Our Team

Association Leadership

Bar Levy, Founder & CEO

Bar’s mother, the late Sarit Rosenberg-Levy z”l, was diagnosed with endometrial cancer at the age of 54, while Bar was serving as a Legal Advisor in the Military Advocate General’s Corps. Bar’s mother passed away nine months after her diagnosis, and together they dreamed of establishing the organization. At the end of the shiva, Bar established the organization alongside its incredible team. 

Bar holds a bachelor’s degree in law, is a qualified attorney, has a master’s degree in business administration, and is pursuing a degree in public health, all from Tel Aviv University. Additionally, Bar is a member of the junior academic staff at Tel Aviv University’s Faculty of Medicine and Faculty of Business Administration, a member of the committee that updates the European guidelines for the treatment of endometrial cancer (on behalf of ESGO-ESTRO-ESP), and an ESGO ENGAGe board member.

Hello,

I’m Bar, and together with a few other incredible women, I established “HaBait Shel Bar – Israel Women’s Cancer Association”. This organization is my (second) life’s mission, and in the following post I hope to share why I founded it. 

Remember 2020 and how hard it was? For me, 2020 was incredible. I was succeeding as a valued officer and commander, finding work-life balance and active as a pretty good athlete. 2021 however was a nightmare. My beloved mother was diagnosed with uterine cancer, and after 9 long months which were in fact short, she passed away following an arduous and inspiring struggle. 

In those 9 short months, my mother underwent two surgeries and three hospitalizations. The first hospitalization lasted three weeks, and the second no less than 40 days! By the third, we were no longer counting, not to mention many other hospital visits between hospitalizations. 

We bustled from doctor to doctor, from one hospital to another, to Rabbi Firer, to treatments and examinations and to doctors abroad. As someone who always dreamed of being a doctor and chanced upon law school and a law career, I rediscovered the medical world alongside my mother and family.  

Naturally, I took it upon myself to manage this “project”, and in 2021 I held a full-time position, in addition to my role in the military, which was my first life’s mission: “Project Manager: Mom’s cancer”. I’ll say it now – anyone who hasn’t supported an ill loved one doesn’t fully understand the scope of the position, and how much it changes everything. 

The first stage of the project was surgery. We were prepared for two days of hospitalization, which turned into 40 hospitalization days for my mother, and three months of unpaid leave for me. It was then we understood the magnitude of the battle, and that we had entered the fight of our lives. In addition to the battle against cancer, I battled my internal inclination to leave my profession after a very short career. My mother’s doctors supported me (Dr. Susmallian and Eti Barak), as did my family, obviously, with my mother in the lead. Eventually, I found acceptance – who could experience such a thing and remain the same?

All throughout there were moments, as there still are, in which I felt that the medical staff were my best friends. They are my mentors, the only ones who truly understand me and understand my mother’s suffering. Through this I realized that there is something greater here than just a fleeting feeling. 

Then, Professor Tamar Safra, head of the Women’s Cancer Center at Ichilov Hospital and my mother’s oncologist, recruited me to manage her research team. When I heard her words over the phone my stomach dropped from sheer excitement. I’ve been working at Ichilov’s cancer center for 9 months now, and the weight of the mission envelopes me each morning. I have great respect for my work, and for the genuine attempt at influencing the lives of patients. 

My mother passed away unexpectedly. 

The heartbreak I have experienced since is the hardest feeling I’ve ever experienced, as if half of my heart and lungs were removed and I could no longer breathe. Suddenly, I found myself re-learning how to live life. In my new journey in this world, which has been going on for 7 months now, one thing is clear. My mother’s unwritten last wishes are to unwaveringly act for the sake of the patients, seeing as cancer is our family’s story. Establishing the association was the first thing I did on this new journey, immediately after rising from the sheloshim, as an instinctive and immediate act. Today, it’s the only thing that allows me to breathe easier. 

I write to you today – 

As a daughter to a mother who passed away from uterine cancer

As a granddaughter to a grandmother who passed away from breast cancer

As a great-granddaughter to a grandmother who passed away from ovarian cancer

Cancer is my life’s mission, and I will not rest until I make a difference.

My home is yours, and yours is mine. 

Bar

Yael Biegun Chen, Chair of the Board & CMO

Yael serves as the chairperson and CMO of the association on a voluntary basis. She is also the marketing director of the oncology center at Ichilov Hospital. Yael’s wide experience in advertising and marketing includes leading the promotion department at “Reshet”, serving as VP of Productions at the “Reuveni Pridan” advertising agency, as CEO of the “Inbar, Merhav and Shaked” advertising agency, and as global marketing director of the “Shikun & Binui” real estate group. She also held the position of CEO at the Israeli Green Building Council (ILGBC). Yael has been dealing with ovarian cancer for about seven years, and brings the “living with cancer” approach to the association.

6 years ago I was diagnosed with stage 3 ovarian cancer, with metastases to the abdomen, diaphragm and liver. My journey has included chemotherapy, frequent PET-CTs, complex abdominal surgeries and targeted therapies. 

