About Us

Ezra Korman has lived in Israel for over 30 years and has been involved in educational travel for most of that time. In 2013, he founded Makor Educational Journeys, a division of Israel and Global Travel (IGT) to bring a vibrant, nuanced and creative voice to the world of educational travel in Israel. Over the course of the past 25 years, Ezra has helped people engage and explore Israel and many places with Jewish interest throughout the world. He has worked with people from all walks of life, foundations, federations, synagogues and churches, political and interfaith leaders, youth and individual families. A native of Ithaca New York, he grew up in the Young Judea youth movement and is a graduate of Cornell University and the Government of Israel Tour Guide school. Ezra’s wife Andy is a high school English teacher and he has three children and nine grandchildren.

David Eisenstadt is VP of Education at Makor. David is a veteran Israel educator, licensed tour guide and a former coordinator of the tour guide course. He is a former senior field guide for the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel. From 2006 – 2009, he served as Director of International Relations for the Israel Association for Ethiopian Jews. David has worked extensively with interfaith groups, journalists, academic courses and special delegations from abroad. His mother tongue is English. He holds an MA degree with honors in Land of Israel Studies from Bar Ilan University, where he wrote his master’s thesis on the municipal borders of modern Jerusalem. David lives in Jerusalem with his wife and three children.

Born and raised in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, Daphne came to Israel about 30 years ago after finishing high-school. Daphne completed her BA degree in French Literature and in Literature of the Jewish People (Yiddish) at Bar Ilan University. After working for a decade in the Public Affairs Department of Israel’s Supreme Court Daphne decided to concentrate more on what she really loved to do, tour guiding. Now a licensed tour guide in Israel with over 20 years of experience, Daphne likes to interact with other people and to show them the beauty of our special country. In her role as Operations Coordinator Daphne works to incorporate her passion for Israel with her organizational skills and ability to understand our clients’ needs in order to show them the best Israel has to offer. Daphne lives in Efrat with her husband four children.

Both for work and pleasure, Robin has traveled the world to over 30 countries and is inspired the most by what Israel has to offer, particularly enjoying the complex hiking trail network around the country. Robin made aliya 10 years ago from Toronto, Canada, with a 4-year stop in London, UK on the way. She lives in Jerusalem with her husband and 3 children.

After 32 years in the rabbinate, Misha Zinkow stepped away from pulpit life in 2017 to build an encore career immersed in Israel education and advocacy. A long-time friend and repeat client of Ezra Korman, Misha joined the MAKOR team out of a desire to inspire his colleagues to bring more of their congregants on interesting and immersive educational experiences in Israel. He has traveled all over Israel, hiked its trails, stayed in its hostels and hotels, eaten more humus than he cares to admit, and is a 3-time alumnus of the Hazon Arava Institute Israel Ride. Misha grew up in Southern California and married a Minnesotan (Rabbi B. Elka Abrahamson) and they have lived in California, Minnesota, Ohio and Jerusalem during their 36 years together. He roots for the Buckeyes, Twins and Vikings and hopes that someday his and Elka’s four children, two daughters-in-law and one grandson will witness the Vikings in a Super Bowl.

Andrea (Andy) Katz grew up in Buffalo, NY. Her BA (NYU) and MA (Hebrew University) were in Jewish History and Jewish Education in the Diaspora. In 1993, Andrea became a Mission Manager for the UJA office (later UJC and JFNA) Israel Missions Dept. At Makor, she writes educational tourism content for Makor and other IGT departments. In addition, Andy has a tour guide’s license and has been the director of cultural NGO’s for contemporary music and for Jewish art. To preserve her sanity, she is an amateur actress appearing each summer in Jerusalem’s “Theater in the Rough” Shakespeare productions and has created monthly humorous skits for children and adults on the weekly Torah portion. Andy is married to Hersch, an urban planner who moonlights as a clarinet player and curling commentator. They have 2 perfect daughters and sons-in-law in addition to a dog who thinks she’s a human being.