Rolene Marks, head of World WIZO Public Diplomacy and host of “The Israel Brief,” opened her talk at the fourth annual Jerusalem Business Conference by telling the audience, “I wrote an article in the Times of Israel and somebody responded by saying to me, ‘You are a vacuous bimbo who should be called ‘Occupier Barbie’ and I thought to myself, I’ll drop the ‘vacuous bimbo,’ but ‘Occupier Barbie,’ how fantastic, how original, it makes a clean break from being called ‘baby killer’ and other slurs … And I decided I’m going to take ownership of this. I’m going to take the term ‘Occupier Barbie’ and I’m going to turn it into my own personal brand or story. Maybe I’ll do a rhinestone T-shirt that says ‘Occupier Barbie’ …”
Marks and other Anglo movers and shakers were featured speakers at a conference whose theme was “Own Your Voice: Building Business and Community,” which took place at the Nefesh B’Nefesh Campus in Cinema City on Nov. 19. The conference was an event of the Israel Networking Hub and was organized by its founder, Lesley Kaplan, who made aliya 35 years ago from South Africa, in partnership with the Association of Americans & Canadians in Israel (AACI) and Nefesh B’Nefesh.
There were more speakers than can be featured here, and the quotes are selected gems from very comprehensive talks.
Debbie (Gray) Sassen, originally from Los Angeles, business and money coach and host of “The Jewish Entrepreneur Podcast,” was one of three panelists in a discussion on podcasting and brand visibility, moderated by author-podcaster Heather Dean, author of “Searching for Heather Dean” and podcast host of “613 Books.”
Sassen has lived in Israel since 1988. She told The Journal, “I grew up in Brentwood and went to Uni High. I worked summers at Bel Air Camera, an icon of the Westwood scene, that was closed a few years ago. I basically left LA for college at 18, came back after my freshman year, and never really went back.”
Sassen’s business had evolved from financial planning to money coaching to business coaching. When her revenue hit multi-six-figures, she launched her podcast.
“It was really a way for me to develop my thought leadership and share my unique approach to business. I talk about God (HaShem) and bitachon (reliance on God). I bring verses from the Torah and know in my soul that I’m co-creating with the Almighty. As mom of eight and grandmother of 21, the work-life harmony juggling act is real.
“Two weeks ago, I finished giving a webinar, shut down Zoom, and stepped into an ambulance with my daughter to be her doula. Sending out the webinar replay had to wait. That’s ‘my’ story — and you have yours. Nobody has your voice or your ‘resume’ — and your story matters.
“Through my podcast, I develop business concepts like ‘debt-free entitlement’ — the title of one of my episodes. In it, I shared my viewpoint that too many service-based business owners resist borrowing money and investing capital to get their businesses going, and it’s slowing down their growth. Product-based businesses buy inventory, rent spaces, renovate and hook up utilities before they sell the first widget. That takes cash. Bootstrapping keeps you small.
“I share my message because I know that if just one person hears it and goes all-in, she’ll collapse time and be astounded by her own growth. That’s my story. And just like me, yours has a place in the world.”
Sassen’s daughter, Lini Schulz (not the one who recently gave birth), was also at the conference, promoting her business, “Organize with Lini.”
Fleur Hassan-Nahoum, Israel’s special envoy on trade and innovation, former deputy mayor of Jerusalem and host of “The Quad” podcast, is a global spokesperson for Israel.
“For many years I was essentially the face of Jerusalem in the international media, and that is why on Oct. 7 … I thought, I need to be the voice of what’s going on here.”
About “The Quad” she said, “I want the world to see how diverse and how strong Jewish women are … It takes time to find your voice. … But the main thing is to just be your genuine, authentic self.
“It’s not necessarily the smartest people that are the most successful, but it’s certainly the people who communicate very well. I’ve worked with people who were shy or didn’t have the confidence and I would say to them, you have to step out of your comfort zone every single day.”
Zev Levi of the “Israel Story” podcast said, “You need to show the listener that you are respecting their time by giving them a reason to continue listening. Number one is: Prepare your content. [Think] this is the content that I’m going to give people that they want.”
