Mandel Program for Regional Leadership in the North
The program aims to develop leaders who understand the regional ecosystem and strengthen their shared sense of regional responsibility in Israel’s North. The fellows create a community that serves as a foundation for future joint activities and advances innovative regional solutions to benefit all residents of the North.
Program FormatOne day a week
DurationOne academic year
The program addresses the region's complex leadership challenges by offering a unique, in-service (on-the-job) training model: fellows study one day a week for a year while continuing their professional roles. This format makes it possible to recruit leaders from governmental, civil society and the business sector, who may then engage in collaborative action, fostering the development of innovative and comprehensive solutions that pool resources for the benefit of all residents of the North.
Fellows in the program are professionals, activists and influential figures from nonprofit organizations, public service and local businesses, representing the diverse groups across Northern Israel. They share a passion for building a just and inclusive society, improving quality of life and enhancing the impact of their current and future work through participation in the program.
Course of Studies
In addition to the core curriculum common to all the Center's programs, this program emphasizes regional models and solutions that encourage collaboration between different localities, professions and groups. Because fellows remain active in their professional roles throughout their studies, they bring real-time case studies into the learning environment. This approach sharpens their vision, broadens their perspectives, inspires new work methods and enhances their impact in the field.
Impact in the Field
Program graduates have launched a variety of important initiatives and assumed key leadership roles. Examples include:
Tiberias hosts war evacuees: On October 7, the city of Tiberias took in more than 12,000 evacuees from both the North and the South of Israel, hosting them in 34 hotels. The responsibility for managing this massive intake was entrusted to a program graduate serving as a senior municipal official. Within just two weeks, the city’s population grew by 20% and some 3,000 children joined the education system. The graduate’s efforts to meet the needs of the residents who came to the city included the establishment of dedicated structures for schooling, informal education and emotional therapy.
Helping asylum seekers: Another program graduate is the founder of the Hanaton Educational Center. Following October 7, he brought 26 Eritrean asylum seekers (including 11 children) to Hanaton, from the evacuated city of Sderot and for whom no state relocation solution had been found due to their lack of civil status in Israel. The Hanaton Educational Center provided them with housing and close personal support, including assistance in finding employment, medical and psychological treatments and integrating the children into local education systems.
Promoting knowledge-intensive industry in Beit She’an: A graduate of the regional program, recently elected mayor of Beit She’an, has brought together a group of energetic young residents to advance the city's welfare. His vision is to transform Beit She’an into a hub for knowledge-intensive industry, creating high-quality employment opportunities and encouraging young people to stay in the city.
About the Center
The Mandel Center for Leadership in the North aims to contribute to the development and prosperity of Israel’s Northern region by cultivating diverse leadership – women and men from all communities in the North – who have the passion and commitment to change reality and to lead initiatives that improve life for all communities of the region.