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Ofer Winter is a brigadier general in the IDF who serves as commander of the Fire Formation, Israel’s highest division of paratroopers and commandos. Winter, the oldest of four brothers, was born in Rechasim and raised in Kiryat Ata. He inherited his military skill from his father, David, who fought in the Yom Kippur War. Winter attended Yeshivat AFYBA Or Etzion, AFYBA’s military boarding school, and the Bnei David pre-military academy in Eli.
Yonina Eldar received a bachelor’s degree in physics and a second bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering, both from Tel Aviv University. She earned a PhD in electrical engineering and computer science from MIT and was a postdoctoral fellow in MIT’s Digital Signal Processing Group.Prior to this, she attended Ulpanat AFYBA Tel Aviv.
Rabbi Haim Sabato was educated at Yeshivat AFYBA Netiv Meir, where the rosh yeshiva, Rav Arye Bina zt”l, was a formative influence. His second novel, Ti’um Kavanot (Adjusting Sights), was awarded the prestigious Sapir Prize for Literature in 2000 and the Yitzchak Sadeh Prize for Literature in 2002. His novels Aleppo Tales, Adjusting Sights, From the Four Winds, and The Dawning of the Day have all been published in English.
Professor Moshe Adad, Head of Criminology Dept., Bar Ilan University, Yeshivat AFYBA Kfar Haroeh
Professor Emanuel Aticus, Historian, Yeshivat AFYBA Kfar Haroeh
Professor Yishai Bar, Professor of Law at Hebrew University, Yeshivat AFYBA Netiv Meir
Natan Barak, Developer of the Iron Dome, Yeshivat AFYBA Ohel Shlomo
Professor Menachem Ben-Sassoon, Former President of Hebrew University, Yeshivat AFYBA Netiv Meir
Prof. Yonina Eldar, Electrical Engineer, Ulpanat AFYBA Tel Aviv
Dr. Yehudit Flint, Molecular Biologist, Ulpanat AFYBA Kfar Pines
Prof. Yona Franke, Jewish Literature, Hebrew University, Yeshivat AFYBA Kfar Haroeh
Dr. Gideon Henman, Linguist, Bar Ilan University, Yeshivat AFYBA Kfar Haroeh
Rabbi Dr. Daniel Hershkowitz, Past President of Bar Ilan University, Yeshivat AFYBA Yavneh
Rabbi Prof. Yitzchak Kraus, Former President, Herzog College, Yeshivat AFYBA Yad Avraham
Dr. Shulamit Levenberg, Stem cell researcher Ulpanat AFYBA Kfar Pines
Oz Lev-Ron, Chief Agronomist, Hasalad Co. Yeshivat AFYBA Or Etzion
Prof. Benny Mazuz, Head of Cardiology, Bikur Holim Hospital, Yeshivat AFYBA Ohel Shlomo
Dr. Dani Ofen, Biologist, Researcher, Weizman Institute, Yeshivat AFYBA Kfar Haroeh
Prof. Yedidya Stern, Senior Fellow, Israel Democracy Institute, Yeshivat AFYBA Nachal Yitzchok
Rabbanit Dr. Leah Vizel, Dean of External Education, Orot Israel College, Ulpanat AFYBA Kfar Pines
Dr. Yoni Yehuda, Director, School of Animal Interventional Therapy, Yeshivat AFYBA Netiv Meir
Roni Armon, Activist, founder Indimedia Israel, Yeshivat AFYBA Nachal Yitzchok
Muki Better, CEO Gush Katif Museum, Yeshivat AFYBA Or Etzion
Joseph Cedar, Award winning film director, Yeshivat AFYBA Netiv Meir
Eliaz Cohen, Poet, Editor, Yeshivat AFYBA Kfar Haroeh
Udi Davidi, Singer, Yeshivat AFYBA Nachal Yitzchok
