic changes in Israel.

Mordechai Cohen was born and educated in his youth in Hatzor HaGlilit, including middle school studies at the Kiryat Chinuch Hatzor High School, founded by the TAMI movement. He attended high school at the Bezeq boarding school in Jerusalem and, upon completion of his studies, he enlisted in the Nahal Brigade as a core unit and served as a combat medic. Mordechai completed his undergraduate and graduate studies at the Hebrew University in the Department of Political Science, as well as an additional master’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Manchester.

His social activity began as part of the program for public activists at the Hebrew University and in the activities of the student cell ZAH (Social Justice), which was re-established in 1995. In parallel with his studies, Mordechai joined the guidance team at the Mesilah Home – a closed institution for girls at risk.

In 1999, he began his studies at the Mandel Institute for Leadership in Jerusalem. Upon completing his studies at the institute and after delving into models for decentralizing authority and creating regional education administrations in Israel and around the world, he joined the “Point-Based Treatment” project, which was managed by the Prime Minister’s Office. This project focused on formulating and implementing comprehensive master plans for several local authorities in the geographical and social periphery. Mordechai coordinated the project’s activities in the local authorities in the north.

Shortly thereafter, Mordechai joined the Rashi Foundation, and for nine years was the director of the northern region and then the foundation’s deputy director. As part of his role, he led an extensive array of responses and solutions for local authorities in the north, especially after the crisis that struck them following the Second Lebanon War and which stemmed from their severe underperformance and that of various government bodies. Mordechai led the program to strengthen the north in partnership with the government and the third sector, within the framework of which youth centers, early childhood centers, warm homes for girls in danger were established and the new Tel Hai campus, Merom Galil campus, were built. Libraries at Emek Hayarden College and Tel Hai College. Plans were also implemented to streamline and improve management in local authorities during normal times and emergencies, scholarships were awarded to students, and research laboratory centers were opened for students. In 2012, after completing his duties at the Rashi Foundation, he began his role as Director of the Local Government Administration at the Ministry of the Interior.

As part of his role at the Rashi Foundation, Mordechai led a series of groundbreaking moves, including establishing and expanding a management reserve for local government – ​​cadets for local government, establishing the regional cluster system in partnership with JDC Elka, moving from uniform to differential regulation, including plans for economic development and improving existing human capital in local authorities.

After being appointed Director General of the Ministry of the Interior in 2017, Mordechai completed a comprehensive organizational change in the ministry, as a result of which the Ministry of the Interior led the reform of the geographical committees, continued the establishment of clusters, led a transition from recovery programs to economic takeoff, reduced the number of local authorities operating under a designated committee, and significantly increased the budget of the Ministry of the Interior for the benefit of disadvantaged authorities, and more.

In parallel with his role, Mordechai served in 2020 and 2021 as Chairman of the National Planning and Building Council and Chairman of the Committee for National Infrastructures. In these roles, too, he strove for a careful balance between preserving natural resources and the need to develop infrastructure, with an emphasis on a regional perspective and reducing the gaps between the periphery and the center.

Mordechai was appointed chairman of a team of experts to promote regional reform and decentralize powers to local government. Among the members of the team were Dr. Yossi Bachar, z”l, who served on the team in his role as chairman of the advisory committee at the Joint-Alka, and other experts from the fields of academia, law, and economics.

Professional material & From the press

Decentralization Road Map (PPT) Decentralization Road Map (Doc) The Separation Plan Decentralization of Power from Central Government to Local Government Facing a historic crisis, state institutions are reaching a point of collapse | Maariv April 2023 The public is right: Local government is Israel's great hope | TheMarker May 2023

Yossi’s Bus

In a creative and unusual act, Dr. Yossi Bachar initiated ‘Yossi’s Bus tours’. From time to time he would invite leading businessmen, public officials, and friends to join him on a tour of cities throughout the country to expose them, first hand, to the realities of life in the social periphery.
Yossi used to say to his guests: “I cannot believe that people like you and me, who were born in Israel, have never visited Sderot, Yeruham, or even Akko.”

At the joint initiative of JDC – Elka and the Bachar family, it was decided to commemorate and continue this important work by establishing the Yossi Bachar Fellowship and revive Yossi’s Bus encounters. Passengers on the bus can play a significant role in promoting initiatives and assisting in the Fellows’ success through their professional, personal, and financial abilities, in accordance with their personal preferences.

Yossi’s Bus will hold regular activities throughout the year as part of a supportive envelope for the Fellows. Over the years, the club will grow and increase its human capital in order to cope successfully with the significant challenges that lie ahead.

“I truly believe that integrating volunteer work in our regular business activities is both an obligation and a privilege.”
  • Tour 1: Bedouin of the Negev
  • Tour 2: The High-tech world and innovative industry in the north
  • Tour 3: The challenges of rebuilding life in the communities along the Gaza border
  • Tour 4: Rehabilitation and growth in the north following the war
  • Tour 5: Eshkol after the war – leadership and growth in the Gaza envelope communities

In October 2022, the first of Yossi’s Bus tours took off. Over 30 members consisting of Fellowship colleagues, senior members of Israel’s business community, senior members of the public sector, and representatives of the family, JDC, and the Fellowship went on a tour to familiarize themselves with the Bedouin society in the Negev. During the tour participants were exposed to the key issues and challenges at hand: the land problem and regulation attempts throughout history, the inter-generational struggle within Bedouin society, crime and its causes, treatment of women and polygamy, new and groundbreaking leadership, as well as the complex interface between the Bedouin community, local authorities, and the government.

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