Naftali Schiff

Rabbi Naftali Schiff
Rabbi Naftali Schiff
Occupation	Founder and Executive Director of Jewish Futures Trust - Netzach
Known for	Founding and directing innovative educational organisations

Summary

Rabbi Naftali Schiff is the founder of the Jewish Futures Trust - Netzach (JFT). JFT is a diverse portfolio of autonomous non profit educational organisations, each one of them addressing a specific need and niche. JFT is committed to creating and implementing far reaching solutions that will realize the vision of a brighter Jewish future.

Having raised over $70 million for charities over the past ten years, Rabbi Schiff's enterprise and leadership are widely recognized among business leaders, politicians, philanthropists and educators including the Office of the Chief Rabbi of the United Kingdom.

Early Life and Education

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 B.Sc (Econ) specializing in International Relations.^[1] 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.^[2]

Creation of Innovative Educational Non Profits and Charitable Organisations

In 1996 Rabbi Schiff founded the Danny Frei Jerusalem Fellowships, a four-week summer program offering UK based students an opportunity to discover their Jewish roots, meet Israeli politicians and take on roles of communal responsibility In 1999 he returned to London together with his young family to head the nascent Aish UK. Under his leadership, Aish UK grew from a staff of ten to employing tens of full-time educators.^[3] 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.^[4][5][6] In 2013 20% of Jewish marriages in the UK were Aish alumni.^[7]

In 2004 he founded GIFT (Give It Forward Today).^[8] 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 programs in schools, youth movements and communal organisations GIFT offers a range of varied volunteering opportunities for young people,^[9][10] organizes volunteering opportunities.[9][10] GIFT has recently expanded to organize projects and encourage giving in Israel.^[11] Naftali is currently spearheading the development of a creative hub with the aim of shifting attitudes to giving in the wider community,

As a social entrepreneur and educational innovator, Rabbi Schiff has spearheaded the creation or development of numerous new non profit organisations. These include These include, Chazak: vitalizing young Sephardic Jews in the UK,^[12] Common Denominator: building tolerance and understanding between disparate parts of Israeli Society, Ezra Youth Movement,^[13] Chazon - Klal UK: inspiring students, teachers and parents in the Orthodox community,^[14] J*Link: bringing educational programs into mainstream, non-Jewish schools and Forum for Jewish Leadership (FJL): identifying and training future, young British leaders for the Jewish community. ^[15]

Holocaust Education

Rabbi Schiff has been actively involved in Holocaust education for many years ^[16] In 2006 he founded JRoots,^[17] a non profit educational organisation devoted to facilitating powerful immersive Jewish journeys to destinations of Jewish interest worldwide. JRoots has specialized in passing on the legacy of Holocaust survivors and educating young Jewish people about their heritage and Jewish identity.^[18]

As well as the day-to-day running of JRoots, shaping educational trips abroad, Naftali has traveled 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,^[19] The “Vehigadeta Levincha – And you shall tell it to your children” ^[20] 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,^[21] who was featured alongside Naftali Schiff on Channel 5 News in October 2006.^[22]

Naftali was also instrumental in publishing the bespoke JRoots Guide to Poland: Triumph and Tragedy.^[23][24] Other films in this series include documentaries about Holocaust survivors Leah Kaufman, Pearl Benisch (student of Sarah Schenirer) and Dov Landau.

Film Making

An avid believer in the potential of special personalities to impact people, Rabbi Schiff founded the Legacy Live film and book production organisation. Legacy Live has produced numerous documentaries including a highly acclaimed film about Lady Amelie Jacobovits wife of former Chief Rabbi Lord Immanuel Jakobovits, Baron Jakobovits.

Legacy Live specializes in producing beautiful bespoke films and books availing families of the opportunity to commission a Legacy Live production as a creation of a priceless heirloom for future generations.

General

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. He is a highly sought after international speaker, consulting for a range of organisations and sharing "lessons learnt from survivors".

References