A high point was the talk given by startup consultant and tech columnist turned global influencer Hillel Fuld, who described how his career began with helping people for free. “Turns out being a frier (Hebrew slang for ‘sucker’) is the best business model,” he said. “Years later, hundreds of entrepreneurs wrote to me: ‘You introduced us to our first investor and you didn’t ask for anything. Now we’re a big company. What does it cost to work with you?’”
Over two decades, he watched Israel’s tech ecosystem grow into a global phenomenon. “What I saw in the Israeli system was literally miracles that make zero sense. We all know Israel’s actually smaller than New Jersey and has the worst neighbor on earth … and investors are pouring billions of dollars into Israel.”
Fuld’s life changed after his brother Ari was murdered in a 2018 terror attack. “It pulled me into the conflict on social media,” he said. Still, he remained a tech voice online — until Oct. 7. “I had actual tech antisemites following me because they didn’t care that I was in Israel.” But after Oct. 7, “I shut my business down and pivoted entirely to Israel — providing real-time, accurate information, which is a lot harder.”
He spoke about interviewing Dr. Danny Gold, developer of the Iron Dome. Gold gathered Israel’s top minds and insisted on an “impossible” goal: detonating rockets mid-air. The IDF and U.S. military experts all told him it couldn’t work. “And then he built it — a system that detonates with 96% precision,” said Fuld. He says that Israel’s four aerial defense systems—Iron Dome, David’s Sling, Arrow, and the space-based laser are miracles on their own.
Switching to branding, Fuld said “I want to leave you with some practical things. We talk about the Red Bull model, right? The word ‘beverage’ is not even on their website. They’re not selling a drink. They’re jumping out of planes.”
He spoke about the importance of content. “99% of companies are on social media to talk about themselves … but if I have good content to give people, that will lead to them following me.”
Interviews, he said, are a particularly effective branding tool. They get shared widely because “everyone has an ego,” and they link back to your online presence. “Everyone wants to send that interview to their mom.”
He addressed Israel’s global narrative. “Our enemies have a simple story: ‘You oppress us.’ Our story is fragmented.” He argued that Israel’s narrative should center on unity, innovation, contribution to humanity and we should stop apologizing for that.
Fuld quoted a dvar Torah from Rabbi Efrem Goldberg from Boca Raton, who said that it says [in Genesis 27:29] “Cursed be they who curse you, blessed they who bless you.” But the Hebrew word used for “cursed” in this line has a double meaning, and the root of “light” is included in it. “He said the right way to read it is that those who bless the Jewish people will be blessed, those who curse them will see your light.
“The darker our enemies become, the more darkness they bring, the brighter our light shines.”
In addition to her T-shirt remark, Marks told the audience: “As a journalist, and especially over the last two years, the greatest privilege of my life has been the honor of telling the story of our people, through our tragedies and through our triumphs. Especially as Israeli journalists, we have a little bit of a difficulty right now in telling Israel’s story.
“One of the stories that has broken through the noise over the last two years has been the story of our hostages. They were not just faces on posters. They are whole universes.
“And this philosophy you can bring to your business. What is my story? Who is my hero? Is it the service that you offer, or your product? How are you going to use the hero of your story to connect with your audience?
“If I’m a fundraising organization, how is my audience going to connect emotionally to me? Be authentic, be who you are.”
“The people in this room have decided against all odds to come here, to start new lives … to cry together, to mourn together, to celebrate together and to thrive together.
“So next time someone calls you an ‘Occupier Barbie,’ own it, make it your story and get the damn T-shirt.”
Joseph Gitler, founder and chairman of Leket, suffered his own tragedy in this war, when his son-in-law, Sgt. Major David Schwartz, fell in battle in Khan Yunis on Jan. 8, 2024. But the substance of his talk was about what he has been doing with Leket in the 22 years since its founding.
Leket’s focus is on rescuing healthy, surplus food and delivering it to those in need. In 2024 they reportedly delivered 33,340 tons of food to 300 nonprofit partner agencies that distributed it to 415,000 Israelis in need per week.
Gitler met his wife, Leelah, from Toronto, when they were in a B’nei Akiva summer program in Israel. He attended law school in America (“for my mother”) and worked in it for a year. After aliya, he worked in hi-tech for a few years.
“We knew we wanted to live in Israel, and we’re all proud of that decision, through the good and the bad, the highs and the lows.”
