Who We Are
The Protective Partnership was founded in 2019 by top Israeli experts with a military background, in the field of locating, recognizing and treating victims of trauma, from the mental and legal perspectives. In 2022 and 2023, we located hundreds of combat soldiers suffering from PTSD and secured their rights and recognition by the Ministry of Defense, bringing much-needed light into the lives of many families.
The Protective Partnership was founded in 2019 by top Israeli experts with a military background, in the field of locating, recognizing and treating victims of trauma, from the mental and legal perspectives. In 2022 and 2023, we located hundreds of combat soldiers suffering from PTSD and secured their rights and recognition by the Ministry of Defense, bringing much-needed light into the lives of many families.
The Protective Partnership
An unnerving personal experience of co-founder and co-chairman, Izhar David led to the establishment of the association.
Izhar began his military service as a combat soldier and commander in the Orev anti-tank unit of the Golani Infantry Brigade. After completing his service, he joined the General Security Services (better known as the Shin Bet or Shabak) as a field coordinator in Samaria, during the bloodiest, most violent days of the Second (Al-Aqsa) Intifada, where he was responsible for foiling dozens of terror plots and saving hundreds of civilians. During one military operation, Izhar was wounded and developed PTSD. He concealed this condition for nine years until he was offered a sought-after senior position in the GSS. He decided to forgo the appointment, disclose his injury, and start his journey back to life.
After treatment and rehabilitation, Izhar chose to revisit the nightmare and help other wounded soldiers take the same journey back to themselves, their families, and to life. In the course of this work, he met Yossi Ben Ezra, and Adv. Shlomi Zipori, and together, they founded the association.
Izhar is the first post-traumatic combat soldier to receive the Ministry of Defense’s Citation of Rehabilitation Excellence. In addition to co-founding the association and serving as its co-chairman, Izhar is a prominent social entrepreneur, the founder and first CEO of the Joint Israeli Leadership Academy. He is an educator and lectures around Israel on his bestselling books “A Ticking Bomb” and “Thwarted”.
The Protective Partnership
An unnerving personal experience of co-founder and co-chairman, Izhar David led to the establishment of the association.
Izhar began his military service as a combat soldier and commander in the Orev anti-tank unit of the Golani Infantry Brigade. After completing his service, he joined the General Security Services (better known as the Shin Bet or Shabak) as a field coordinator in Samaria, during the bloodiest, most violent days of the Second (Al-Aqsa) Intifada, where he was responsible for foiling dozens of terror plots and saving hundreds of civilians. During one military operation, Izhar was wounded and developed PTSD. He concealed this condition for nine years until he was offered a sought-after senior position in the GSS. He decided to forgo the appointment, disclose his injury, and start his journey back to life.
After treatment and rehabilitation, Izhar chose to revisit the nightmare and help other wounded soldiers take the same journey back to themselves, their families, and to life. In the course of this work, he met Yossi Ben Ezra, and Adv. Shlomi Zipori, and together, they founded the association.
Izhar is the first post-traumatic combat soldier to receive the Ministry of Defense’s Citation of Rehabilitation Excellence. In addition to co-founding the association and serving as its co-chairman, Izhar is a prominent social entrepreneur, the founder and first CEO of the Joint Israeli Leadership Academy. He is an educator and lectures around Israel on his bestselling books “A Ticking Bomb” and “Thwarted”.
Our Management Team
Lilach Felner
CEO
Lilach possesses extensive knowledge and more than 25 years of experience in strategy,
marketing and business development.
Before joining the association, she managed unique projects, including product launches in leading firms, and headed investor and strategic partner onboarding processes.
Formerly served as a business development consultant in African countries, combined with extensive activity on behalf of the third sector.
Izhar David
Co-Founder and Co-Chairman
Former Director of Field Operations in the General Security Services during the Al-Aqsa Intifada.
Among the founders and the first CEO of the Joint Israeli Leadership Academy. The first post-traumatic combat soldier to receive the Ministry of Defense’s Citation of Rehabilitation Excellence.
Izhar is very active among victims of combat-related PTSD in Israel. Since his retirement, he has worked in various educational frameworks and as a lecturer, entrepreneur and social activist. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and Business Administration and Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies, and a Master’s degree in Law. He is the author of the bestsellers “A Ticking Bomb” and “Thwarted”.
Adv. Shlomi Zipori
Co-Founder and Co-Chairman
Built and trained the association’s legal department, and accompanied some 100 soldiers suffering from PTSD through the process of being recognized as injured by the Ministry of Defense.
Col. (Res.) Zipori serves in a voluntary capacity with the Military Chief Public Defender. He is a member of the Ministry of Health’s National Council on Post Trauma, and co-chairman and manager of the Military & Security Committee of the Israel Bar Association.
