Jewish Interactive hosted an exclusive evening last week in central Tel Aviv to mark its gratitude to its emeritus Chair Martin Glatt, from the Glatt Charitable Trust, who founded and supported Ji during its start-up years.

The evening was dedicated to both him and his daughter, Nicky Newfield, a trailblazer in her own right who currently sits on multiple boards in Jerusalem, and has a keen interest in developing impact investment sector.

Nicky started Ji in 2012 in South Africa, creating a CD called Shabbat Interactive that was distributed to 3000 children there.

Since then Ji has grown into a global organization, with offices in USA, UK, SA and Israel, users in 50 plus countries and over 200,000 people using their apps and programmes.

David Bloom, founder of Goldacre and a partner at the Noe group where he oversees all VC and private equity investments, was introduced as the new Chair of Ji’s international board – made up of 18 directors from 4 continents. Having previously been UK chair for 4 years, David explained his passion for Jewish Education. He highlighted that Ji has clearly been leading the way in this area, disrupting current models using technical innovations of excellence, whilst simultaneously adhering to the transmission of Jewish heritage and tradition stretching back generations.  

The evening, which took place in the private wine cellar of Baroness Rothschild, also honoured the many foundations and partners that have helped Ji achieve success. Awards were given out in person to the William Davidson Foundation, The Michael Goulston Foundation, The Pears Foundation, The Grinspoon Foundation and The Gruss Foundation.

Itay Pincas, a serial entrepreneur on the Forbes under 30 list with 3 successful businesses launched by the age of 17, was interviewed on the evening by Ji’s Global CEO, Chana Kanzen about insights into Generation Z and whether the current school system is fit for purpose.