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About Us
HaOgen for Reservist Families was established to provide a comprehensive support framework for families shouldering the burden of reserve service and to help them navigate this challenging period while maintaining their routines.
We offer families a broad range of assistance, including practical, emotional, and community support, that is tailored to the diverse and dynamic needs that arise from the reservist families themselves.
Alongside our daily activities, we also engage all sectors of Israeli society in our mission. Through strategic collaborations with the IDF, municipalities, the business sector and professional organizations, we have expanded our support system to provide real responses to long-term challenges.
We operate out of a deep commitment to stand by these families as long as they need and with the conviction that the resilience of the family and the community will allow these families to endure the challenges of prolonged reserve service.
Doing Good Together
We believe that the most meaningful way to support reservist families is by creating a sense of belonging and community – this is the foundation of all that we do.
Our Values
Community
We believe in the power of a caring community. Through a strong support network that always feels close, available, and meaningful – these families never feel alone!
Personal support
Our work is based on listening, sensitivity, and respectful support tailored to each family’s unique needs, rooted in a deep understanding of the challenges they face.
Volunteering
Thanks to tens of thousands of volunteers that have come together for one purpose – to be there for reservist families – we are able to support families during their rounds of service and in between them.
Availability
We are here for families whose routines do not stop while a parent is serving in the reserves. We are committed to being a continuous presence and responding rapidly.
Professionalism
Effective support requires high standards. We combine professional training, experience, and inter-organizational coordination to ensure quality, responsible, and knowledge-based support.
Recognition
Reservist families are the backbone of Israeli society. We work to make sure they are seen and to empower them in whatever ways we can – through our meet-ups, support sessions, and acts of assistance.
Rachel Azaria
CEO and Founder of HaOgen for Reservist Families
A leading public figure and former MK who brings with her rich strategic experience alongside deep personal understanding as a reservist wife over many years. She initiated HaOgen for Reservist Families as a national response immediately after the events of October 7, based on a unique model that she conceived and founded during Operation Protective Edge while serving as Deputy Mayor of Jerusalem.
For Rachel, the establishment and leadership of the organization are based on the conviction that reservist families are the backbone of Israeli society, and we all have a national and moral responsibility to help these families get through this period successfully.
Headquarters Staff
Merav Mesika
COO
Meirav Mesika, Major (res.), leads the organization's strategic partnership development area, connecting business, government, and military entities to create partnerships that provide great value to the families of the reserve and permanent members
Maya Yuval
Operations and Processes Coordinator
Maya Yuval is responsible for coordinating and managing the organization's work processes. Thanks to her ability to manage complex tasks, she ensures that every activity is carried out smoothly .
Sharon Perles
Volunteer Manager
Sharon Perles brings with her management experience in the biotech and volunteer world. Sharon joined the organization to lead partnerships with local authorities and build a holistic framework for the reservist and permanent service families
Danit Cohen
Administrative Manager
Danit leads the administrative operations of the Ogen for Reservist Families. Thanks to her abilities, she ensures that everything runs smoothly and orderly. Danit is a cornerstone that allows the entire organization to operate efficiently.
Sara Goldberger
Resource Development Coordinator
Sara Goldberger works to mobilize partnerships and resources nationally and internationally, enabling continued broad, stable, and meaningful support for reservist and permanent service families
Keren Aschkenazi
Technology Manager
Keren Aschkenazi leads the organization's innovative technological array, with a vision to build advanced digital infrastructures that enable ongoing, efficient, and supportive activity in the community of reserve and permanent military families.
Regional Management Team
Behind every reservist family stands a strong community of regional administrators who work tirelessly on a voluntary basis to ensure that every family has a response, listening ear, and a supportive shoulder at every moment.
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Golan, Galilee & Valleys
Vacant Position
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Western Shfela
Sarla Rabinovitch
Haifa District
Vacant Position
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Shomron, Binyamin
Cheli Machluf
Dan District
Dr. Mazal Shaul
South
Tami Kahana
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Jerusalem
Vacant Position
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Social
Reut Keinan
Gush Etzion
Hedva Cohen
Judea
Zulma Gazit
Sharon
vacant position
The Executive Committee
The Executive Committee leads the association with responsibility and vision, defines the strategic direction, and ensures professional and transparent activity for the benefit of the community of reserve and permanent military families.
Committee members:
Rachel Azaria, Tamar Brody, Eran Ben Yemini, Avishai Wall, Lee Zucker Cohen, Anat Mofkadi, Hanna Dorsman, Sagit Tzur Lahav, Dina Weiner
The Founding Story
On October 7, in light of the great tragedy and the massive mobilization of IDF reserves, Rachel Azaria founded HaOgen for Reservist Families based on a similar volunteer initiative that she had established and led in Jerusalem during Operation Protective Edge when serving as Deputy Mayor of Jerusalem.
The scale of events in the Iron Swords War required the establishment of a national organization to support the families of reservists. On the night after Simchat Torah, the foundations of the project were laid when Azaria published the first post on social media, opened the first WhatsApp group, and invited diverse groups to join the national mission.
That night, Azaria reached out to a number of women who had been active in the project during Protective Edge and additional women joined in light of the post she published on social media. These women became the founding team of HaOgen for Reservist Families. Each of the founding team members established a field in the organization:
- Racheli Shurati established the technological system that enables the ongoing national activity on a large scale.
- Yael Yehieli established the system of local leadership and coordinators throughout the country, with an operating and training concept that enables decentralized, broad and effective activity.
- Tamar Brody established and organized the organization's financial and legal mechanisms.
- Tali Segal built HaOgen’s organizational structure.
- Mia Sarig came up with the method of working with volunteers.
Together, this group of volunteers contributed their skills and time to establish the first phase of the organization's activities. Some of them have since retired from the organization's activities, and some continue to be active in HaOgen to this day.
Since then, hundreds of community coordinators, dozens of regional coordinators, staff members, and tens of thousands of volunteers have worked day and night to provide the families of reserve soldiers with the holistic assistance they need.