Until his retirement three years ago after a forty-year career in law, Adv. Zipori was the owner of a leading Israeli law firm engaged in the military and security arena and in rehabilitation law, and in this context served as legal counsel to the IDF Widows and Orphans Organization and the Yad Labanim Organization.
Currently serves as advisor to the In Good Hands Center in the Ministry of Defense’s Rehabilitation Division, which assists wounded soldiers in submitting requests for recognition to the Ministry of Defense and preparing for interviews by medical committees.
Dr. Ronny Simons
Head of Clinical Psychology and Member of the Executive Committee
Senior clinical psychologist, with more than 30 years of experience in the field, in the framework of the Prime Minister’s Office, the Shabak and elite IDF units. Over the years, Dr. Simons has successfully treated thousands of military and security services personnel.
Dr. Simons developed the association’s innovative method for minimizing the onset of PTSD among reserve soldiers serving in the October 7 War.
Maj. Gen. (Res.) Ronny Numa
President
During Ronny Numa’s lengthy military career, he held a series of core operational command positions, culminating in GOC of the IDF’s Central Command.
He is the owner of SYN-RG-Ai, which creates integrated solutions for smart spaces and cities.
Served as Head of the COVID-19 Emergency HQ in Bnei Brak.
Currently he is Head of the Ministry of Defense’s New Horizon Control Center, part of the Tkuma Directorate (responsible for the rehabilitation of frontline communities and assisting the residents of communities evacuated after October 7).
Yossi Ben Ezra
Founder and Member of the Executive Committee
Social entrepreneur, project leader in initiatives for the benefit of PTSD victims. Served in an operational position in the Prime Minister’s Office and as a combat soldier and commander in an elite IDF unit. Holds the rank of Major (Res.).
Yossi is CEO of the Scheinberg Association – A Path to Gaining Independence, which supports discharged lone soldiers and veterans suffering from PTSD.
Adv. Dovrat Lahav Schurr
Member of the Executive Committee
Partner in the Shein Lahav Schurr law firm, with twenty years of experience in representing disabled veterans of the IDF and the defense establishment. Founded, and for several years managed, a legal clinic at the Sha’arei Mishpat College of Legal Studies, which addresses the rights wounded IDF soldiers are entitled to, with an emphasis on those suffering from combat-related stress reaction.
Moshe Friedman
Treasurer and Member of the Executive Committee
Entrepreneur and real estate investor. Served as a combat soldier and commander in an elite IDF unit. Lt. Col. (Res.) and former battalion commander. Moshe is the father of a soldier coping with PTSD, and has helped many families struggling with the disorder.
Adv. Vered Sadot
Legal Counsel and Member of the Executive Committee
An expert in labor law and human rights, and a volunteer at mental health centers, women’s shelters, the Aleh Negev-Nahalat Eran Rehabilitative Center for the Disabled, and the Gideon Association in the Ethiopian community, mostly as a photographer and teacher. Sadot is a documentary photographer and a member of PhotoActive, a group of Israeli photographers using video and stills for activist entrepreneurship and to create social awareness of events and incidents in Israel, headed by an Israeli veteran photographer Eldad Rafaeli.
Keren Birenbaum Levhar
Member of the Executive Committee
Keren is highly experienced in project management and in producing conferences for the third sector.
She is the manager of a medical and aesthetic tourism agency, with over thirty years of experience in the field, and the mother of two combat soldiers serving in the paratroopers and a daughter who is an officer in the counter-terrorism unit.
Elad Portal
Audit committee member
Elad is an entrepreneur focused on real estate and urban renewal in Israel, and invests in real estate both domestically and internationally. He is a senior lecturer in real estate and finance at several universities and colleges and is also a partner at the College of Real Estate and Finance. He served as a fighter and commander in an elite IDF unit. Elad stays closely connected with many fellow veterans facing post-traumatic stress. He has devoted significant time to supporting friends and families dealing with these challenges over the years.
Our Management Team
Izhar David
Co-Founder and Co-Chairman
Former Director of Field Operations in the General Security Services during the Al-Aqsa Intifada.
Among the founders and the first CEO of the Joint Israeli Leadership Academy. The first post-traumatic combat soldier to receive the Ministry of Defense’s Citation of Rehabilitation Excellence.
Izhar is very active among victims of combat-related PTSD in Israel. Since his retirement, he has worked in various educational frameworks and as a lecturer, entrepreneur and social activist. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and Business Administration and Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies, and a Master’s degree in Law. He is the author of the bestsellers “A Ticking Bomb” and “Thwarted”.
Adv. Shlomi Zipori
Co-Founder and Co-Chairman
Built and trained the association’s legal department, and accompanied some 100 soldiers suffering from PTSD through the process of being recognized as injured by the Ministry of Defense.
