Ofer Gutman

Ofer Gutman is the CEO of Masa Israel Journey, the leader of long-term Israel experiences, which has served over 160,000 young adults from more than 60 countries since its founding. Prior to this he was the CEO of Israel Venture Partners, a non-profit organization that provides educational resources to underprivileged youth in Israel, and the Central Sheliach of the World Zionist Organization in North America, where he focused on forging connections between students on college campuses and Israel. 

Ofer begins with a basic update on how he is doing amidst all of the unrest in the region. He then discusses how he ended up in his role at the World Zionist Organization and the challenges that he faced on college campuses, the difference between experiential and other forms of education, and what the poverty and inequality looks like in Israel and what he has seen to be most effective in combating it. Ofer then speaks about how he has managed leading a global team spread across 15+ countries, how his approach to running Masa has shifted over Covid, and how he dealt with the recent tragedy in Meiron, in which 2 Masa participants passed away. He closes by sharing his feelings around how the culture in many parts of the world are making people genuinely afraid to show support for Israel, what he wants his legacy to be, and what it means to lead.