Steering Committee Members

DR. LEOR COHEN (Chair)
Dr. Leor Cohen is Head of the English Unit at the Open University, which is Israel’s largest university. He is responsible for the courses that a H-INET team of pedagogues wrote that are delivered via The MOFET Institute; the course aligns a nation of tertiary level English for Academic Purposes educators to the CEFR. Along with this course, there are two other courses on EMI and Program/Curriculum Design co-produced by H-INET and The MOFET Institute. Leor earned his Ph.D. from Bar-Ilan University, Israel in Sociolinguistics, and completed his post-doctorate at King’s College, London in Micro-Sociolinguistics (Narrative & Identity).

DR. DARA BARNAT (Auditing Committee)
Dr. Dara Barnat is a scholar, poet, and lecturer. She holds a Ph.D. from Tel Aviv University and currently serves as Head of the Division of Languages. Dara’s scholarly book Walt Whitman and the Making of Jewish American Poetry was published by the University of Iowa Press (Iowa Whitman Series) in 2023. Her criticism and creative work appears in the Walt Whitman Quarterly Review, the Jewish Book Council, the Oxford Handbook of Walt Whitman, and elsewhere. Dara teaches courses in several fields, among them poetry, creative writing, academic writing, and English for Academic Purposes.

OSNAT DEKEL (Auditing Committee)
Osnat Dekel is an English teacher with over 35 years of experience. She has been working at Yezreel Valley College for the past 20 years. She has served as an English instructor, level coordinator, and headed the unit for 4 years, from 2018 to 2022. She has been a member of the H-INET steering committee since 2021. In September 2023 she organized, together with her fellow committee members, a study day on AI and English teaching, which was held at the Yezreel Valley College and attended by approximately 80 English teachers from universities and colleges across the country.


CARMEN FEDOR
Carmen Fedor, Adv. was the Deputy Head, Co -Head and Head of the Division of Languages at Tel Aviv University from 1980 -2009

She headed up the Legal English Program, Faculty of Law at Tel Aviv University from 1982 -2020.

Carmen is one of the co- founders of H-INET and now serves on its Steering Committee as legal and financial advisor. Her numerous academic, professional and administrative activities throughout many years have contributed significantly to promoting the study of languages and cultures for students from various linguistic, cultural and educational backgrounds.

Carmen believes in the importance of presenting opportunities for innovative design and creation of a high-quality learning experience while implementing state- of- the art- international language education standards and principles.   

DR. KEREN GOLDFRAD
Dr. Keren Goldfrad received her PhD from Bar-Ilan University with highest distinction. She has been teaching English in the EFL Department at Bar-Ilan University since 1993, where she held the position of department chair from 2015-2021. Her courses focus on teaching English for academic purposes both for undergraduate and graduate students. For six years, Keren directed the Teaching Enhancement Center at Bar-Ilan University, which is charged with promoting excellence in teaching and assisting faculty with individual consultations and workshops. In addition to her role as a senior lecturer in the EFL Department, she is currently developing and heading the Employability Center which aims to bridge the gap between the academic world and the job market by providing students with the skills and resources needed to successfully transition from academia to the workforce.

DR. HIBA HAMARSHI
Dr. Hiba Hamarshi, PhD in English Linguistics and sociolinguistics from Bar Ilan University. An academic lecturer at the Arab Academic College for Education in Haifa, instructing different courses in Linguistics and Sociolinguistics. Dr. Hamarshi specializes in minority languages, language policy and practice, language attitude and diversity.

Her recent studies include: ‘The Arabic Language Instruction in the Israeli Universities- Policy and Practice’, ‘The Linguistic Ecology and Ideology of the Druze Community in Israel’, and ‘Language Preferences among Hearing Parents of Deaf Children in Ein-Mahil- Israel’. Hamarshi is a member of the H-INET Steering Committee and instructs different EPIC courses at the AACE. 


