Rabbi Paul Freedman served as USY’s first International President from 1952 till 1954. He made Aliyah together with his wife Nina in 1991, following their three sons who had all moved to Israel and served in the IDF as Lone Soldiers.

After joining the United Synagogue’s Youth Department in 1960, he entered Rabbinical School in 1966 and holds a B.A. in Jewish Studies from NYU.

In 1967 Rabbi Freedman was appointed Acting Director of the Youth Department and upon graduation from the JTS, was appointed the International Director of the USCJ Youth Department (USY) until his Aliyah. Amongst the programs he initiated was the Nativ program, which he launched 32 years ago.

In Israel he served as Head of the English Speaking Countries Desk for the Jewish Agency for Israel’s Youth and HeChalutz Dept, and subsequently as Head of the North American Desk for the combined Department of Education.

He currently serves as the Director Israel Strategic Partnerships, of the United Synagogues Israel Commission with over six hundred North American Synagogues on his Commission’s Data Bank. He was recently elected to the Board of the Masorti Movement as chair of its Committee on Aliyah and Absorption. Under his direction, the Israel Commission launched its Ma’alot program in partnership with Nefesh B’Nefesh.