Col. (Res.) Zipori serves in a voluntary capacity with the Military Chief Public Defender. He is a member of the Ministry of Health’s National Council on Post Trauma, and co-chairman and manager of the Military & Security Committee of the Israel Bar Association.
Until his retirement three years ago after a forty-year career in law, Adv. Zipori was the owner of a leading Israeli law firm engaged in the military and security arena and in rehabilitation law, and in this context served as legal counsel to the IDF Widows and Orphans Organization and the Yad Labanim Organization.
Currently serves as advisor to the In Good Hands Center in the Ministry of Defense’s Rehabilitation Division, which assists wounded soldiers in submitting requests for recognition to the Ministry of Defense and preparing for interviews by medical committees.
Lilach Felner
CEO
Lilach possesses extensive knowledge and more than 25 years of experience in strategy, marketing and business development.
Before joining the association, she managed unique projects, including product launches in leading firms, and headed investor and strategic partner onboarding processes.
Formerly served as a business development consultant in African countries, combined with extensive activity on behalf of the third sector.
Dr. Ronny Simons
Head of Clinical Psychology and Member of the Executive Committee
Senior clinical psychologist, with more than 30 years of experience in the field, in the framework of the Prime Minister’s Office, the Shabak and elite IDF units. Over the years, Dr. Simons has successfully treated thousands of military and security services personnel.
Dr. Simons developed the association’s innovative method for minimizing the onset of PTSD among reserve soldiers serving in the October 7 War.
Maj. Gen. (Res.) Ronny Numa
President
During Ronny Numa’s lengthy military career, he held a series of core operational command positions, culminating in GOC of the IDF’s Central Command.
He is the owner of SYN-RG-Ai, which creates integrated solutions for smart spaces and cities.
Served as Head of the COVID-19 Emergency HQ in Bnei Brak.
Currently he is Head of the Ministry of Defense’s New Horizon Control Center, part of the Tkuma Directorate (responsible for the rehabilitation of frontline communities and assisting the residents of communities evacuated after October 7).
Yossi Ben Ezra
Founder and Member of the Executive Committee
Social entrepreneur, project leader in initiatives for the benefit of PTSD victims. Served in an operational position in the Prime Minister’s Office and as a combat soldier and commander in an elite IDF unit. Holds the rank of Major (Res.).
Yossi is CEO of the Scheinberg Association – A Path to Gaining Independence, which supports discharged lone soldiers and veterans suffering from PTSD.
Adv. Dovrat Lahav Schurr
Member of the Executive Committee
Partner in the Shein Lahav Schurr law firm, with twenty years of experience in representing disabled veterans of the IDF and the defense establishment. Founded, and for several years managed, a legal clinic at the Sha’arei Mishpat College of Legal Studies, which addresses the rights wounded IDF soldiers are entitled to, with an emphasis on those suffering from combat-related stress reaction.
Moshe Friedman
Treasurer and Member of the Executive Committee
Entrepreneur and real estate investor. Served as a combat soldier and commander in an elite IDF unit. Lt. Col. (Res.) and former battalion commander. Moshe is the father of a soldier coping with PTSD, and has helped many families struggling with the disorder.
Adv. Vered Sadot
Legal Counsel and Member of the Executive Committee
An expert in labor law and human rights, and a volunteer at mental health centers, women’s shelters, the Aleh Negev-Nahalat Eran Rehabilitative Center for the Disabled, and the Gideon Association in the Ethiopian community, mostly as a photographer and teacher. Sadot is a documentary photographer and a member of PhotoActive, a group of Israeli photographers using video and stills for activist entrepreneurship and to create social awareness of events and incidents in Israel, headed by an Israeli veteran photographer Eldad Rafaeli.
Keren Birenbaum Levhar
Member of the Executive Committee
Keren is highly experienced in project management and in producing conferences for the third sector.
She is the manager of a medical and aesthetic tourism agency, with over thirty years of experience in the field, and the mother of two combat soldiers serving in the paratroopers and a daughter who is an officer in the counter-terrorism unit.
Elad Portal
Audit committee member
Elad is an entrepreneur focused on real estate and urban renewal in Israel, and invests in real estate both domestically and internationally. He is a senior lecturer in real estate and finance at several universities and colleges and is also a partner at the College of Real Estate and Finance. He served as a fighter and commander in an elite IDF unit. Elad stays closely connected with many fellow veterans facing post-traumatic stress. He has devoted significant time to supporting friends and families dealing with these challenges over the years.
Join the hundreds of reservists and members of the armed forces who have already been to
The Villa and have experienced
this meaningful process
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Join the hundreds of reservists and members of the armed forces who have already been to The Villa and have experienced this meaningful process
Attendance is free of charge