No. 49: Anat Vidor, Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, and Joseph Gitler

Since taking office after October 7, Vidor has placed Zionism at the center of her presidency – an antidote to despair that replaces helplessness with responsibility. October 7 revealed a shared fate; her mission is to turn it into shared purpose.

For this fifth-generation Israeli, whose First Aliyah family history is inscribed in Israel’s streets, that responsibility is inherited. Leading WIZO means helping bridge the needs of Jewish communities confronting antisemitism around the world with those of an Israeli society rebuilding after catastrophe.

WIZO gives that relationship practical expression. It is an operator, not a grantmaking foundation. Keeping daycare, youth villages and essential services running helps parents return to work and evacuated communities return home. For Vidor, resilience is not a prize for survival; it is the capacity to keep developing despite adversity.

Alongside WIZO’s governing bodies, professional management and teams, Vidor has mobilized international support for protected facilities, reservists’ families and the expansion of Sderot’s Fanny Cohen Open House. Maintaining daily life and identifying new social needs are inseparable responsibilities. Projects change; shared responsibility endures.

That operational capacity also gives civil society influence. Drawing on WIZO representative Rachel Cohen-Kagan’s role in advancing the 1951 Women’s Equal Rights Law, Vidor argues that independent organizations need resources and expertise to shape government policy and safeguard liberal democracy.

Internationally, she applies the same thinking to alternative diplomacy. WIZO’s federations hold generations of relationships with governments, embassies and civil society. She is strengthening their ability to translate those connections into influence, pooling expertise around shared interests and opening doors that formal diplomacy cannot always unlock.

As head of WIZO’s UN delegation, she builds on WIZO’s distinction as the first Zionist organization granted United Nations Economic and Social Council consultative status. WIZO’s 2026 Commission on the Status of Women event addressed sexual violence in conflict and accountability. A further event at September’s UN Crime Congress in Abu Dhabi will address evidence, accountability and the digital dimension of these crimes.

Vidor also serves on the World Zionist Organization’s Executive, as a World Jewish Congress vice president and on the Jewish Agency’s Board of Governors. At the 39th World Zionist Congress, she led two adopted WIZO resolutions addressing community resilience, violence and women’s Zionist leadership.

The Jerusalem Program grounds WIZO’s mission in peoplehood, Hebrew, mutual responsibility and democratic ideals. Vidor promotes education rooted in equality and mutual recognition, confronting youth violence and misinformation while strengthening Zionist identity. She believes confident Zionist communities are better equipped to confront antisemitism.

Direct, humorous and unfiltered, she believes leadership means inspiring responsibility. Her children, Yochanan and Rafaela Twina, are Israeli social media influencers raised in Australia, where they lived for some years. That experience informs her understanding of Jewish communities confronting antisemitism. Her call to leaders is to “be the Zionist in the room.”

For Vidor, no single grand gesture can replace sustained responsibility. Every act matters. Israel was built dunam by dunam, institution by institution. Its future will be built the same way.

For more than two decades, she has stood resolutely against powerful international bodies and organizations, including state sponsors of terrorism and the banks that serve them, the International Criminal Court in The Hague, and major corporations that boycott Israel. She has also led an international campaign against antisemitic campaigns and false war-crimes accusations targeting IDF soldiers.

Among her most prominent initiatives over the past year:

Launching Shachpatz (bulletproof vest) – an international legal war room dedicated to protecting IDF soldiers from arrest warrants and legal proceedings in foreign countries.

Filing a US federal lawsuit against Al Jazeera, alleging that it serves as a propaganda arm that aids and encourages terrorism.

Taking legal action in Spain and the United Kingdom to stop the “Greta Flotilla” to Gaza.

Securing the reinstatement of a US federal court judgment requiring the Palestinian Authority to pay $655 million in compensation to victims of terrorism, following a 22-year legal battle.

Filing a lawsuit against the Hezbollah terrorist organization on behalf of the children of Majdal Shams who were murdered in the deadly attack on their soccer field.

Darshan-Leitner served as the Mossad’s “legal enforcement arm” after being recruited by Meir Dagan, who established the covert Tziltzal unit. She chronicled this story in her bestselling book, Harpoon, which reveals the secret campaign to target and disrupt the financial networks of international terrorism.

Her work over the years has made her a leading figure in the global fight against terrorism and one of the influential voices in the field of international law, drawing a clear line against the enemies of the State of Israel.

Darshan-Leitner is married and the mother of six children, including triplets, and is the daughter of Iranian immigrants to Israel. She is a graduate of Bar-Ilan University’s Faculty of Law and holds an MBA from the University of Manchester.

For more than two decades, Joseph Gitler has transformed the way Israel addresses food insecurity and food waste, turning a simple grassroots idea into a nationwide movement that has changed lives, influenced public policy, and strengthened society.

Today, Leket Israel, the National Food Bank, is Israel’s leading food rescue organization. Under Gitler’s leadership, it rescues more than 2 million prepared meals and over 32,000 tons of fresh agricultural produce each year. Through a nationwide network of 346 nonprofit partners, the organization helps provide food to approximately 470,000 vulnerable Israelis every week while reducing food waste, supporting farmers, and strengthening communities across the country.

Gitler’s influence extends far beyond building an exceptional nonprofit. He has fundamentally changed the national conversation around food rescue, demonstrating that surplus food is not waste, but a strategic national resource. Through Leket Israel’s annual Food Waste and Rescue Report, the country’s leading research on food waste and food rescue, he has helped shape public discourse and inform government decision-making.

His leadership has also helped drive landmark legislative change. Gitler played a central role in advancing Israel’s Food Donation Act, which established legal protections for food donors and encouraged greater food donation across the country. More recently, he helped champion the 2024 amendment requiring many public institutions serving 500 or more meals each day to make surplus food available for donation rather than disposal. Together, these legislative achievements have strengthened Israel’s food rescue infrastructure and significantly expanded access to nutritious food for those in need.

Gitler’s leadership was especially evident following the outbreak of the Swords of Iron war. As communities across Israel faced unprecedented challenges, Leket Israel rapidly expanded its operations, providing emergency food assistance to displaced families, establishing fresh produce stands in hotels housing evacuees, distributing emergency food supplies, and mobilizing nearly 100,000 volunteers to support Israeli farmers facing severe labor shortages. By helping farmers continue harvesting their crops, Leket protected both Israel’s agricultural sector and its food supply during one of the country’s most challenging periods.

Beyond the measurable impact of the organization, Gitler has inspired a culture of volunteerism and shared responsibility. Tens of thousands of Israelis and visitors from around the world volunteer with Leket Israel each year, reinforcing the idea that addressing hunger is not solely the responsibility of government or charitable organizations, but a collective national effort.

Gitler has received numerous honors in recognition of his leadership and service, including the Presidential Award for Volunteerism from president Shimon Peres, the Bonei Zion Prize, and recognition among the world’s most influential Jewish leaders. Yet perhaps his greatest achievement is creating a lasting national institution that continues to improve the lives of hundreds of thousands of people every week.

Joseph Gitler has not only built Israel’s largest food rescue organization, but he has also reshaped the country’s approach to food security, food waste, volunteerism, and social responsibility. His vision, determination, and ability to bring together government, business, agriculture, nonprofits, and civil society have created a model with lasting national and international impact, making him a truly deserving candidate for The Jerusalem Post’s 50 Most Influential list.