Naomi Freedman, Aliyah Shlicha for the Conservative Movement, 2008-2010

Naomi Freedman is the new Aliyah Shlicha for the Conservative Movement and the first since the position was created twenty years ago to have been born and raised as a Conservative-Masorti Jew.

Born in West Orange, New Jersey, in 1976, Naomi made aliyah with her parents at the age of 4, settling in Jerusalem. After serving in the IDF and attaining the rank of lieutenant in the Nahal Brigade, Naomi received her B.A. in Sociology and Anthropology at Hebrew University. Thereafter, she earned certification as an Israeli tour guide and folk dance instructor.

Ecology and nature are passions for Naomi. After completing her army service, she lived and worked in agriculture on several kibbutzim around Israel, including a period as a dairy farmer at Kibbutz Ein HaNatziv. More recently, she worked for the Israel Nature and National Parks Protection Authority, first at a nature reserve around the Dead Sea and later as a tour guide coordinator for the Jerusalem Mountains district. Naomi has also studied various mind-body techniques, such as reflexology, Bach flowers and Tai Chi.

Naomi is the first "second generation" Conservative/Masorti Jew to serve as an aliyah shaliach to the Conservative Movement. As a teenager, Naomi was active in NOAM – the Masorti Movement's youth organization. She attended the Israeli Ramah-NOAM summer camp, starting with its founding in 1988, and spent a total of nine summers there as a camper and staff member. She was also sent to work with the NOAM summer camps in England, Spain and the Ramah-Yahad camp in Ukraine. Other Masorti work experiences included a stint as a coordinator of NOAM chapters in the Jerusalem-area communities of Gilo and Nataf and a facilitator for Jewish identity and holiday seminars for the TALI Schools. She has also served as a tour guide for Ramah-Israel and USY Pilgrimage.

Upon arriving in New York at the beginning of September 2008, Naomi, like her predecessors, splits her time between the MERCAZ USA office and the Israel Aliyah Center. She has three major goals for her shlichut: outreach to Conservative Movement synagogues and organizations to provide information about Israel and Masorti Judaism; help for individuals and families who are considering making Aliyah; and involvement with college students and young adults, particularly graduates of the Movement's various post-high school level study programs in Israel, interested in educational and volunteer programs in Israel.

"For me" commented Naomi in preparation for arriving for the start of her shlichut, "coming to work with the Aliyah Department and the Conservative Movement is a kind of closing of a circle. I hope to be open to discussions about reaffirming Conservative Judaism and its relationship to Israel."

For more information about our Shlicha and the programs with which she is involved, contact Naomi at 212-533-2061 or naomif@jafi.org.

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