Our Team
Our Staff
Gabe Axler
Gabe is originally from Chicago and has worked in the field of informal Israel education and educational tourism for almost two decades. He has a B.A. in History from Binghamton University and an M.A. from Spertus College in Jewish Professional Studies. In 2010, he made Aliyah with his wife and was a founding member of the mission-driven community Kehillat Beerot in Be’er Sheva. He is the proud father of Sela, Hadar, and Emanuel, and when he is not working on bringing groups to communities across Israel he enjoys hiking, reading, and a good craft beer.
Megan Turner
Megan is originally from Fort Smith, Arkansas (yes, there are Jews in Arkansas!) and made aliyah to Be’er Sheva, Israel in 2012. She has a Master’s in social work and is completing her Ph.D at Ben Gurion University where she studies the effects of racism on new immigrants in Israel’s periphery. She is passionate about building and strengthening Israel’s periphery, specifically in the Negev where she lives. She loves taking groups to see Israel from the inside out and encourages them to ask the hard questions to help deepen their own understanding and knowledge. When she’s not working, she is cuddling her two huge rescue dogs and is swing dancing and singing terribly with her fiance, Yagel.
Some of Our Guides
Amal Abu Alkom
Amal Abu Alkom is originally from the unrecognized village of Wadi Nam and moved to Segev Shalom 18 years ago. She is married with a daughter and is the founder of the non-profit, ‘Bedouin Women for Themselves,’ and the mission-driven community, ‘Hand in Hand,’ in Segev Shalom. She received the prestigious Yafe-London-Yaari prize in 2013 for women who are breaking barriers for creating the non-profit and social business that employs elderly Bedouin women in her community.
Itzik Krispel
Itzik Krispel was born and raised in Ofakim and is a social entrepreneur and community activist. He is the chairman and founder of the mission-driven community of ‘Ahuzat Hanegev,’ a community and non-profit aimed at grassroots social change through empowering the residents of Ofakim and the Negev in order to create sustainable and long lasting change.
Naftali Aklum
Naftali Aklum is the founder and CEO of the "Yerus" project that brings the story of Ethiopian Jewry to the forefront. Ethiopian Jewry is a glorious community that is more than 2,500 years old and is rich in many stories of heroism and inspiring Zionist activity. The Yerus project works to expose the story of Ethiopian Jews as an integral part of the Israeli story through lectures, tours of Israel, exposing community heroes, study trips to Ethiopia, and more. Naftali’s oldest brother, Ferede Aklum, is credited with starting the Ethiopian aliyah to Israel.
Noa Cohen
Originally from the Jerusalem area, she has lived in Be’er Sheva for the past 8 years. Noa has a bachelor's degree in social work and a master's degree in non-profit management from the Mandel Program at Ben Gurion University in Be'er Sheva. Noa currently works as a community organizer at EretzIr and as a social entrepreneur and founder of the Give/Take initiative, a knowledge sharing project with about 6,000 members. Noa is responsible for producing dozens of community and participatory events throughout Be’er Sheva.
Shai Rilov
Shai is the co-founder & CEO of Robin Food NGO and is a social entrepreneur and sustainability activist. He has been leading the Robin Food operation for over five years and is a Heschel Sustainability Center trustee. Robin Food works to increase food waste awareness by reaching people’s hearts through their bellies - and establishing Israel’s first restaurant based on “rescued” food, using fruits and vegetables that would otherwise be wasted, from farms, markets, shops, and more.
Gilad Ne'eman
Gilad came to the Negev in 2006 from Kfar Saba, and he started his career in the area as a history teacher in a local high school. Over the years, Gilad developed a love for beer, and since there wasn’t anyone around to teach him and his friends how to brew beer, they decided to learn from each other and built a community of homebrewers. This community became a growth engine for a hobby and also for a business. Gilad took the opportunity to become the first supplier of beer brewing materials in the Negev and left teaching. Nowadays, Gilad runs the Beer House in Be’er Sheva which combines homebrewing, beer culture, and a thriving community around so much more than just a pint of beer.
Tomer Shemesh
Tomer Shemesh is the founder of "Social Delivery," an innovative project which creates a unique connection between industry and the Israeli volunteer sector by collecting high-quality surplus items and donates them to NGOs through a logistics center designated for this project. Tomer is a social and environmental entrepreneur and consults organizations and companies in the fields of sustainability and logistics. Tomer is an expert in connecting between the business and social worlds. He is also the founder of the “Junkiya” refab community, a multidisciplinary artist, and creator of all things with recycled materials.
Elinor Kogen
Elinor is a licensed tour guide with a decade of experience in the tourism industry who lives and breathes the Negev. She loves showing all of Israel, but especially her beloved Negev, to visitors. She believes that traveling in Israel is a spiritual journey that should combine many things: discovering new cultures, meeting interesting people, seeing places off the beaten path, hearing moving stories, and trying different and colorful cuisines. A trip to Israel is a trip for the spirit using all senses.
Gili Barak
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Suliman
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Omri Gaiger
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