SA women selected for academy of future Zionist leaders

Two young South African women have been chosen to participate in the Zionist Leadership Academy programme run by the global resource development division of Keren Kayemet LeIsrael (KKL) in co-operation with the department of pioneering youth and future generations of the World Zionist Organisation (WZO).

Romy Wulfsohn and Cayla Jade Urdang were selected by a steering committee in Israel composed of representatives of both KKL-JNF and the WZO. Usually, the committee selects only one candidate from each country/community, but they were so impressed with South Africa’s candidates that an exception was made, and both young women were chosen.

Together, KKL-JNF and the WZO are training, developing, and empowering a select team of young adults from around the world to be future Zionist leaders who can play a significant role in their communities and the various KKL-JNF offices in their region. Building future Zionist leadership is important to strengthen Jewish connections to Israel and ensure the continued development of the Jewish state.

These leaders will create a new generation of philanthropic project managers who will continue to promote and develop Israel through the KKL-JNF. This joint initiative coincides with the 120th anniversary of the founding of KKL-JNF.

Wulfsohn, an attorney of the high court of South Africa, co-runs the new legal department of the South African Zionist Federation and the International Legal Forum. She has received numerous awards in her career. In June 2021, she was invited to be a guest expert on the International Legal Forum’s “Ancient Hatred Modern Times” global webinar. There, with leading lawyers from the United States and professors from top universities in the United Kingdom, they discussed various forms of modern antisemitism and racism.

Urdang, a qualified and practising biokineticist, has been in leadership roles in the Jewish community for many years. She is a past chairperson of the South African Union of Jewish Students, representing the movement in Israel and the Czech Republic. She’s an elected office bearer of the South African Zionist Federation and an advanced Community Security Organisation member. She’s also on the board of ZAKA South Africa, and the head of the organisation’s relief, resilience, and logistics.