RAV ARIK SPEAKER
Head, Mechina Olamit &
Director, Chinuch Dept.
Rav Arik is the Head of the Mechina Olamit Program and Director of our Chinuch Department.
Arik grew-up in Antwerp, Belgium. After graduating 12 active years in Bnei Akiva, he made Aliya and enrolled in the “Machal Hesder" program at the Maale Adumim Yeshiva. He has a BA in Law from the Bar Ilan University, combined with torah-studies at the university's Kollel and an MA in American Jewish Studies from the University of Haifa.
Arik graduated from the Amiel training program before shlichut and obtained his Smicha from Rabbi Riskin. Arik served as a shaliach in Switzerland as the assistant Rabbi of the ICZ, (the unified Jewish community of Zurich) for four years, together with his wife Efrat who served as Switzerland's Bnei Akiva Shlicha.
Before heading the Mechina Olamit, Arik worked at Torah MiTzion for six years. There he founded and managed lilmod.org - an online platform offering video-conference courses in Russian, French and German - as well as the head of the European Desk.
Arik speaks Hebrew, English, French, German and Dutch. He lives in Tekoa, Gush Etzion, with his wife and five children.
Rav Arik has been working for World Bnei Akiva since 2017.