Yael Eckstein
Born
Evanston, Illinois
CitizenshipUnited States and Israeli
Alma materHebrew University
Known forPresident and CEO of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews
PredecessorYechiel Eckstein
Children4
ParentYechiel Eckstein
Websitewww.ifcj.org

Yael Eckstein is president and CEO of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews (also referred to as IFCJ or The Fellowship).[1][2]

Biography

Eckstein is the daughter of the late Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein.[3] She was born in Evanston, Illinois,[4] and raised in Chicago. Eckstein studied at Torat Chesed Seminary in Israel, Queens College in New York, and Hebrew University in Jerusalem. She has degrees in biblical studies and Jewish and sociology studies.[5][6]

Eckstein made aliyah in 2005 with her husband, who is Israeli. After the initial move, Eckstein lived with her father Yeckiel, during which she saw the workings of the Fellowship.[7] After 15 years of working under her father's guidance, where Yael's first job at The Fellowship was stamping envelopes, Rabbi Eckstein began preparing her for a succession role as IFCJ's next CEO.[8] In 2006, she started writing to Fellowship donors about her experiences during the Second Lebanon War.[9]

Today, she regularly blogs and writes op-eds for The Times of Israel[10] and The Jerusalem Post.[11] She has also spoken at international events, including a Briefing and Panel Discussion on Religious Persecution in the Middle East in Washington, D.C.[12] She also shares her perspective on Judaism, life in the Holy Land, and her work with The Fellowship on The Fellowship's radio program called Holy Land Moments. And she hosts the Nourish Your Biblical Roots and Conversations with Yael podcasts.[13] Yael lives now in Israel with her husband and four children.[1]

The Fellowship

Eckstein previously held the positions of global executive vice president, senior vice president and director of program development and ministry outreach.

In 2016, Yechiel Eckstein publicly blessed Yael as the one he envisioned running IFCJ in the future. In 2017, the Fellowship board (excluding her father, according to Yael) designated her as president-elect.[7]

In 2019, after the death of her father at the age of 67, she became president and CEO of The Fellowship, the Chicago-based nonprofit with the office in Israel.[1] She is also responsible for overseeing all Fellowship programs as The Fellowship's President and CEO and is the organization's international spokesperson.[13]

In 2023, leaked files from the reputation management firm Eliminalia showed that the firm had been engaged to target stories about Eckstein and her father, specifically trying to remove content reporting their combined $4 million annual compensation in 2019, which an IFCJ spokesperson said was due to a death benefit paid out to Rabbi Eckstein's widow,[14] and that Eliminalia had used what the Washington Post characterized as "bogus copyright complaints" in its attempts to do so.[15]

Awards

In 2014, Yael Eckstein was named "One of Israel's 100 Most Influential Women" by Makor Rishon.[16] In 2015, she was featured on the cover of Nashim (Women) magazine. In 2019, she was recognized by the Algemeiner Journal as one of the Top 100 People Positively Influencing Jewish Life.[17] In both 2020 and 2021, Eckstein was named one of The Jerusalem Post's 50 Most Influential Jews.[18][19][20] In 2023, Eckstein received the Humanitarian Award from The Jerusalem Post.[21]

Books

  • Holy Land Reflections (2012)
  • Spiritual Cooking with Yael (2014)
  • Generation to Generation (2020)

References

  1. 1 2 3 A. Kellner, Mark (2021-08-11). "Meet the Jewish woman raising millions from evangelical Christians to alleviate poverty in Israel". The Washington Times.
  2. ↑ Wood, Emily (2021-05-19). "American Christians help fund thousands of bomb shelters to protect Israelis from Hamas attacks". The Christian Post.
  3. ↑ "Rabbi's daughter raises $118 million for Israelis in poverty". World Israel News. 2021-08-15.
  4. ↑ "Yael Eckstein". International Fellowship of Christians and Jews. Retrieved 2019-02-14.
  5. ↑ "Biography Yael Eckstein". The Kairos Company.
  6. ↑ "About IFCJ, The History, and Humanitarian Work". IFCJ. Retrieved 2019-02-14.
  7. 1 2 Oster, Marcy (February 27, 2019). "After death of Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein, daughter inherits billion-dollar charity". Times of Israel. Retrieved 29 April 2022.
  8. ↑ Fineblum, Deborah (2019-11-15). "Yael Eckstein is putting her own mark on building bridges between Christians and Jews". JNS.
  9. ↑ JAFFE-HOFFMAN, MAAYAN (2021-09-12). "Bible coming alive in Israel,' these women connect Christians to it". The Jerusalem Post.
  10. ↑ "Yael Eckstein's Blog". blogs.timesofisrael.com. Retrieved 2019-02-14.
  11. ↑ "Search : %22by:%20yael%20eckstein%22". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 2019-02-14.
  12. ↑ "Concerned Women for America and the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews to Host Religious Persecution Panel". Concerned Women for America. May 2015. Retrieved 2019-02-14.
  13. 1 2 D. Johnson, Christine (2021-03-02). "How The Fellowship Builds Bridges Between Christians and Jews". Charisma Magazine.
  14. ↑ "Criticism of prominent rabbi's salary may have been erased from the internet". 24 February 2023. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
  15. ↑ Boburg, Shawn (February 17, 2023). "Leaked files reveal reputation-management firm's deceptive tactics". Washington Post.
  16. ↑ "Pass A Legacy of Faith To Your Children". CBN.
  17. ↑ "The Top 100 People Positively Influencing Jewish Life". The Algemeiner. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
  18. ↑ "The Jerusalem Post 50 Most Influential Jews of 2020". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  19. ↑ "THE JERUSALEM POST'S 50 MOST INFLUENTIAL JEWS OF 2021". The Jerusalem Post.
  20. ↑ "50 of Our Favorite Jewish Women Right Now". Future of Jewish.
  21. ↑ "Celebrate the Faces of Israel". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
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