OUR MISSION
Interwoven/שָׁזוּר was founded to bridge the growing gap between the two centers of Jewish life, and help Israelis rediscover the versatility of Jewish civilization. Especially now, it is clear that Israeli ignorance of global Jewry is a strategic threat as well as a cultural and spiritual loss. We aim to encourage Israelis to assume responsibility for the relationship, and work collaboratively in order to ensure Jewish resilience and shape a better future for our people. We aim to reach a critical mass of Israeli opinion leaders by providing our services to people of all ages and backgrounds, with the goal of cultivating a renewed sense of shared destiny.
People to People
We create the conditions for unmediated encounters between Israeli opinion makers and Jewish-American leaders
OUR WORK
OUR TEAM
Interwoven/שָׁזוּר was founded by passionate Israeli educators who are either of American descent or are former Shlichim. We are deeply connected to and inspired by world Jewry, and heavily invested in the future of the collective Jewish people.
Rabbi Amitai Fraiman is an American-Israeli peoplehood enthusiast. He co-founded 'Jerusalem Midnight Biking', an innovative bike touring company based in Jerusalem. Rabbi Fraiman has professional and leadership experience in content development, advocacy, and relationship building in his work for Tzofim Garin Tzabar (Israeli Scouts Lone Soldier Program), NYU Bronfman Center (Hillel of NYU), The Arthur Project and LAVAN. Rabbi Fraiman was ordained at Yeshivat Chovevei Torah as well as completed a dual MPA-MA at NYU. He lives in Palo Alto with his family, where he serves as the Director of the Z3 Project, an initiative of the Oshman Family JCC in Palo Alto, aiming to foster a healthier relationship between Diaspora Jewry and Israel.
RABBI AMITAI FREIMAN
Founder and Chairman
Moshe served as the Jewish Agency's community emissary to Birmingham, AL, as an Israel fellow at the University of Western Ontario, and in various leadership roles at Camp Ramah in Canada and Camp Ramah in the Rockies. He was the Educational Director of NOAM, the Masorti youth movement in Israel, and the Director of Tikkun Olam in Tel Aviv-Jaffa, BINA's service-learning Masa program. More recently, Moshe served as the Director of Israel Engagement at Congregation B'nai Jeshurun in NYC and as the Program Director of the Sonabend Center for Israel at JCC Manhattan. In April 2021, Moshe’s acclaimed TV miniseries 'The New Jew' aired on primetime television at the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation.
MOSHE SAMUELS
LIOR SHABO
Lior (a.k.a Shabo) is an entrepreneur, business development consultant, and sixth-generation Jerusalemite. He is the founder of Coming Soon, a crowdsourcing platform that fosters small business creation in cities across Israel. He also established the Jerusalem Parliament, a network of emerging, Jerusalem-based leaders from the worlds of business, public policy, grassroots activism, journalism, and politics. He served on the Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Innovation Delivery Team, consulting on business development to the Jerusalem municipality and initiating public-private partnerships around small business creation. He is a frequent speaker on Jerusalem’s ongoing civic renaissance, and hosts VIP visitors on insider tours of his hometown.