Rabbi Lior Engelman, author, and teacher at Yeshivat Ateret Cohanim, Yeshivat AFYBA Kfar Haroeh
Dudu Fisher, Singer, Cantor, Yeshivat AFYBA Nachal Yitzchok
Yisrael Fried, CEO of Galei Tzahal Radio, Yeshivat AFYBA Yad Avraham
Avi Friedman, Animator, Illustrator, Yeshivat AFYBA Netiv Meir
Moshe Katz, Producer of “Kolbotek” TV show, Yeshivat AFYBA Kfar Haroeh
Mordy Kirshner, CEO, “Arutz Meir” Cable Channel, Yeshivat AFYBA Netiv Meir
Admiel Koosman, Author, Yeshivat AFYBA Kfar Haroeh
Jackie Levi, Comedian and Radio Personality, Yeshivat AFYBA Kfar Haroeh
Yair Orbach, Comedian, Yeshivat AFYBA Yad Avraham
Shuli Rand, Singer, Actor, Yeshivat AFYBA Nachal Yitzchok
Aharon Abuhazera, former MK, Yeshivat AFYBA Kfar Haroeh
Dr. Michael Ben-Ari, former MK, Historian, Activist, Yeshivat AFYBA Kfar Haroeh
Rabbi Eli Ben-Dahan, former MK, Yeshivat AFYBA Netiv Meir
Naftali Bennet, MK, Yeshivat AFYBA Yavneh
Aliza Bloch, Mayor of Bet Shemesh, Ulpanat AFYBA Arad
Gilad Erdan, MK, Minister of Environmental Protection, Yeshivat AFYBA Netiv Meir
Moshe Feiglin, Leader of Zehut, Yeshivat AFYBA Or Etzion
Tzipi Hotovely, Former MK, Deputy Minister of Transportation, Ulpanat AFYBA Tel Aviv
Zvulun Kalfa, Former MK, former Gush Katif leader, Yeshivat AFYBA Kfar Maimon
Yaakov Katz, former MK, founder of Arutz Sheva, Yeshivat AFYBA Kfar Haroeh
Yisrael Katz, MK, Yeshivat AFYBA Or Etzion
Shimon Lankri, Mayor of Akko, Yeshivat AFYBA Pirchei Aharon
Rabbi Yitzchak Levi, former MK, Yeshivat AFYBA Netiv Meir
Malachi Levinger, Mayor of Kiryat Arba, Yeshivat AFYBA Mateh Binyamin
Avraham Michaeli, former MK, Yeshivat AFYBA Nachal Yitzchok
Roni Alsheich, Head of Israel Police Force, Yeshivat AFYBA Netiv Meir
Maj. Gen. Yaakov Amidror, former National Security Advisor, Yeshivat AFYBA Netiv Meir
Prof. Yishai Bar, Prof. of Law, Hebrew Univ., former IDF general, Yeshivat AFYBA Netiv Meir
Yoni Chetboun, former MK, former IDF officer, Yeshivat AFYBA Kfar Maimon
Maj. Gen. Yochanan Danino, former Chief of Israel Police, Yeshivat AFYBA Or Etzion
Brigadier Gen. Yair Naveh, Former Deputy Chief of Staff, IDF, Yeshivat AFYBA Netiv Meir
Maj. Gen. Rafi Peretz, Minister of Education, former Chief IDF Rabbi, Yeshivat AFYBA Netiv Meir
Elazar Stern, MK, former IDF General, Yeshivat AFYBA Netiv Meir
Brig. General Ofer Winter, commander of the Fire Formation, Yeshivat AFYBA Or Etzion
Major General Moti Yogev, commander, MK, Yeshivat AFYBA Kfar HaRoeh
Rabbi Chaim Drukman, Head of AFYBA, Yeshivat AFYBA Kfar HaRoeh
Prof. Nahum Rackover, Hebrew Univ. Prof. of Jewish Law, Yeshivat AFYBA Kfar HaRoeh
Tzvi Tal, former Supreme Court Justice, Yeshivat AFYBA Kfar HaRoeh
Prof. Gil Tzorfati, linguist, Yeshivat AFYBA Kfar HaRoeh
Rabbi Yaakov Ariel, Chief Rabbi of Ramat Gan, Yeshivat AFYBA Kfar HaRoeh
Rabbi Eliyahu Bakshi-Doron, former Chief Rabbi of Rishon LeTzion, Yeshivat AFYBA HaDarom
Rabbi Uzi Beinenfeld, Rosh Midreshet Orot Etzion, Yeshivat AFYBA Nachal Yitzchok
Rabbi Avi Berman, CEO Orthodox Union, Israel, YeshivatAFYBA Or Etzion
