YAKIR
Yakir
Building Bridges, Strengthening Israel
Among the communities we connect:
Diaspora Jews · Druze · gap-year yeshiva and seminary students · new Olim · Bedouins · educators · wounded soldiers · tourists · rabbis · secular kibbutzniks · IDF leaders · settler teens · bereaved families · German Christians
Honor the fallen
heroes of the IDF and Israel Police from minority communities; embrace their bereaved families with sustained presence.
Achieve multi-faceted achdut
through celebrations and ceremonies that unite the citizens of all faiths who serve and sacrifice for Israel.
Inspire the next generation
of Druze and other loyal Israeli minorities to continue serving and sacrificing for the country we love.
Empower zionists around the world
to make transformative contributions and forge deep bonds with the People of Israel.
Nurture deep friendships
with the underappreciated champions of Israel — Druze, Bedouins, Christians, and Muslims who stand loyally with the State.
Through trailblazing programs, we:
"I pray that Yakir will thrive, as it ensures that our relationship with the Jews will be not only a covenant of blood, but also a covenant of life!"
— SHEIKH NUHAD SEIF - FATHER OF FALLEN POLICE OFFICER ZIDAN SEIF Z"L
The Magic of Yakir
By embracing the non-Jewish Israelis, who serve and sacrifice, Yakir expresses core Torah values of Hakarat Hatov and Kiddush Hashem, as together we strengthen the State of Israel.
Watch our short video on building bridges and celebrating our shared future across faiths and communities.
Yakir in the media
Since October 7, Yakir has been blessed by partnerships with:
RABBI YAAKOV KERMAIER, FOUNDER & DIRECTOR
Yaakov Kermaier made aliya with his family in July 2015 from New York City, where he served as senior rabbi of Manhattan's Fifth Avenue Synagogue (2003–2015), as a dayan on the RCA's Beth Din for Conversion and as President of the New York Board of Rabbis.
Rabbi Kermaier served as rabbi of Hong Kong's Ohel Leah Synagogue (1997–2003), and he continues to serve on the boards of numerous organizations. A sought-after teacher and public speaker, his writings have been published in both scholarly and popular journals, and he has been a special guest on television and cable.
He received rabbinic ordination and an MA in Jewish History from Yeshiva University and an executive MBA from Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management.