OU Israel

What OU Israel does

OU Israel is the Israeli branch of the Orthodox Union (OU), a global Jewish organization founded in 1898. Established in 1979 and registered as an Israeli non-profit association (OU Israel Baruch and Sarah Falk Foundation, R.A., Association No. 580054039), the organization is headquartered at a 5-story, 840 sqm facility at 7 Hartom Street in Jerusalem's Har Hotzvim district. Its primary constituency is Anglo olim — English-speaking Jewish immigrants to Israel — alongside native Israelis, visitors, soldiers, and special-needs populations. The organization delivers 80+ weekly programs, 50+ weekly Torah classes through the Avrom Silver Jerusalem College for Adults, and 9,500 youth inspirations annually, while its flagship publication Torah Tidbits distributes 3,000,000 copies per year to 40,000+ weekly readers.

OU Israel's product portfolio spans five divisions: Torah and adult education (Avrom Silver College, Torah Tidbits, Kashrut Education Center); youth programs (NCSY Israel chapters in 5 cities, Makom Balev, Oraita, Zula Outreach Center, Camp Dror, JLIC Israel at 11 universities, teen centers in 20 peripheral communities); women's programming (Layla, ATID, NextGen, Rosh Chodesh seminars); special needs inclusion (Yachad Israel); and community services (Chesed 4U volunteer network, Chaverim Makshivim hotline, JCHAT for young professionals, OU Israel Travel). The underlying technology is minimal — the organization relies on standard digital platforms (Zoom, Facebook Live, WhatsApp, YouTube, TikTok) for content distribution and Google Analytics for website analytics; there is no proprietary technology stack.

The business model is donor-funded. As an Israeli non-profit, OU Israel generates revenue through tax-deductible contributions from individuals, foundations, and corporate sponsors, solicited via website, direct mail, events, and the "Become a Partner" program. The organization operates with no pricing model or commercial revenue streams. Strategic partnerships — notably with the Jewish Agency for Israel (youth programs), Nefesh B'Nefesh (NCSY Israel), and global OU Kosher (Kashrut Education) — provide additional funding and operational support. Operating expenses are managed by an executive team led by Rabbi Avi Berman (Executive Director), Natan Kandler (COO), and Rosa Odeser (CFO), with program directors across each division.

Name

OU Israel

Legal name

OU Israel Baruch and Sarah Falk Foundation (R.A.)

Website

https://ouisrael.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1979

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

OU Israel is the Israeli branch of the Orthodox Union, operating as a non-profit that delivers Torah education, youth outreach, women's programming, and inclusion services to Anglo olim, Israeli residents, and at-risk teens across Israel.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Religious and Community Services

NAICS

Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813), Educational Services (611), Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYBPAGADAH

Special Education, Disability Support & Inclusive Education Nonprofits

Business & Public Services/Nonprofit, NGO & Social Services/Education & Youth Development Nonprofits

SECONDARYBPAGACAG

Disability Services & Independent Living Support

Business & Public Services/Nonprofit, NGO & Social Services/Health & Medical Nonprofits

SECONDARYEDALANAC

International Student Orientation & Transition Programs

Education/Student Services & Campus Operations/International Student Services & Immigration Support

SECONDARYBPADAKAI

Inclusive Education (Disability, Gender Equity, Marginalized Learners)

Business & Public Services/International Organizations & Development/Education & Skills Development Programs

SECONDARYEDALAGAI

Faculty/Staff Training & Accessibility Awareness Programs

Education/Student Services & Campus Operations/Disability Services & Accessibility

Keywords

• Jewish community services
• Torah education programs
• Immigrant integration support
• Youth outreach services
• Religious education programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Jerusalem

HQ country

Israel

HQ region

Middle East

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: OU Israel generates revenue primarily through tax-deductible donations from individuals, foundations, and corporate sponsors. The organization solicits contributions through its website, direct mail campaigns, and event-based fundraising. Donors can give to specific programs or general operations.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

OU Israel is a non-profit community organization that provides religious education, youth development programs, and integration support services primarily for English-speaking Jewish immigrants (olim) and the broader Israeli Jewish community. Core offerings include weekly Torah classes, youth outreach programs for at-risk teens, kashrut education, women's programming, teen integration initiatives, and special needs community building across multiple physical centers and digital channels.

