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Executive Committee
The Executive Committee of the Foundation is chaired by Yarom Ariav, former Director General of the Ministry of Finance. The majority of the committee members are Lod residents from the different communities represented in the city. They contribute from their time and energy, entirely on a volunteer basis, driven by a commitment to social action in the city.
Yarom Ariav, Chairperson
Director General of the Ministry of Finance from 2007 to 2009, Ariav was one of the leading figures on the economic scene in Israel at the time of the global economic crisis. The Israeli eeconomy faired that crisis impressively, with Ariav responsible for charting and executing the economic policy of the government before and during the crisis. Since concluding his term of office at the finance ministry, Ariav has dedicated himself to initiatives and involvement in various projects on behalf of the economy and society.
Eitan Lombard
CEO and owner of Sensecom, Lombard chose the northern industrial area of Lod as the company's home over 20 years ago. His professional experience and broad vision are applied to developing applied business models for evaluating projects in the fields of Sensecom's expertise and contribute to the work of the Lod Foundation.
Ronen Shitrit
Born and raised in Lod, Shitrit is the owner of Shitrit Holdings Co., a group that specializes in initiating and marketing projects, and is chairman and owner of Anglo-Saxon real estate brokering chain. Shitrit began his business career in Lod when he purchased the Anglo-Saxon franchise in Lod, and from there he grew and developed. Today, Shitrit promotes projects in Lod which are a meaningful growth engine for the city, including construction projects, and culture and leisure ventures.
Ziona Yeshayahu
A Lod resident, Yeshayahu is an employee of Bank Hapoalim. She earned her undergraduate degree in business administration at Ono Academic College and became certified by the Adler Institute in facilitating parent groups. She made aliyah in 1982 from Ethiopia, and is involved in volunteer activity for the welfare of the Ethiopian community.
Shirin Natour-Hafi
Lod resident, Director of the Department of Arab Education in the Ministry of Education, Shirin Natour-Hafi established and managed the first Arab public school in Lod, the ORT Arab High School of the Sciences and Engineering in the Rakevet, Train Neighborhood. She began her professional path as a literature teacher, a homeroom teacher and educator, as a salary coordinator and literature instructor for the ORT network of schools. In 2012, she appeared on The Marker's [newspaper] list of 40 promising people, and as one of the 50 influencers in the field of education.
Gil Weiser
Chairperson of BGN Technologies, sitting on the Board of ATTU and a number of other startup companies, Weiser has 30 years of managerial and executive experience in the hi-tech industry and finance companies. Likewise, he has an extensive record of public involvement - from managing HP Israel, as a member of the Executive Committee of the University of Haifa to serving on the Board of Directors of the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange. Weiser served for many years as director of Digital Israel (DEC-Digital Equipment), CEO and president of Fibronics, CMS companies, as vice president of Orma Investment Bank, CEO and president of Orsos. He served as chairperson and/or director on the board of several companies: Chair of BBP (Switzerland), Board member of Clicksoftware (CKSW, 2001-2015), and PandTek (2000-2011), Optibase (OBAS), Formula Systems, Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, Regisoft Systems, Tascom, and others.
In the public sphere, Weiser served as chairperson of the Board of Governors of the University of Haifa (1994-2006), chairperson of Friends of MDA Israel, chairperson of action committees of a number of schools in Israel (Shevach and the ORT Arab High School of the Sciences in Lod), chairperson of the marketing forum (res.), etc. He earned his M.Sc. from the University of Minnesota and a B.Sc. from the Technion.
Avi Rokach
Married to Tal, father of six, Rokach lives in Lod. He is the Chairperson of the Garin Torani in Lod. Rokach is Director of the Center Community of the AMIT network. Formerly, he was the Headmaster of the AMIT Amichai High School Yeshiva in Rehovot. He has a bachelor's and a master's degree in Talmud from Bar-Ilan University. He was certified for the rabbinate by the Chief Rabbinate of Israel.
Yeshayahu Ben-Baruch
A resident of Lod, Ben-Baruch made aliyah in 1972 from Ethiopia. He has been involved in volunteer activity on behalf of aliyah absorption and the welfare of the Ethiopian immigrant community for over 30 years. He was recruited by the Jewish Agency to help with the absorption of Ethiopian olim and was asked by the late Prime Minister Menachem Begin to serve as a consultant for the plans of action to bring Ethiopian Jews to Israel. Ben-Baruch volunteers on a routine basis and is recognized in Lod as a leader, dominant in all matters related to action on behalf of society and the community.
Faten Al-Zinati (of blessed memory)
A resident of Lod, coordinator for Arab society and director of the Arab-Jewish Community Center [Matnas] in the Ramat Eshkol Neighborhood, her social-communal activity became known over a decade ago through the certification series, "Lod – Between Despair and Hope." Faten Al-Zinati worked in the neighborhood's complex social arena to ensure the quality of life of its Arab residents and to build mutual respect and dialogue between Arabs and Jews, even during times of crisis. Among other things, she established the city's Residents Council. She worked in the Lod Mediation Forum, managed the multicultural community dialogue forum at the mediation center in Ramla, and supervised many social initiatives related to Arab society in the city. She was a member of the Executive Committee of the Lod Foundation almost from the day it was founded. She dreamed, and acted on her dreams, establishing projects in the city. The leading project she initiated was "Making a Neighborhood," for improving the residential environment, and "The Communities Khan," near Matnas Chicago, which includes Gojo – a traditional Ethiopian home with clay and sand walls, and a meeting place for the Arab community.
Albert Sivan (of blessed memory)
Director General of the Lod Municipality (for 15 years) during the terms of the late Mayor Maxim Levy, Sivan served as Chairperson of the Matnas Network in Lod and was one of its founders. He was active in the Rotary Club in Lod in a wide variety of positions, including serving as its president. He served as Chairperson of an NGO, P.S.R. [Hebrew acronym for Development of Welfare Services in Lod] and was a member of the Executive Committee of the Lod Foundation from the day it was founded. He was a role model for extensive social action and a leading personality in Lod.
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