Yael Hartmann (2003 - 2004)

Canada

Since completing the Sauvé Scholars Program, Yael has worn several different professional hats, because she believes a good politician is one who has been trained in a number of different areas. The first position she accepted after leaving Montreal in 2004 was that of Head of the North American Desk for the Israel Defense Forces Media and Communications Division.

In this capacity, she was the spokesperson for 3,000 journalists who flocked to the Gaza Strip as the army, the police and 10,000 Israelis were moved out the small strip of land. She interviewed on every major TV news station, daily newspaper and magazine in the US and Canada, and was on the ground for a period of two months, living and working in the emptying Israeli communities. After the Gaza Strip was evacuated, she was moved to the West Bank, where she helped the foreign press cover the fight over the Security fence, which will separate the Palestinian population from the majority of the Israeli population.

After a year without sleep or vacation, she returned to the US to pursue experience in American political campaigns. She now works in New York as a campaign publicist for several different politicians in Israel, the US and Eastern Europe, as well as financial and technology Fortune 500 companies. She plans to return to Israel in the Fall of 2007 to register as a party member in one of the largest political parties in Israel, and begin her political campaign to become foreign minister, while pursuing a PhD in economics at Hebrew University in Jerusalem.