Hostage Families Forum taps Danny Bar Giora as new leader
The former director of the Mandel School for Educational Leadership will succeed Ori Hacohen
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A building in The Kirya, lit up in blue during the "Lighting up the Light" initiative in front of the Hostages and Missing Families Forum headquarters on the two week anniversary of the Hamas attack and kidnapping of hostages on October 21, 2023 in Tel Aviv, Israel.
The Hostage and Missing Families Forum announced on Wednesday the hiring of Danny Bar Giora as the new CEO of the group, which advocates for the release of the hostages in Gaza. Bar Giora succeeds Ori Hacohen, who has led the organization in an interim capacity since June 2024 and will return to his position as an executive at BDO Consulting.
Malki Shem Tov, one of the forum’s founders and the father of recently released hostage Omer Shem Tov, said in a statement that Bar Giora “will lead the Forum into its new stages of advocacy and family services and care whilst carrying on the Hostages and Missing Families Forum spirit, until every hostage is released and returned home to their loved ones.”
Bar Giora served as the director of the Mandel School for Educational Leadership until August 2022.
The Hostage and Missing Families Forum has seen a number of leadership shuffles since its founding shortly after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attacks. Hacohen took over following the June resignation of CEO Yossi Moatti. In February 2024, Ronen Tzur, the group’s chairman and co-founder, departed the organization amid calls from dozens of hostage families for him to step down.