Eliezer Ya'ari, a native of Jerusalem, is the New Israel Fund’s Executive Director in Israel. Following the 1967 war, he joined the Israel Air Force, where he served as a combat pilot.

Before retiring in 1976 with the rank of Major, Ya'ari participated in hundreds of combat missions, served as an instructor in the Air Force Academy, and was a pilot with the acrobatic team of the IAF.

He then joined the staff of the Israel Broadcasting Authority and in 1992 became Director of Programs. During his three-year term at the Israel Broadcasting Authority, Eliezer was in charge of all television productions.

Before joining NIF in 1997, Ya'ari studied Public Administration as a Wexner Fellow at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.