Gandyr Foundation

The Gandyr Foundation is an Israeli philanthropic foundation, established in 2004 as part of a multi-generational family tradition of giving and social responsibility. This tradition traces its roots to Thessaloniki, Greece in the 1930s, and today is passed on to the fourth and fifth generations of the family, under the leadership of Jude Yovel Recanati and her daughters.
The Foundation is guided by a family vision that ensures full partnership of family members in its leadership and strategic direction. Over the years, its fields of activity have evolved to reflect the changing needs of Israeli society as well as the family’s areas of interest and expertise.
The Foundation seeks to strengthen Israeli society by reducing social, economic, and environmental gaps, and by strengthening Israel as a Jewish and democratic state, in the spirit of the Declaration of Independence.
The Foundation promotes its goals by encouraging intra-sector and cross-sector partnerships, advancing the professionalization of civil society organizations, and encouraging sustainable solutions that are practical, measurable, and financially diverse. It works in partnership with a range of social organizations, helping to strengthen their organizational infrastructure, including human capital, organizational systems, and financial models that support their activities.
In addition to the Foundation’s activity, the family has, over the years, promoted broad and diverse philanthropic work, including the establishment of NATAL – Israel Trauma and Resiliency Center, in 1998, by Jude Recanati and the late Dr. Yossi Hadar. Jude served as active chair of the organization until the end of 2022, and in 2023 was appointed founding president.

As a family characterized by a long-standing tradition of giving, we continuously ask: What is the role of philanthropy? And what is our role in shaping philanthropy in Israel? Since the establishment of the Foundation, we have invested time and resources in developing philanthropic approaches, alongside best practices and strategies for meaningful and effective giving.

Over the years, we’ve been studying global family philanthropy models, examining different giving strategies, participating in workshops and conferences, leading joint initiatives with philanthropists from Israel and abroad, and actively participating in philanthropic organizations such as the Israeli Forum of Foundations and JFN – Jewish Funders Network.