Product overview

OU Israel is a non-profit organization and Israel branch of the Orthodox Union (OU), operating as a multi-program platform offering religious education, youth development, social services, and community programming. The core platform is the OU Israel Center in Jerusalem, which serves as the hub for over 80 weekly programs. The product portfolio consists of distinct divisions including: (1) Torah & Adult Education - The Avrom Silver Jerusalem College for Adults offering 50+ weekly classes, Torah Tidbits publication reaching 40,000+ readers, and the Gustave & Carol Jacobs Center for Kashrut Education; (2) Women's Division (Layla) - programming for women of all ages including Rosh Chodesh seminars, ATID for young olah, NextGen, Bat Mitzvah, and mother-daughter programs; (3) Youth Programs - NCSY Israel chapters, Makom Balev Youth Movement, Oraita clubs, Camp Dror summer camp, and Zula Outreach Center for at-risk teens; (4) Special Needs - Yachad Israel chapters serving individuals with disabilities; (5) Community Services - Chesed 4U volunteer network, Chaverim Makshivim hotline, JCHAT for young professionals, and OU Israel Travel. The organization serves Anglo olim and English-speaking Jewish communities across Israel through both in-person programming at the Jerusalem center and digital delivery via Zoom, Facebook Live, and WhatsApp.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• The Zula (Pearl & Harold Jacobs Zula Outreach Center): Safe haven outreach center for at-risk teens in Jerusalem offering counseling, music therapy, art, and spiritual guidance.
• Torah Tidbits
• NCSY Israel
• Yachad Israel
• Camp Dror
• Makom Balev
• Oraita (Jack E. Gindi Oraita Program)
• Chaverim Makshivim
• Gustave & Carol Jacobs Center for Kashrut Education
• Avrom Silver Jerusalem College for Adults
• Layla (Women's Division)
• JCHAT (Jerusalem Community Hub)
• Adopt a Soldier
• ATID Program
• Emergency War Relief Campaign

