Shimoni Peretz has been appointed as the new Director of the Kiryat Yearim Youth Village. He comes to the residential school in the Judean Hills after seven years as Director of the Herzliya Science and Music Residential School. “I have strong Zionist ideological values,” explained Peretz, “and I felt I needed a new challenge. For the past seven years I have been working with gifted children. But with the gap between rich and poor widening in Israel, I wanted to work with the disadvantaged and especially new immigrants from Ethiopia and make my contribution to closing that growing gap for the next generation.

”In fact Peretz, 40, will be returning to his Youth Aliyah roots. Prior to working in Herzliyah, he was Deputy Director of the Meir Shefiya Youth Aliyah village near Zichron Yaakov.A Majorin the IDF Reserves in the Golani combat regiment, he is a graduate of Haifa University and is currently studying for his M.Ed. at Tel Aviv University. Peretz is married with two children. “I am very impressed with the resources at Kiryat Yearim’s disposal,” observed Peretz.

“Many Israeli schools in privileged neighborhoods would be envious of the quality of the facilities we have here. With the financial backing of the Swiss Friends of Kiryat Yearim, the Jewish Agency and the Israeli government, we can give these children so much.