Yishai Fleisher

Yishai Fleisher (ישי פליישר; born 1976) is an Israeli Orthodox Jewish rabbi, podcast host, international spokesperson for the Jewish Community of Hebron, and member of Efrat municipal council. Fleisher is an advocate of aliyah, the immigration of Jews to Israel.

Early life
Yishai Fleisher was born in 1976 in Haifa, Israel, to Jewish refuseniks from the Soviet Union. The family emigrated to the US when he was eight. Fleisher returned to Israel and served as a paratrooper in the Israel Defense Forces and was injured in Lebanon during his military service in 1997. Fleisher returned to the US where he completed an undergraduate degree in political science at Yeshiva University, then a Juris Doctorate at the Cardozo School of Law. He received his rabbinic ordination from Kollel Agudath Achim.

Advocacy for Aliyah
In 1999, Fleisher co-founded Kumah, "Arise" in Hebrew, a Neo-Zionist NGO whose mission is to enhance awareness about aliyah, the immigration of Jews from around the world back to Israel.

In 2006 Fleisher co-created Free Your Mind: The Aliyah Revolution, an animated short film promoting aliyah to American Jews, using a parody of The Matrix.

Fleisher conceptualized the idea that created Aliyah Day in 2016, which acknowledges Aliyah, immigration to the Jewish state, as a core value of the State of Israel and honors the ongoing contributions of Olim, Jewish immigrants, to Israeli society. In 2023 he was awarded the Ari Fuld Lion of Zion Prize.

Jewish Community of Hebron
In 2015, Fleisher became the international spokesperson for the Jewish Community of Hebron. In that capacity, Fleisher has been frequently interviewed. He has also met with representatives of Arab community of Hebron in order to foster Arab-Jewish relations. In 2016, Fleisher argued against UNESCO's attempt to recognize the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron as a Palestinian World Heritage Site.

Broadcasting and lecturing
Fleisher speaks three languages and gives lectures. Abigail Klein Leichman of The Jewish Standard wrote in 2015, "Rabbi Fleisher has become a go-to Israel expert for international media, including CNN, BBC, Al Jazeera, Russia Today, Xinhua, MTV, Sipa Press, and Fox News. He does a podcast radio show... has appeared on American talk radio, and writes regularly for The Jerusalem Post and The Jewish Press."

He hosts the Yishai Fleisher Show, a weekly podcast on The Land of Israel Network. Previously, he was the director of programming at the Religious Zionist radio station, Israel National Radio (Arutz Sheva), and later director of programming at the Voice of Israel, an independent internet broadcast network located in Jerusalem.

Politics
In 2024 he was a candidate for Efrat municipal council and was elected as a member of the Efrat On the Move party led by Avital Cohen. In 2006 he ran for Knesset with the Atid Ehad party led by Dr. Avraham Neguisse and Yechezkel Stelzer.