Rabbi Zefania Droro, Rosh Yeshivat Hesder Kiryat Shemona, Yeshivat AFYBA Kfar Haroeh
Rabbi Yaakov Fisher, Rosh Yeshivat Neve Shmuel, Yeshivat AFYBA Nachal Yitzchok
Rabbi Shraga Fisherman, Rector, Orot Israel College Master’s Degree Programs, Yeshivat AFYBA Nechalim
Rabbi Yanki Friedman, CEO, Noam/Tzfiya Educational Network, Yeshivat AFYBA Netiv Meir
Rabbi Simcha Hacohen Kook, Chief Rabbi of Rechovot, Yeshivat AFYBA Kfar Haroeh
Rabbi Micha Halevi, Chief Rabbi of Petach Tikvah, Yeshivat AFYBA Nachal Yitzchok
Rabbi Ahrela Harel, former Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivat Hesder Shilo, Yeshivat AFYBA Or Etzion
Rabbi Shimon Heksher, Rosh Yeshivat Hakibbutz Hadati Ein Tzurim, Yeshivat AFYBA Or Etzion
Rabbi Yaakov Horowitz, Rosh Yeshivat Hesder Ofakim, Yeshivat AFYBA Kfar Haroeh
Rabbi Shimon Lapid, Rosh Kollel at Or Etzion, Yeshivat AFYBA Or Etzion
Rabbi Elyakim Levanon, Rosh Yeshivat Hesder Alon Moreh, Yeshivat AFYBA Netiv Meir
Rabbi Moshe Levinger, founding leader of Gush Emunim, Yeshivat AFYBA Kfar Haroeh
Rabbi Dov Lior, Chief Rabbi of Kiryat Arba, Rosh Yeshivat Nir, Yeshivat AFYBA Kfar Haroeh
Rabbi Yaakov Medan, Rosh Yeshivat Hesder Har Etzion, Alon Shvut, Yeshivat AFYBA Netiv Meir
Rabbi Zalman Melamed, Rosh Yeshivat Hesder Beit El, Chief Rabbi of Beit El, Yeshivat AFYBA Kfar Haroeh
Dr. Gil Pereg, CEO, “Darka” educ network, Rashi Foundation, Yeshivat AFYBA Or Etzion
Rabbi Avi Reznikov, Rabbi of Icholov Hospital, Tel Aviv, Yeshivat AFYBA Nachal Yitzchok
Rabbi Shlomo Rosenfeld, Rosh Yeshivat Hesder Shadmot Neriya, Yeshivat AFYBA Kfar Haroeh
Rabbi Chaim Sabato, author, Rosh Yeshivat Hesder Maale Adumim, Yeshivat AFYBA Netiv Meir
Gedalia Schreiber, President of Cong. Yeshurun, Jerusalem, Yeshivat AFYBA Kfar Haroeh
Rabbi Sharon Shalom, Rabbi of Kehilat Kedoshei Yisrael, Kiryat Gat, Yeshivat AFYBA Or Etzion
Rabbi Yuval Sharlo, Rosh Yeshivat Hesder Petach Tikvah, Yeshivat AFYBA Netiv Meir
Rabbi Boaz Sherman, Rosh Mechinat Kiryat Malachi, Yeshivat AFYBA Nachal Yitzchok
Rabbi David Stav, Chief Rabbi of Shoham, Yeshivat AFYBA Kfar Haroeh
Rabbi Chaim Steiner, Yeshivat Merkaz Harav, Yeshivat AFYBA Netiv Meir
Rabbi Zvi Yisrael Tau, Rosh Yeshivat Har Hamor, Yeshivat AFYBA Hadarom
Rabbi Yehoshua Weizman, Rosh Yeshivat Hesder Maalot, Yeshivat AFYBA Netiv Meir
Uri Orbach, former MK, author, Yeshivat AFYBA Nachal Yitzchok
Zevulun Orlev, former MK, Yeshivat AFYBA Nachal Yitzchok
Rabbi Shai Peron, former MK, Yeshivat AFYBA Aderet
Harav Hanan Porat z”l, former MK, Yeshivat AFYBA Kfar Haroeh
Nisan Slomianski, former mayor of Elkana, Yeshivat AFYBA Nachal Yitzchok
Eliahu Suissa, former MK, Yeshivat AFYBA Pirchei Aharon
Penina Tamnu-Shata, MK, Minister of Aliyah and Integration, Ulpanat AFYBA Tzfira
Avi Vertzman MK, former mayor of Beer Sheva, Yeshivat AFYBA Ohel Shlomo
Motti Yogev MK, former Director of Bnei Akiva Israel, Yeshivat AFYBA Kfar Haroeh
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Ofer Winter is a brigadier general in the IDF who serves as commander of the Fire Formation, Israel’s highest division of paratroopers and commandos.
