(; born August 5, 1945) is an Israeli politician and activist who served as the chairman of the

World Zionist Organization The World Zionist Organization (; ''HaHistadrut HaTzionit Ha'Olamit''), or WZO, is a non-governmental organization that promotes Zionism. It was founded as the Zionist Organization (ZO; 1897–1960) at the initiative of Theodor Herzl at the F ...

and is currently the chairman of the Jewish National Fund.

Early life and education

Duvdevani was born in Jerusalem on August 5, 1945, to an

Orthodox Jewish Orthodox Judaism is a collective term for the traditionalist branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as literally revealed by God on Mount Sinai and faithfully tra ...

and

Zionist Zionism is an Ethnic nationalism, ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in History of Europe#From revolution to imperialism (1789–1914), Europe in the late 19th century that aimed to establish and maintain a national home for the ...

family. He attended Netiv Meir Yeshiva and the Kfar Hasidim Yeshiva. He then enlisted in the

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...

as a paratrooper, and participated in the occupation of Jerusalem in the

Six-Day War The Six-Day War, also known as the June War, 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states, primarily United Arab Republic, Egypt, Syria, and Jordan from 5 to 10June ...

. He proceeded to earn a bachelor's degree in Jewish history and educational administration and a master's degree in sociology of education from the

Hebrew University of Jerusalem The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; ) is an Israeli public university, public research university based in Jerusalem. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Chaim Weizmann in July 1918, the public university officially opened on 1 April 1925. ...

Political career

In 2010, he was unanimously elected the chairman of the World Zionist Organization. Before this, among other roles, he was the Director General of World Bnei Akiva, was the head of the Informal Education track at Orot Israel College, and was a member of the board of governors and an executive for the Jewish Agency. In 2020, it was announced that he would become the global chairman of the Jewish National Fund. He assumed the role on November 15, 2020. Duvdevani is married with four children and lives in

Ramat Gan Ramat Gan (, ) is a city in the Tel Aviv District of Israel, located east of the municipality of Tel Aviv, and is part of the Gush Dan, Gush Dan metropolitan area. It is home to a Diamond Exchange District (one of the world's major diamond exch ...

References

Activists from Jerusalem Politicians from Jerusalem Israeli Jews 1945 births Living people {{Israel-bio-stub