Amichai Chikli
Amichai Shikli was born in 1981 in Jerusalem. After graduating from high school, he enrolled for a year at Maayan Baruch, a Social Leadership Institute . After the year at Maayan Baruch, he was drafted into the IDF and served in the Golani Brigade for five years as a fighter and commander, completing his service as company commander. Amichai then spent a year as a combat officer in the Shayetet 13 naval commando unit, after which he was sent to pursue a B.A. in security and Middle Eastern studies at the Tactical Command Academy. He completed his studies with honors. He then served as a company commander in the Egoz special unit. After completing his military service, Amichai began an M.A. in diplomacy and security at Tel Aviv University. During his studies, he was contacted by the mayor of Nazareth Illit with a request to establish a social leadership institute there to assist the city in dealing with its social and demographic challenges. As a result, he established the Tavor Academy for Social Leadership in Nazareth Illit. The Tavor Academy for Social Leadership was established in August, 2010, to assist the city of Nazareth Illit, situated in the central Galilee, in dealing with the social challenges it has faced in recent years: a decrease in a once strong population, a weakened Jewish character and a high concentration of olim and families with limited means. The choice of Nazareth Illit was intentional since its transformation could and will affect the character of the entire Galilee. The Academy is also working to cultivate Zionist leadership that will ultimately influence the direction and character of Israel, beginning with the young participants’ year of activities in the Academy and continuing afterwards, both in their military service and civilian lives. The modus operendi of the program is to integrate leadership development with meaningful activities in the places where Israel is most in need of motivated youth.