In 2007, Brigadier General (res.) Ram Shmueli was honorably discharged from the IDF Air Force after having served as Head of Intelligence of Israel’s Air Force, Commander of the Ramat David and Ovda Air Force Bases, and commander of an F-16 fighter squadron. He accumulated more than 5,000 hours of flight time of which 350 hours were spent in military operations over the enemy border.

After his discharge from active service in 2012, he established Meetchabrim, a network of organizations with a collective goal to foster mutual responsibility and unity across divergent sectors of Israeli society. Meetchabrim works to encourage the adoption of “a new language and culture of dialogue” to promote connectedness and to break down barriers between Israelis of differing backgrounds and religious affiliations. In their words, “We strive to create peoplehood.”

Brigadier General (res.) Ram Shmueli was one of three recipients of the Jerusalem Unity Prize last year