DR. DEVORAH HELLERSTEIN
Dr. Devora Hellerstein (PhD) is the Head of EPIC at the Levinsky-Wingate Academic College (Wingate Campus), Israel. Her teaching and research focus on preparing students for English use in academic and international communication contexts. She also teaches courses that explore how language and sports can be leveraged to foster intercultural competence among student teachers within the pluricultural college environment.

DR. ROSEANNE KHEIR FARRAJ
Dr. Roseanne Kheir Farraj is currently the head of the English Unit at Yezreel Valley College (YVC). She has been an English teacher since 1997, working for several years as a high school teacher, and then as an English teacher and teacher educator at the tertiary level. Parallel to her work as an English teacher at YVC, she worked as a teacher educator at the University of Haifa teaching prospective English teachers both in the regular teacher education program and in the program of Teach First Israel. She coordinated the Think Tank of H-INET for three years and jointly organized and hosted a study day on AI and English language teaching at YVC. In addition to teaching EPIC courses, she teaches two EMI courses and a Podcast-based Advanced B course. She earned her PhD from the University of Haifa in TEFL. Her research projects deal with the epistemic cognition of English teachers, the integration of AI in ELT, and the teaching of EMI.

TAL LEVY (Vice Chair)
Since 2012, Tal Levy has been the Head of the EAP Department at Ruppin Academic College, overseeing the EAP/ESP & EPIC programs. She serves on various committees. Tal is the VP of H-INET, the professional organization for FL instructors in higher education in Israel. An active member of international academic organizations. Tal has presented at numerous conferences worldwide on topics like AI in personalized language learning and digital literacy. Tal emphasizes creating engaging and effective learning environments, particularly through the use of technology. She has developed and taught Pre-Academic English courses and co-written the Game Changer EFL program. Tal also leads a design partnership with Magnilearn and advises the first school in the Metaverse, supported by the Israeli Ministry of Education.

Tal has co-edited a book chapter on flipped instruction methods and digital technologies in language learning and authored articles in refereed journals on project-based language learning and technology in education.

DR. DANIEL PORTMAN
Dr. Daniel Portman is based at the Azrieli College of Engineering Jerusalem, where he teaches and develops curricula for EPIC, presentation skills, and intercultural communication. He also serves as the Department of Languages and General Studies representative at Azrieli’s Center for Excellence for Innovative Teaching. Outside of Azrieli, following his role as one of the developers/facilitators of the H-INET/Mofet Institute From EAP to EPIC CPD course, Daniel heads H-INET’s CPD subcommittee, providing the H-INET community with study days that build on the the original CPD course.

Outside of academic instruction, Daniel teaches English to industry professionals. His research interests include English for professional purposes, English teacher education, and teaching/learning writing.

ELANA SPECTOR – COHEN (Past Chair)
Elana Spector-Cohen is Head of English programs in the Division of Languages at Tel Aviv University, Israel. She was a co-founder and the first chair of H-INET, the umbrella association for English language lecturers in higher education in Israel, and now serves on H-INET’s steering committee and as the co-editor of H-INET’s new journal, JEPIC (the Journal of English for Purposes of International Communication). Elana led the development of the CEFR-Aligned Framework for English in Higher Education in Israel and has worked on numerous assessment, professional development and curricular projects for the Israeli Ministry of Education and Culture. She recently chaired the Ministry of Education’s subcommittee for the development of the Professional Framework for English Teachers 2020 and served on the subcommittee for the development of the CEFR-aligned English Curriculum 2020 for the Israeli school system. Her main areas of research are virtual exchange, English-medium instruction and internationalisation, curriculum design and material development, and the integration of technology in language learning and teacher education.

ANNA VOLOSKOVICH – (Treasurer)
Anna Volosckovitch is currently the head of the English Department in Seminar Ha-Kibbutzim college. She came to Israel 9 years ago from Moscow, where she taught English for professional purposes in a university.

In Israel, she has worked in different colleges and universities both in regular academic programs and in pre-academic mechinot and mechinot for Arab students getting to know all kinds of Israeli students.

