The ISEF Foundation

The ISEF Foundation (אייסף – הקרן הבינלאומית לחינוך, the International Sephardic Education Foundation) is one of Israel's oldest private scholarship foundations. It was founded in 1977 by a group of Jewish philanthropists of Middle Eastern origin, led by the late Edmond J. Safra, Lily Safra and Nina Weiner. The Safra Foundation remains ISEF's founding partner to this day. ISEF describes itself as a Zionist social organization that promotes equal opportunity in education and works to narrow social gaps in Israeli society by increasing access to higher education and developing academic-social excellence and leadership among students who are the first generation in their family to attend university. ISEF provides substantial scholarships alongside a structured social-engagement program and personal mentoring for its members throughout their studies. It is one of the few Israeli scholarship funds that supports students from released soldiers and promising young people from the social and geographic periphery from undergraduate studies through master's, doctoral and post-doctoral studies abroad. Its international scholarship program funds doctoral and post-doctoral study at universities worldwide, including an ISEF-Fulbright scholarship, with the aim of advancing research in Israel and helping researchers from the periphery integrate into Israeli academia. More than 1,000 ISEF alumni have completed studies at universities such as Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Chicago, MIT and Stanford. The foundation's method combines personal accompaniment and support from first degree to post-doctorate, a leadership program for developing social awareness, emotional support for first-generation students, a volunteering and community-involvement program in the periphery, and an alumni organization for networking and social impact. ISEF's alumni network numbers thousands of members, including academics, business people and public figures. The foundation also awards the Edmond J. Safra Medal for excellence and contribution to Israeli society, first given in 2010, and the ISEF Medal for special contribution to society and community, awarded since 2013. In 2023 co-founder and honorary chair Nina Weiner was chosen to light a torch at Israel's 75th Independence Day ceremony, and in 2025 she received the Israel Prize for lifetime achievement for founding ISEF and narrowing gaps in Israel.

The ISEF Foundation was founded in 1977 by a group of Jewish philanthropists of Middle Eastern origin, led by the late Edmond J. Safra, Lily Safra and Nina Weiner. The Safra Foundation is the founding partner of ISEF and remains its main partner decades later. ISEF is one of the oldest private scholarship funds in Israel and one of the few that supports released soldiers and promising young people from the periphery from undergraduate studies through master's, doctoral and post-doctoral studies abroad. Over the decades, ISEF developed a method that combines substantial scholarships with personal accompaniment, a leadership program for social awareness, emotional support for first-generation students, community volunteering projects in the periphery, and an alumni organization for networking and social impact. Its international scholarship program funds doctoral and post-doctoral study at universities worldwide, including an ISEF-Fulbright scholarship, with the aim of advancing research in Israel and helping researchers from the periphery integrate into Israeli academia. More than 1,000 ISEF alumni have completed studies at universities such as Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Chicago, MIT and Stanford. ISEF's alumni network numbers thousands of members, including academics, business people and public figures. The foundation awards the Edmond J. Safra Medal for excellence and contribution to Israeli society, first given in 2010 in memory of Edmond J. Safra, and the ISEF Medal for special contribution to society and community, awarded since 2013. In 2023 co-founder and honorary chair Nina Weiner was chosen to light a torch at Israel's 75th Independence Day ceremony on Mount Herzl for her contribution to narrowing gaps in Israel. In 2025 she received the Israel Prize for lifetime achievement (5785) for founding ISEF and narrowing gaps in Israel; over 47 years of activity, the foundation has helped thousands of students from the social and economic periphery obtain higher education.

• 2025

  Nina Weiner receives the Israel Prize for lifetime achievement.

• 2023

  Nina Weiner lights a torch at Israel's 75th Independence Day ceremony.

• 2013

  First awarding of the ISEF Medal for special contribution to society and community.

• 2010

  First awarding of the Edmond J. Safra Medal for excellence and contribution to Israeli society.

• 1977

  ISEF Foundation founded by Edmond J. Safra, Lily Safra and Nina Weiner.

A veteran Zionist social foundation and private scholarship fund promoting equal opportunity in education and narrowing social gaps in Israel.

• Undergraduate scholarship

  Substantial scholarship plus personal mentoring and social engagement for first-generation students.

• Master's scholarship

  Scholarship and support for master's students.

• Doctoral scholarship

  Scholarship and support for doctoral students.

• Post-doctoral scholarship abroad

  Funding for post-doctoral study at universities worldwide, including the ISEF-Fulbright scholarship.

• Leadership program

  Program for developing social awareness and academic-social leadership.

• Community volunteering projects

  Volunteering and social involvement in the periphery.

• Alumni organization

  Network for networking and social impact with thousands of members.

1. 1Official websiteisef.org.il
2. 2Wikidatawikidata.org
3. 3Hebrew Wikipediahe.wikipedia.org