Naftali Schiff
Rabbi Naftali Schiff was raised in London and studied at Yeshivat HaKotel in Jerusalem’s Old City prior to graduating from the London School of Economics with a BSC (Econ) specialising in International Relations. He joined the IDF Givati unit after making Aliyah, seeing active service in Lebanon and Gaza. In Israel he received rabbinic ordination from the Jerusalem Rabbinate as well as a Diploma of Education, before assuming the role of Director of the Jerusalem Fellowships in 1993.In 1996 he founded the Danny Frei Jerusalem Fellowships and returned to London to head Aish UK. Under his leadership, and with numerous educators, Aish UK now reaches tens of thousands of young Anglo-Jewish students and has managed to arrest the hitherto unabated momentum towards intermarriage in the UK. In 2013 20% of Jewish marriages in the UK were AISH alumni.Rabbi Schiff’s enterprise and leadership are widely recognised among business leaders, politicians,philanthropists and Jewish communal leadership, including the Office of the Chief Rabbi.Rabbi Schiff has been named by the Jewish Chronicle as one of the most influential Jews inthe UK for portraying a multi-faceted approach to leadership, as an influencer, an educator,a pioneer, and a visionary.In 2004, Rabbi Schiff wrote a speech regarding the arson attack on the Aish UK Head Office, which saw the Sefer Torah ripped.Throughout his years in Aish, he has written a number of articles which have been published on Aish.com and has commented for newspapers In 2004 Naftali founded GIFT (Give It Forward Today) with a group of Aish Alumni.A grassroots organisation, GIFT aims to address the challenge posed by a decline in the culture of giving in the community. As well as regular educational workshops and programmes in schools, youth movements and communal organisations GIFT offers many varies volunteering opportunities for young people, organises volunteering opportunities.[9][10] GIFT charity has recently expanded to organise projects and encourage giving in Israel.Rabbi Schiff has been actively involved in Holocaust education for many years In 2006 Naftali founded JRoots, together with Tzvi Sperber, with the aim of passing on the legacy of Holocaust survivors and educating young Jewish people about their heritage and Jewish identity. As well as the day to day running of JRoots, shaping educational trips abroad, Naftali has travelled the world, interviewing Holocaust survivors to ensure their testimonies and stories are preserved and recorded before it is too late. Filmed by JRoots multimedia division Legacy Live, The “Vehigadeta Levincha – And you shall Tell it to your children” feature length documentary series has been widely acclaimed and watched by tens of thousands worldwide, ensuring a generation of survivor’s life lessons are not lost. The second in this series tells the story of Holocaust survivor Eva Neumann, who was featured alongside Naftali Schiff on Channel 5 News in October 2006. Naftali was also instrumental in publishing the bespoke JRoots Guide to Poland: Triumph and Tragedy.In addition to his responsibilities to the above named charities, Rabbi Schiff has founded or plays a significant leadership role in a number of other communal organisations. These include, Chazak: vitalising young Sefardic Jews in the UK, Common Denominator: building tolerance and understanding between disparate parts of Israeli Society, Ezra Youth Movement, Chazon UK, J*Link bringing educational programmes into mainstream, non-Jewish schools and Forum for Jewish Leadership (FJL): identifying and training future, young British leaders for the Jewish community.