The centerpiece of the Project Kesher Israel program is leadership development, empowering women with training to become change agents within their own communities.

The leaders trained by PK Israel facilitate the 18 women’s groups throughout Israel, they comprise the staff of PKI, serve as trainers in seminars, as speakers at community meetings, as organizers of events to publicize issues, and as role models for all Russian-speaking women.

• INTRODUCTORY SEMINARS:  Bring Russian-speaking women together to network and learn about PK programs.  PKI vets participants of this seminar for inclusion in its Leadership Training Program.

• YEAR-LONG LEADERSHIP TRAINING PROGRAM:  The 20-25 women selected at its Introductory Seminars receive one year of training and mentoring. These women meet for weekend Shabbaton training sessions four times a year.  In the seminars they learn techniques of facilitating group meetings, leadership skills and study topics related to the core mission of PKI:  gender equality, social activism, Jewish education, and pluralism.  The “train-the-trainer” methodology ensures that all materials and information are shared with their women’s groups, hence maximizing the impact and broad outreach.

• COORDINATIVE FORUMS:  Group leaders receive enrichment and ongoing training through nine Coordinative Forums each year that focus on mentoring and skills building.  Program participants request information on a variety of key issues and share best practices with one another.  They are educated about, and provided materials on, such topics as the Israeli pension system, workers’ rights, domestic violence, women’s health and safety, working with social media and more.  Participants then use this information in their work with their women’s groups and in the wider community..

• SOCIAL JUSTICE ACTIVIST TRAINING: A cadre of women from throughout Israel have been selected for this two year training program providing seasoned PKI leaders the techniques of social activism and community organizing, including teaching women to use social networks and mass media to surface and advocate for important issues in their communities, the public-at-large and in government. PKI leaders identified three tracks for their social justice work: women’s health, religious pluralism, and multi-culturalism, including Arab-Jewish engagement.  Each of the tracks are facilitated and mentored in cooperation with partner organizations.

The women trained are now designing and implementing community-wide programming to bring dialogue, education and ultimately changes in attitude to key issues important to the Russian-speaking community and to all of Israel. They are organizing seminars for their local women’s groups and in cooperation with the Absorption and Women’s Departments of their local municipalities.