The Israel Forever Foundation (IFF) is a nonprofit engagement organization that seeks to strengthen the connection between Israel and Jewish identity. IFF develops experiential learning content and programming in an effort to provide opportunities for Jews worldwide to enhance their connections with Israel. ¹

Activities

The Israel Forever Foundation’s programs and initiatives are designed to allow Jews of all ages and interests to engage with Israel. IFF’s programs highlight heritage and identity, historic and modern Israel, personal activism, peoplehood and unity, and other learning and education. ²

The Israel Forever Foundation encourages people to become what it calls “Virtual Citizens of Israel” (VCI). The VCI program is open to everyone who supports Jewish rights and is inclusive of all faiths and ethnicities. The VCI program provides content and materials to members as a means of enhancing personal connections with Israel. ³

Funding

The Israel Forever Foundation is funded by donations from individuals, foundations, and businesses. While Israel Forever Foundation does not disclose its donors, tax filings confirm donations from the American Endowment Foundation ($100,000 in 2022), ⁴ the Heideman Charitable Fund ($100,000 in 2022), ⁵ and the Schwab Charitable Fund ($100,000 in 2021). ⁶

People

Executive Director

Elana Heideman is the executive director of the Israel Forever Foundation. Heideman is a former delegate on the World Zionist Council and is a former Young Leadership Chair of B’nai B’rith International. ⁷

Board of Directors

Richard D. Heideman is a founding chair of the Israel Forever Foundation  and a former president of B’nai B’rith International and the American Zionist Movement. Heideman is a former chair of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum Lawyers Committee, the Institute for Law and Policy at the Hebrew University Faculty of Law, and the Herzliya Conference International Advisory Board. Heideman formerly sat on the boards of the Anti-Defamation League, Hillel, the World Zionist Organization, the Jewish Agency for Israel, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the American-Israel Chamber of Commerce, and the World Jewish Congress, among many others. ⁸

Phyllis Greenberg Heideman is a founding chair of IFF. Heideman is the president of the International March of the Living, sits on the boards of the Republican Jewish Coalition and the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding, and is a trustee of the B’nai B’rith World Center. Heideman is a former George W. Bush presidential appointee to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council; formerly sat on the boards of the Board of Jewish Education of Greater Washington DC, the George Washington University Hillel, B’nai B’rith International, and the Henry Monsky Foundation; and is a former delegate to the World Zionist Organization. ⁹

Jim Schiller is the treasurer of IFF and the chair of the board of the National Coalition Supporting Eurasian Jewry. ¹⁰ Schiller is the treasurer of the American Zionist Movement, the chair of the Baltimore Zionist District, and the vice president of World Confederation of United Zionists. Schiller sits on the boards of the Jewish National Fund and the Jewish Agency for Israel. ¹¹

Salomon Vas Diaz is the secretary of IFF and the vice president for governance and administration at the American Zionist Movement. Vas Diaz is a former national executive director of both the American Sephardi Federation and American Friends of Likud, a former corporate secretary of the World Confederation of United Zionists, and a former committee member of the Jewish Agency Board of Governors. ¹²

Shmuel Rosenman is the chair and chief executive officer of March of the Living. ¹³

Gadi Warsha teaches political science at the University of Haifa. ¹⁴

Eli Ovitz is the global chief executive of Limmud, sits on the advisory board of the Abrahamic Business Circle, ¹⁵ and represents the World Mizrachi at the World Orthodox Israel Congress. ¹⁶

Alan Dershowitz is the honorary chair of the board of IFF. Dershowitz is a civil rights lawyer and an emeritus professor of law at Harvard University. ¹⁷

1. “About Us.” The Israel Forever Foundation. Accessed January 20, 2024. https://israelforever.org/about/.
2. “Programs.” The Israel Forever Foundation. Accessed January 20, 2024. https://israelforever.org/programs/.
3. “Virtual Citizen of Israel.” The Israel Forever Foundation. Accessed January 20, 2024. https://israelforever.org/vci/.
4. American Endowment Foundation, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2022, Schedule I, Part II.
5. The Israel Forever Foundation, Return of Private Foundation (Form 990), 2022, Schedule B.
6. Schwab Charitable Fund, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2021, Schedule I, Part II.
7. “Elana Yael Heideman, Ph.D.” The Israel Forever Foundation. Accessed January 20, 2024. https://israelforever.org/about/team/elana_heideman/.
8. “About.” Speaking Up with Richard D. Heideman. Accessed January 20, 2024. https://richardheideman.com/about/.
9. “Phyllis Greenberg Heideman.” The Israel Forever Foundation. Accessed January 20, 2024. https://israelforever.org/about/team/phyllis_greenberg_heideman/.
10. “Officers and Executive Committee.” National Coalition Supporting Eurasian Jewry. Accessed January 20, 2024. https://www.ncsej.org/officers-executive-committee.
11. “W. James Schiller.” American Zionist Movement. Accessed January 20, 2024. https://azm.org/leadership/w-james-schiller/.
12. “Salomon Vaz Dias.” American Zionist Movement. Accessed January 20, 2024. https://azm.org/leadership/salomon-vaz-dias/.
13. “The International March of the Living’s 35th anniversary – interview.” International March of the Living, April 11, 2023. Accessed January 20, 2024. https://www.motl.org/the-international-march-of-the-livings-35th-anniversary-interview/.
14. Ben-Zvi, Abraham and Warsha, Gadi. “The untold story of how 2 Jews transformed the Israel-US relationship in the shadows.” Israel Hayom, April 21, 2023. Accessed January 20, 2024. https://www.israelhayom.com/2023/04/21/how-2-jews-who-hid-from-the-public-limelight-made-america-israels-most-important-ally/.
15. “Eli Ovits.” LinkedIn. Accessed January 20, 2024. https://www.linkedin.com/in/eli-ovits-032026a/?originalSubdomain=il.
16. “Mr. Eli Ovits.” World Mizrachi. Accessed January 20, 2024. https://congress.mizrachi.org/the_delegates/mr-eli-ovitz/.
17. “Alan M. Dershowitz.” Harvard Law School. Accessed January 20, 2024. https://hls.harvard.edu/faculty/alan-m-dershowitz/.