Staff
Solly Sacks,
Director-General
Solly has always been involved with Jewish movements. He served as the chairman of Bnei Akiva South Africa for 7 years, during which he initiated some very important changes in the structure of the youth movement, as well as developing a 25 hectare campsite for the movement which is still in use today.
During the Six Day War, he led a large delegation of volunteers to Israel, to assist in the war efforts. He has led student and Bnei Akiva delegations to numerous World Zionist Congresses. In 1975 he became the chairman of the South African Mizrachi Organization and served in this position and as president for 11 years, until he was appointed as the chairman of the South African Zionist Federation.
In this position, he initiated a meeting of a small group of Jewish leaders with Nelson Mandela immediately after his release from prison, and established an ongoing contact with the ANC leadership. There was also an excellent relationship with President De Klerk, which proved to be one of the best periods in the relationship between Israel and South Africa.
Solly has been serving as the Director-General of the World Mizrachi Organization since 1991, when he made Aliya. Solly presently serves on numerous committees of the World Zionist Organization, the Jewish Agency, and the World Jewish Congress (i.e. Presidium of the WZO, member of the Vaad HaPoel, Committee Member of the Board of Governors of the Jewish Agency, etc.) He is also a member of the Honorary Offices and Executive of the South African Zionist Federation (Israel), and in the past founded and was served as chairman of a number of Gar’inei Aliya (i.e. Alon Shvut, Efrat and Kochav Yair).
Solly, a proud resident of Jerusalem, is married to Gita (Rome) and they have four children.
Daniel Cohen
Programs Director
Daniel hails from the little-known city of London, England. After a gap year in Israel and several more in London, he made aliyah with his family to the better-known yishuv Elazar. An avid fan of Liverpool FC, he is World Mizrachi’s Programs Director.
Maxine Piczenik
Office Secretary
Originally from Manchester, England, Maxine spent many years as office manager of a busy hi-tech company before joining the World Mizrachi team in 2006. She can often be found listening to her favorite songs on Rusty Mike Radio while answering the phones! Maxine lives in San Simon and lives and breathes Jerusalem.
Rachel Barmatz
Office Secretary
Rachel is the backbone of the World Mizrachi offices, having worked at the headquarters for well in excess of 20 years, bringing a wealth of experience and knowledge. She is a big fan of the hit TV show Srugim and lives in the Jerusalem suburb of Har Choma.
Binyamin Touati
Administrative Manager
Hailing from Marseille, France, Binyamin brings a European flavor to the office, and having worked at the Jewish Agency in France, now looks after the finances and administration of the World Mizrachi offices in Jerusalem. All this, while also looking after the interests of both Bnei Akiva and Mizrachi in France – he really is the French Connection!
