Daphni Leef

Daphni Leef was born in 1986 in Jerusalem

Leef was born in Jerusalem and grew up in the Rehavia neighborhood. She is the daughter of composer Yinam Leef. She studied at the Hebrew Gymnasium Rehavia and in 2002 moved with her family to Kfar Shmaryahu, where she studied film at a high school in Ramat HaSharon.

She did not serve in the IDF, receiving an exemption for epilepsy. In 2005 she moved to Tel Aviv and studied film at Tel Aviv University, finishing in 2008. She then worked as a video editor, making short films, music videos and films for civil society groups.

In July 2011, unable to find an affordable apartment, she called on Facebook for a protest and pitched tents on Rothschild Boulevard on 14 July. The protest spread to cities across Israel, and she spoke at rallies and met President Shimon Peres. Some protesters criticized her role in the leadership.

In June 2012 she was arrested with other activists while trying to restart the tent camp. She was indicted in January 2013 and acquitted after the prosecution withdrew the charges. From 2013 she worked as a mentor at the Mandel Institute for Leadership.

In 2017 she released her first film as director, the documentary Before My Feet Touch the Ground, about the 2011 protest. It opened the Docaviv festival in Tel Aviv.