Winter, the oldest of four brothers, was born in Rechasim and raised in Kiryat Ata. He inherited his military skill from his father, David, who fought in the Yom Kippur War.
Winter attended Yeshivat AFYBA Or Etzion, AFYBA’s military boarding school, and the Bnei David pre-military academy in Eli.
In 1990, Winter joined “sayeret matkal,” the IDF’s special reconnaissance unit. He went on to train as an officer, and then served as a team leader in the elite Maglan commando unit.
He then served as a platoon and company commander and participated in several military missions, including Operation Grapes of Wrath.
Winter then held several command positions in the Givati brigade in the war against Palestinian terror during the second intifada in Gaza. Under Winter’s command, his battalion was cited for outstanding service and received The Medal of Distinguished Service, the third highest medal awarded by the IDF.
Winter served in numerous command positions, including as brigade commander of the elite, counter-terrorism Duvdevan Unit during the Gaza War. Winter’s battalion was singled out for outstanding military achievement. He was also the commander of the Givati brigade during “Operation Protective Edge.”
In 2015, Winter was appointed to head of the Central Command staff, going on to serve as military secretary for the Minister of Defense.
Winter attributes his success to deeply-held Torah principles that guide and anchor him. These values were nurtured and developed at AFYBA and Bnei David in Eli.
Winter, who lives in Mitzpe Netofa, is married to Revital. He is the father of eight children and has four grandchildren.
Yonina Eldar received a bachelor’s degree in physics and a second bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering, both from Tel Aviv University. She earned a Ph.D. in electrical engineering and computer science from MIT and was a postdoctoral fellow in MIT’s Digital Signal Processing Group.
Prior to this, she attended Ulpanat AFYBA Tel Aviv. “There were several schools close to my home, but I chose to travel to Ulpanat AFYBA Tel Aviv,” she explains. “My daily commute took two hours—in each direction!—but it was worth it. The education I received, and the friendships formed at Ulpanat AFYBA Tel Aviv still inspire me today.”
Yonina Eldar is currently a professor in the Department of Math and Computer Science at the Weizmann Institute of Science.
She is also a member of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, an IEEE Fellow and a EURASIP Fellow. She is a Visiting Professor at MIT, a Visiting Scientist at the Broad Institute, and an Adjunct Professor at Duke University and was a Visiting Professor at Stanford.
Professor Eldar has received numerous awards for excellence in research and teaching and was named one of the 50 most influential women in Israel and one of 50 distinguished women scientists in Asia. She was a member of the Israel Committee for Higher Education.
She is the author of the book Sampling Theory: Beyond Bandlimited Systems and co-author of four other books and the Editor in Chief of Foundations and Trends in Signal Processing.
Rabbi Haim Sabato was born in Cairo in 1952. He descends from a long line of rabbis from Aleppo, Syria. His family moved to Israel when he was five, and he was educated at Yeshivat AFYBA Netiv Meir, where the rosh yeshiva, Rav Arye Bina zt”l, was a formative influence.
A tank gunner in the IDF, Sabato fought in major battles of the Yom Kippur War, an experience that became the basis of his later fiction. Rabbi Sabato is the co-founder and teaches at Yeshivat Birkat Moshe in Jerusalem.
Rabbi Sabato’s first novel was published in 1997, and his second novel, Ti’um Kavanot (Adjusting Sights), was awarded the prestigious Sapir Prize for Literature in 2000 and the Yitzchak Sadeh Prize for Literature in 2002. His novels Aleppo Tales, Adjusting Sights, From the Four Winds, and The Dawning of the Day have all been published in English.
