Yizhar Hess

Yizhar Hess was born in 1967 in Jerusalem

Yizhar Hess was born on July 5, 1967, and grew up in Jerusalem. He attended Gymnasia Rehavia and was active in the scouts.

He earned a BA in Hebrew literature and political science at the Hebrew University and a law degree at the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya. He also holds an MA in Jewish studies from the Schechter Institute and a PhD from Sussex University in England.

He served in the IDF from 1985 to 1990, first in the Armored Corps and then as an information officer in the Education Corps. He then worked as a copywriter and as a journalist for the newspaper Shishi.

He was deputy director of the Shorashim Institute from 1996 to 1999. In 2000 he went to Tucson, Arizona, as an envoy of the Jewish Agency, and after returning in 2003 he managed partnerships between Jewish communities abroad and Israel.

As head of the Masorti Movement from 2007, he took part in talks on egalitarian prayer at the Western Wall. Since November 2020 he has served as Vice Chairman of the World Zionist Organization and sits on Jewish Agency and Keren Hayesod boards.