Bio
Dr. Yizhar Hess is Deputy and Acting Chair of the World Zionist Organization. Born in Jerusalem, he holds a B.A. in Hebrew literature and political science from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, a law degree from the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya, and an M.A. in Jewish studies from the Schechter Institute in Jerusalem. He earned his Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Sussex in Brighton, England.
Until 2020, Hess served as CEO of the Masorti Movement. He previously served as a Jewish Agency emissary in Arizona and as director of partnerships linking Jewish communities in South Africa, Washington, and Rochester, New York, with communities and regions in Israel. Before joining the Jewish Agency, he was deputy CEO of the Shorashim Institute and the Jewish Studies Festival in Kfar Blum.
Dr. Hess is a leading voice in Israel's Jewish renewal movement. His articles on religion and state appear frequently in the Israeli press and in Jewish publications throughout the Diaspora. He co-edited the bestselling Questions About God (1998).