Products and services

• OU Israel Center / Seymour J. Abrams Orthodox Union Jerusalem World Center The main center in Jerusalem offering over 80 weekly programs since 1979 for English-speaking olim and tourists, including spiritual inspiration, social connection, Torah classes, and community programming. Features lecture halls, an English language library, classrooms, and event halls.
• The Avrom Silver Jerusalem College for Adults Flagship adult educational program offering 50+ weekly Torah classes day and night on Parshat Hashavua, Halacha, Jewish History, Contemporary Issues, Talmud, and Jewish Thought for the English-speaking population. Rabbi Dr. Sholom Gold serves as Dean, with a diverse faculty.
• Gustave & Carol Jacobs Center for Kashrut Education Educational center teaching tens of thousands weekly about kashrut observance through weekly shiurim, Torah Tidbits columns, engaging videos, and a kashrut hotline for answering questions. Run by Rabbi Ezra Friedman.
• Torah Tidbits The largest weekly English language Torah publication in Israel, reaching over 40,000 readers with Divrei Torah on the Parsha, Halachic Q&A, and comprehensive listings of OU Israel Center activities. Distributed in print and digital format.
• NCSY Israel Youth organization helping English-speaking teenage immigrants integrate into Israeli society through five chapters in Yerushalayim, Bet Shemesh, Modiin, Gush Etzion, and Ra'anana, with regional and national events including rock climbing, kickoffs, and Shabbatonim.
• JCHAT - Jerusalem Community Hub for Anglos and Torah Community hub for young Anglo professionals providing shiurim, social events, rabbinic mentorship, concerts, holiday celebrations, tiyulim, volunteer opportunities, and relationship workshops.
• Yachad Israel Program building community for olim with disabilities and their families, providing programs for adults, teens, and married couples with special needs as well as neurodivergent young adults with chapters in Jerusalem, Beit Shemesh, and Gush Etzion.
• The Pearl & Harold Jacobs Zula Outreach Center Safe haven for at-risk teens in Jerusalem providing unconditional support, counseling, and educational programs to help over 4,500 youth annually reconnect with themselves, their Jewish tradition, family, community, and life.
• Makom Balev Youth Movement Youth movement for Israeli youth ages 12-18 from socio-economic periphery, instilling confidence, ownership, and leadership skills through experiential programming, cultural activities, field-trips, and community volunteering.
• Jack E. Gindi Oraita Program Youth clubs providing safe spaces for teens exposed to street culture, offering counseling, mentorship, life-skills development, and a balance of fun and values through counselor role models.
• Ohel Yehudi Beach program by Zula Center staff providing structured activity for youth during vacations near the Kinneret, featuring Jewish music, niggunim, drum circles, and spiritual programming.
• Camp Dror Overnight Jewish summer camp in the Golan Heights for youth from 5th grade through high school, offering hiking, kayaking, learning, chesed projects, swimming, sports, and arts in a fully integrated English and Hebrew environment.
• Chaverim Makshivim (Friends that Listen) Partnership providing teenagers and parents with a platform to obtain answers to religious and social dilemmas through a call-in center and online portal, addressing common coming-of-age questions for youth from all streams of Judaism.
• Chesed 4U - Volunteer Network Network connecting elderly olim needing companionship and assistance with volunteer olim, organizing visits to nursing homes and hospitals, Torah study partnerships, and help with medical appointments.
• OU Israel Travel Enables English-speaking olim and visitors to experience Israel firsthand through guided trips and tours of the country.
• SCP - Semichat Chaver Program Innovative halachic study program for young professionals led by Rabbi Elyada Goldvicht, featuring practical and ethical meaning of halacha with structured curriculum and certificates upon completion.
• ATID Program for Young Women Part-time Midrasha experience for English-speaking young women in their 20s at the OU Israel Women's Hub in Rechavia, offering weekly classes in Tanach, Halacha, and Machshava with mentors.
• Women's Division / Layla - Women's Learning and Empowerment Women's programming including Rosh Chodesh seminars, Tuesday morning Beit Midrash, Beit Shemesh programs, NextGen for young women, ATID for young olah, Nach Yomi, women's tiyulim, Bat Mitzvah program, and mother-daughter programs.
• JLIC Israel University campus programs providing Jewish learning and community for students at 11 universities across Israel, including Ariel University, Bar-Ilan University, Ben-Gurion University, JCT-Lev, JCT-Tal, Hebrew University Jerusalem, Ono Academic College, Tel Aviv University, Technion, Tel Aviv Community, and Reichman University/Herzliya. Approximately 3,000 participants.
• OU Israel Emergency War Relief Campaign

Quantifiable outcome

• 162,000 annual visitors to OU Israel Center; 110,000+ annual visitors to Seymour J. Abrams Jerusalem World Center
• +2 more outcomes

