The Mandell Family

Rabbi Seth & Sherri Mandell

Seth and Sherri Mandell moved to Israel from America in 1996 because they loved Israel and wanted to put Judaism in the center of their lives and their children's lives.

Their lives were devastated on May 8, 2001, when their 13 year old son Koby was murdered by terrorists. Koby went hiking with his friend Yosef Ish Ran in a canyon near the Mandell's home. There, in a cave, Arab terrorists stoned the two boys to death.

The Mandells, parents to 3 other younger children, knew that in order to go on, they needed to transform the cruelty of Koby's death into acts of kindness and hope. For that reason, they created the Koby Mandell Foundation which provides healing programs for families struck by terrorism.

Seth, a rabbi, and Sherri, an author and journalist, believe that the Jewish response to suffering is to live a fuller and more engaged life. Their programs help others who have suffered the trauma of loss overcome the isolation that keeps them from returning to life. Participants are helped to find meaning in their loss, so that families become stronger rather than weaker from their traumas. In this way, they keep Koby's spirit alive in the world.