Shani Abrams Simkowitz

Director of the Gush Etzion Foundation

Shani Abrams Simkowitz is the Director of the Gush Etzion Foundation, a division of the Regional Council of Gush Etzion which is responsible for public relations and fundraising for the communities and residents of this area. 

Ms. Simkowitz has a long and distinguished career in communications, public relations, fundraising and education.  Her devotion to the State of Israel is the motivating force behind all of her efforts.

Born in Brooklyn, New York, Shani moved to Israel at the age of sixteen.  After graduating high school, she enlisted in the Israel Defense Force, three weeks before the outbreak of the Yom Kippur War.

Following the completion of her army service, Shani studied at the Kibbutz Teacher’s College in Tel Aviv where she earned a degree in Early Childhood Education.  She then went on to receive a BA in Creative Theater from Empire State College and an MA from Touro College in Jewish Education with an emphasis on Holocaust studies for young children.

From 1997 to 1995 Shani was the Regional Supervisor of Early Childhood Education for the Regional Council of Gush Etzion.   She oversaw thirty five kindergartens, fifteen daycare centers and a teacher’s resource center.

In 1995, the Gush Etzion Foundation was established and Shani became its leader.  The Foundation was created to provide supplemental funding for health, education, social, cultural and security services for the residents of Gush Etzion.  Shani’s innovative and resourceful method of management is the reason for the Foundation’s success.

Shani Abrams Simkowitz, along with Mayor Shaul Goldstein, is an English speaking spokesperson for Gush Etzion.  Her tireless efforts to promote Gush Etzion have pioneered a public awareness worldwide.

Shani is the mother of five children and lives in the Gush Etzion community, Tekoa, where she has been a resident since 1981. In her spare time she is also a medical clown…