Originally, her professional interests lay in the sphere of cognitive linguistics and semiotics, but recently she has focused on more practical aspects of teaching such as teaching speaking, developing students’ confidence for using English in academia and everyday life. She is also the Hinet treasurer.



PAST MEMBERS

SUSAN ITZHAK (Past member)
Susan Itzhak has enjoyed teaching English in Israel for many years. Susan is very happy to be an English teacher at Tel Hai Academic College, and is directly involved in the transition from EAP to EPIC.  Susan also enjoys teaching conversational English in the community. She taught all levels of EAP at Kinneret Academic College from 1992 -2018. Susan was head of the English Department at Kinneret Academic College for 10 years. She was one of the founding members of HINET, and served on the Steering Committee for several years.

ANNIE KANTAR BEN-HILLEL (Past member)
Annie Kantar Ben-Hillel is the Director of the English Program at Shalem College. Her collection of poetry, Means to Be Lucky, appeared with Poets & Traitors Press in 2023. Her translation of the Book of Job, commissioned by Koren Publishers, appeared in 2021 and her translation of Leah Goldberg’s collection of poems, With This Night (University of Texas Press, 2011), was shortlisted for the ALTA Prize. The recipient of an Academy of American Poets Prize and Fulbright Scholarship, Kantar Ben-Hillel has also led literature, writing and translation seminars at a variety of institutions in Israel and abroad.

DR. SHAYA KASS (Past member)
Shaya Kass has been a teacher for just about 40 years (depending on when he starts counting) and could not be happier with his chosen profession. Over the years he has taught kids as young as kindergarten all the way through to graduate students. Since making aliyah in 2005 he transitioned from teaching middle school science students to teaching students English for the sciences. He has also taught students English for psychology, architecture, business and economics. Shaya says – “Give me students and I love teaching them!”

RABBI DR. NATAN OPHIR (Past member)
After receiving his B.A. from Yeshiva University in New York in 1974, Natan Ophir (Offenbacher) came on aliyah and studied at Yeshivat Mercaz Harav where he received Rabbinical ordination. He then completed his M.A. and PhD in Jewish Philosophy at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. In the last decade, Natan taught academic English at The Open University, Bar Ilan University, Ono Academic College and Lev Academic Center. From 2016, he served as the Head of English Studies at Emuna Academic College for Arts. He specialized in Project-Based Internet Learning (PBIL) and in applying Multiple Intelligence (MI) Theory to Second Language Acquisition. Natan published many articles in Jewish Philosophy – see https://huji.academia.edu/NatanOphir.  Recently, he published a 500-page academic biography entitled Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach: Life, Mission, and Legacy in English (Urim Publications) and Hebrew (Yedioth Ahronoth Books). 76 of his articles can be found at the National Library Israel (NLI) see  https://bit.ly/3QtFNDHאופיר, נתן – מרחב – קטלוג הספרייה הלאומית. Natan retired in Sept. 2022. 

DR. ROSALIE SITMAN (Past member)
Doctor in Latin American History from Tel Aviv University, with a B.A. and an M.A. in Modern Languages from Oxford University, and a Post-Graduate Certificate in Education (Modern Languages) from King’s College, University of London, Rosalie Sitman was Head of the Division of Languages at Tel Aviv University from 2009 until her retirement in 2022. She was a founding member of H-INET and served on the Steering and Audit Committees for several years. She is currently Co-editor of H-INET’s Journal of English for Purposes of International Communication (JEPIC) and a researcher of Latin American cultural and intellectual history at TAU’s Sverdlin Institute for Latin American History and Culture. She has published extensively on foreign language pedagogy and the application of new technologies to language teaching, as well as on Latin American cultural history.

DR. TINA WALDMAN (Past member)
Dr. Tina Waldman has a doctorate in Applied Linguistics from Haifa University. She also has a MA in English Literature from Bar Ilan University. Tina worked as a Senior Lecturer in the English Teaching Department. at Kibbutzim College of Education. She has publications in Applied Linguistics and Intercultural Collaboration.