Prize Committee
Prof. Ofira Ayalon
Full Professor - Dept. of Natural Resources and Environmental Management, University of Haifa. Senior Researcher, Head of Environment Cluster Samuel Neaman Institute, Technion, Haifa.
Pro Ayalon research involve a wide range of environmental issues and policy implications in Energy policy, Waste management ,reduction of food loss,clean-tech and lately also Mitigation of greenhouse gases as well as Adaptation to climate change.
Prof. Ofira Ayalon has been awarded the 2018 Michael Landau Prize for Sciences and Research in the field of Sustainability. The committee found that Prof. Ayalon’s work has made important scientific contributions to sustainable developments in Israel and globally.
Serves as a judge since 2022
Professor Rose Blas
Lecturer and researcher in the Department of Environmental Studies, at the Porter School, in the Faculty of Exact Sciences at Tel Aviv University. The Laboratory for Industrial Ecology under her leadership implements applied research that deals with the interface of ecology - industry and management sciences, focusing on decision making and measuring economic and environmental performance in products, infrastructures, services and new technologies. Dr. Blas, a partner in several international studies, works with colleagues and institutions in industry, government, associations and the scientific community in Israel and the world to promote the research and professional agendas of the climate crisis and the protection of the environment. . Dr. Blas also serves as the chairman of the board of Engineers Without Borders Israel.
Serves as a judge since 2022
Hana Rado
is a social business entrepreneur, a liberal feminist, who dedicates her life to promoting gender balance and to advancing occupational growth in Israel’s remote peripheries. In 2017, Hana founded Group 19, which establishes social businesses in the periphery that provide outsourcing services to a large client base, primarily from metropolitan areas.
Parallel to Group 19, in 2015 she Established Supersonas, an organisation that promotes gender equality at key roles.
Before, Rado was the COO and CFO At McCann Tel Aviv.
Serves as a judge since 2022
Ron Gonen
is the Founder and CEO of Closed Loop Partners, a New York-based investment firm comprised of venture capital, growth equity, private equity, catalytic capital and an innovation center focused on building the circular economy. Prior to Closed Loop Partners, Ron was the Deputy Commissioner of Sanitation, Recycling and Sustainability in New York City in the Bloomberg Administration, and the Co-Founder and CEO of RecycleBank. Ron received an MBA from Columbia Business School, and served as an Adjunct Professor at Columbia Business School from 2010-2018.
Serves as a judge since 2022
Mr Muhammad Dahleh
is the founder of a Jerusalem-based law firm specializing in real estate and litigation. He was the first Arab lawyer to serve as a legal trainee in the Supreme Court of Israel. He also co-founded Adalah - The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights, lectured at Hebrew University and is a member of both the Israel and New York Bar, as well as the Aspen Global Leadership Network.
Serves as a judge since 2024
Elie Wurtman
is Co-founder and Managing Partner at PICO Venture Partners, an early-stage venture capital fund headquartered in Jerusalem. His investments include Vroom (Nasdaq: VRM), Spot.io (acquired by NetApp), Gloat, ChargeAfter, and AutoLeadStar.
Elie is the founder of Bat Shlomo Vineyards, a boutique winery in northern Israel, and PICO Kids, a social enterprise focused on STEM education for children in Jerusalem’s diverse communities. He holds a BA from Columbia University and the Jewish Theological Seminary.
2022-2024
Dr. Mohammed Alnabari
has been serving as the Mayor of Hura, one of the major Bedouin townships in the Negev, 2004-2018. He is serving as the chairman and founding member of Desert Stars, a nonprofit organization established to nurture a new leadership within the Bedouin society, which takes responsibility for the creation of a better, more just and more equal society and facilitates a productive coexistence in the Negev.
He is a founding member and chair of Alsanbel social enterprise for the employment of women in partnership with Local NGO Ajeec-Nisped.
Served as a judge until 2023