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Global OU KoshercoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019The Gustave & Carol Jacobs Center for Kashrut Education operates in cooperation with global OU Kosher, established through a generous donation from the Hoch and Frankel families in memory of their parents Gustave and Carol Jacobs, pioneers of Kashrut in America.
• Israeli Universities (JLIC Program)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2017JLIC Israel operates at 11 university campuses across Israel including Ariel University, Bar-Ilan University, Ben-Gurion University, JCT-Lev, JCT-Tal, Hebrew University Jerusalem, Ono Academic College, Tel Aviv University, Technion, Tel Aviv Community, and Reichman University/Herzliya.
• Nefesh B'Nefesh (נפש בנפש)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2016A strategic partnership created between OU Israel and Nefesh B'Nefesh to expand resources and impact for English-speaking immigrant adolescents. NCSY Israel serves as a central factor in the successful absorption process for many young olim.
• Jewish Agency for Israel (סוכנות יהודית לארץ ישראל)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJewish Agency for Israel partners with OU Israel on multiple youth programs including Makom Balev, Oraita, and the Zula outreach center. The partnership supports at-risk youth programming and teen centers across Israel, with Jewish Agency providing funding and operational support for these initiatives.
• Chaverim Makshivim (Friends that Listen)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOU Israel partners with Chaverim Makshivim to provide teenagers and their parents with a platform to obtain answers to religious and social dilemmas. This hotline addresses common coming-of-age questions for youth from all streams of Judaism.
• Lishri (לשרי)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Lishri for the Family Chanuka Palooza project, providing educational content and programming for families during the Chanuka holiday.

Scale indicators14 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Birthright Israel Foundation: Funds the Taglit-Birthright ten-day Israel trips for young Jewish adults worldwide. OU Israel's Free Spirit/Taglit-Birthright programming (managed by Israel Director Yael Tamari) makes it a direct operational partner and comparable in serving the same young-adult, English-speaking Jewish audience.
• Nefesh B'Nefesh: Strategic partner and closest direct peer: also serves English-speaking olim to Israel. While NBN focuses on the aliyah process itself (planning, employment, absorption), OU Israel provides the post-aliyah community and religious programming — the two organizations are functionally complementary on the same Anglo oleh journey.
• Aish HaTorah: Jerusalem-based Jewish educational organization running the Aish Jerusalem World Center, HaMorah Discovery program, and intensive Jewish learning experiences targeting English-speaking young adults and tourists. Directly competes with OU Israel for the same demographic of English-speaking, Israel-based learners.
• Hillel International: The largest Jewish campus organization worldwide. JLIC (Jewish Learning Initiative on Campus) at 11 Israeli universities is essentially Hillel's model adapted to the Israeli context — comparable programming targeting Jewish university students with Torah learning, social events, and rabbinic mentorship.
• Bnei Akiva: World's largest religious Zionist youth movement, running youth chapters, summer camps, and educational programs across Israel (including in peripheral communities). Directly parallels OU Israel's Makom Balev youth movement, Oraita clubs, and Camp Dror programming.

Broad incumbents

• Chabad-Lubavitch in Israel: The world's largest Jewish outreach organization, with an extensive emissary network across Israel offering Torah classes, holiday programming, youth activities, and social services. Overlaps with OU Israel's adult education, youth programming, and community engagement missions but on a much larger global scale.
• UJA-Federation of New York: Largest local Jewish federation in North America, channeling hundreds of millions annually to Jewish communities in NY, Israel, and globally. As a federation that funds many of OU Israel's partner organizations and competes for donor share, it is a comparable broad incumbent in Jewish communal funding.
• World ORT: Global Jewish education network operating schools, colleges, and educational programs across multiple countries. Comparable as a Jewish educational services organization with significant operational scale and similar reliance on donor funding.
• Jewish National Fund (JNF-USA / KKL): Major Israel-focused Jewish nonprofit with a multi-hundred-million-dollar annual budget, significant real estate, and broad programming across community, environmental, and educational missions in Israel. Competes with OU Israel for the same donor pool while operating at much larger scale.

Emerging players

• BBYO (B'nai B'rith Youth Organization): Global pluralistic Jewish teen movement with chapters worldwide, including AZA and BBG. Comparable to NCSY Israel in serving English-speaking Jewish teens with leadership programming, Shabbatonim, and identity-building experiences, though operating from North America rather than Israel-based.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/theouisrael
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@theouisrael
• Facebookfacebook.com/OUIsrael
• Instagraminstagram.com/theouisrael
• TikToktiktok.com/@theouisrael
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ou-israel

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about OU Israel