He asked the crowd, “How many people here are working in or looking to get into something that is not where they started their career? I bet it’s over 75%? That’s part of the message of the Israel story.”
He saw that during the second Intifada, “Life goes on. Even now, over the last two years of war, life goes on… people need to feed their families.”
Twenty-two years ago, he identified a need, and a solution. He saw enormous food waste at hotels and simchas, even as working poor struggled. “Who works and also has to go to a soup kitchen? We should be embarrassed as a society that exists.”
That realization led him to launch Table to Table, later renamed Leket, after the biblical commandment obligating farmers to care for the poor. The mission: to prevent good food from going to waste.
In the early days, he called 100 caterers. None asked about liability or tax breaks; many said they had been waiting for such an initiative.
“And then, I thought, what about agriculture?”
In 2005, a farmer offered thousands of kilos of fallen persimmons, asking that they be given away. “I didn’t say to him, ‘I’ll get back to you next week, I’m going to do a research project.’ I just said Yes. That’s the way we do it at Leket.
“The good news is that Israeli farmers are very resilient; most of them are back to normal, 75% of the foreign workers have returned.
“It’s very hard to take silver linings from the war. … Despite the horrors that we’ve seen, in the charity world, it’s been something incredible to see … we saw it on Oct. 8, when millions of dollars start to flow into our coffers.
“We also gave financial help in huge numbers. So much of what we did are things that we never do and I hope we’ll never have to do again.”
A surprise “reveal”
The conference saw the launch of Kaplan’s new initiative, ImpactIL™. Powered by her Israel Networking Hub PRO Circle, Kaplan said “ImpactIL™ is designed to empower Israel’s younger generations with real-life skills, while spotlighting business owners, who volunteer their skills and expertise to partner with the younger generation to strengthen their brand, to build a stronger, vibrant Israel together.”
Kaplan believes that you’re never too young or old to achieve new goals, and for three decades she has been using her business strategy coaching to advance business owners and nonprofits. She is also the author of several business and motivational books.
“I feel it’s in my DNA to connect, collaborate with and promote businesses.” The ImpactIL™ program includes group activities, workshops and one-on-one mentoring.
Kaplan said that ImpactIL™ projects focus on three areas — education, community and social empowerment, and IDF soldiers, their spouses and lone soldiers. That last category, Kaplan said, is particularly important due to the extended reserve duty of many soldiers who either left their businesses, or no longer had the drive to continue working in the same field. “Skills learned through activities, mentoring and workshops provided by ImpactIL™ can make all the difference between sink or swim.”
Many of us know Kaplan from her weekly Zoom “Monday Motivation Spotlight Podcast,” which she started after Oct. 7 to spotlight Israeli business owners and nonprofits, hosting those “who had taken a hit after the onset of the war, as well as to motivate and inspire.” She included guests who had overcome challenges and were now helping others. (All the Zoom events were recorded; Kaplan continues it now as prerecorded sessions that appear on her YouTube and Spotify channels.)
Kaplan explained that the Israel Networking Hub is for small-medium sized businesses and nonprofits who attend in-person and online events and network through a dedicated Facebook group. Members of the Israel Networking Hub PRO Circle enjoy special benefits and discounts, and are professionals who volunteer their services and skills to empower future generations through project ImpactIL™.
Kaplan said, “Nonprofits who are interested in having ImpactIL™ professionals partner with their organization are welcome to reach out, and ImpactIL™ welcomes inquiries from professionals and business owners seeking to sponsor this life-changing initiative, and anyone who is interested in supporting this cause.” They can connect through ImpactIL.org or IsraelNetworkingHub.com.
Gitler gave me an enchanting children’s book by Madeline Black, illustrated by Shirley Waisman, with all proceeds going to Leket, titled “Juicy Lucie and the Leket Lady,” ending with the “Leket Food Waste Challenge!” I read the book with a granddaughter on Shabbat and we discussed the food waste challenge with her family.
Whatever we accomplish in this lifetime, in business or charity, it is the next generation that we must prepare to carry it forward.
The writer is an award-winning journalist and theater director and co-founder and editor-in-chief of WholeFamily.com. Her current theater project is “HEROINES! Songs & Soliloquies for the Soul.”
