Founded in 1977 in Jerusalem, JCC Global is a network of more than 1,000 Jewish Community Centers (JCCs) serving several million Jews in North America, Israel, Europe, Latin America, Former Soviet Union, Australia, and the Far East.
Our Vision: JCC Global envisions a world where Jewish communities thrive locally and connect globally in order to foster a sense of belonging among a diverse and intertwined tapestry of people.
Our Mission: JCC Global creates a network of interwoven communities that strengthens Jewish Peoplehood by training local leaders to think and connect globally and by cultivating meaningful partnerships around the world.
THANK YOU JCC GLOBAL SPONSORS
JCC Global is supported by all the regional networks of JCCs and by major Jewish organizations involved in the field of Jewish Community Centers. In addition, personal contributions from board members and friends are essential in sustaining the organization.
AFFILIATE ORGANIZATIONS
JCC GLOBAL STAFF
Smadar Bar Akiva
Executive Director
Smadar serves as Executive Director since 2001. Prior to that, she worked for JCC Association of North America, developing and directing teen and Taglit trips to Israel and supervising 12 teen partnerships around Israel. From 1993-1996 she served as a Jewish Agency Community Shilcha at the Columbus Jewish Federation, Ohio. From 1987-1993 she was the Program Coordinator for 80 staff and lay leadership JCC Association Israel seminars. As a university student, she was a summer camp Shilcha in North America, South Africa and the former Yugoslavia.
Smadar holds an M.A. degree (with honors) in Contemporary Jewry from Hebrew University, and a B.A. (with honors) in International Relations and English Literature also from Hebrew University, Jerusalem.
Smadar is a graduate “Kolot” Pluralistic Beit Midrash, a two year mentorship at the Mandel Leadership Institute and a course in “Strategic Management for Leaders of Non-Governmental Organizations” at the Harvard Kennedy School. Smadar is a certified Life Coach from Tel Aviv University.
In her spare time, she volunteers as a mentor for an Israeli NGO and serves on the steering committee of a new local JCC. Among her hobbies are music, sports and creative writing. Smadar resides in Tel-Aviv and is the proud mother of Noam and Hadar.
Noa Tal
Program Director
Noa joined JCC Global as Program Director in 2017. Prior to that, Noa served as JDC’s 2016 Ralph I. Goldman Fellow in Global Jewish Leadership, JDC’s premier leadership opportunity awarded to one person per year. For an entire year, she lived and worked in several Jewish communities around the world, in Europe, Latin America, India and FSU. She got to know many JCCs and JCC leaders and brought to fruition several projects.Prior to that, Noa worked as Project Director for the Council for Higher Education in Israel where she managed national projects from inception to execution, including the Centers of Excellence program.Noa comes with a strong and varied academic background. She holds a Master’s degree in Neurobiology that she graduated with honors, and a Master’s degree, with honors, in Public Policy and Government, both from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Noa is also a Beit Midrash Facilitator. Noa resides with her family in Motza Illit, a village outside Jerusalem.