Despite the long and arduous journey, and despite the advanced stage at diagnosis and feeling like the sky was falling and my life was over, I try not to be defined by cancer. To me, the most important thing is that I manage to live. 

The cancer is still in my body, but I don’t give in to it. I still work, volunteer, and invest in my relationship and in being a present mother. I identify as a healthy person with cancer, and the disease is not my whole story. There have been harder days and better days, but every day I wake up not in pain is a day I wish to live. 

If I have learned anything on my journey, it is that tools and knowledge are essential for coping medically, emotionally and physically. I’m here for you.

Vania Ben Hur Peer, Chief Patient Officer

Vania is a cervical cancer survivor. She was working in the import and export of fashion accessories from the Far East when she was diagnosed during a routine check-up. Due to the isolation she felt during her treatment, Vania promised herself that no woman with cervical cancer would ever feel alone again and founded a network of volunteers in hospitals in central Israel. During that time she also began managing the Facebook community “Women for Women – Cervical Cancer,” which now has over 2,000 members. Vania joined the association at its founding, bringing with her the patient perspective and the importance of community management.

My name is Vania Ben Hur Peer, also known as Vanka. 
Sometimes it feels like my entire life is summarized in the one defining moment when I discovered I have cervical cancer. There is no end to the things I can write about my life pre-diagnosis, but they feel far away, in some parallel universe. 

I was born in Sarajevo in former Yugoslavia, and made aliyah in 1991. I am a member of Kibbutz Revadim, and I never thought I would have cancer, but look at me now. 

I completed my treatments, which included chemotherapy, external radiation and internal radiation (brachytherapy), in February 2020. Before and during my treatments I was a wreck. I tried, unsuccessfully, to find solace somewhere that offered not only factual information, but also personal stories from other women. 

Cervical cancer was rarely spoken of, and there was no information available on brachytherapy, tailored specifically to patients. In general, any information regarding cancer – recovery, treatment experience and anxiety surrounding treatment, was hard to come by. 

Fortunately, I met the incredible Jenny Mor z”l during my treatment, and we supported each other along the journey. Thanks to Jenny I came to realize the importance of patient connection. I swore no one would feel as alone as I did, and notified my doctor, Dr. Shira Felder, and my nurse, Elisheva Jan, that I would start volunteering. 

There was some initial pushback, but I showed up to the brachytherapy room every Wednesday to be there for the patients. I have since established a volunteer network at the Ichilov Hospital, with the help of Dr. Tanya Rabin and Hila Granot, and hope to expand to Beilinson Hospital’s Davidoff Center soon. 

Other than my volunteer work, and alongside the ups and downs of cancer recovery, I manage the online community “Cervical Cancer – Women for Women” which has around 1,500 members, collaborate with anyone interested in HPV and cervical cancer awareness, and dream of founding an organization for active patients and those in recovery. 

I met Bar online after her mother passed away, in a Facebook group dedicated to making fun of cancer, featuring dark humor only we can understand. Over time we found such similarities between our intentions that it was inevitable, and we teamed up to fulfill our dreams. I took it upon myself to manage the cervical cancer field in the organization, as well as other domains such as creative and media.

Through working with patients, their voices and needs as individuals and as a community became clear. In addition to my own lived experience, I collect the experiences of others, hoping to lead institutional change based on the needs of women facing cervical cancer and pre-cancer. I joined “HaBait Shel Bar” with a lot of baggage, unloaded, and now there is plenty of work to be done. 

So hi, it’s very nice to meet you. Thank you to all of the people in the rooms I barged into so I could talk to them endlessly about cancer. Thank you for all the opportunities, I hope to prove them fruitful. 

Much love, Vanka

Dr. Zohar Magen, Medical Director & Director of Research Institute

Zohar graduated with honors with a bachelor’s degree in animal sciences from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and was immediately accepted into veterinary medicine school. In 2013, Zohar completed her veterinary studies and has since worked in several clinics in the Sharon area. In 2016, she took on the role of medical advisor at a large pharmaceutical company specializing in cancer. In 2018, Zohar was selected to establish and lead the gynecological cancer field at said company. Zohar joined HaBait Shel Bar in 2023 and serves as the Medical Director and one of the founders of the association’s research institute.

Hi, I’m Zohar. 

Married, and mother to three. 

Up until a few years ago I lived in central Israel, but in the past few years I’ve been living abroad as part of a delegation for my husband’s work, knowing deep inside that Israel is my home, and is the country where I will raise my children. 

My initial introduction to the association was through advertisements on my social media feed. My connection to it was not entirely random, as I worked as a medical advisor at a pharmaceutical company, managing the gynecological cancer field, before joining the delegation. After acclimating my children and reorganizing our new lives in a foreign country, I felt like it was my time to return to the workforce and joined a British pharmaceutical company as a medical director. Still, I felt something was missing. As time went by, I realized that the field of gynecological cancers had become a part of me, and the “out of sight, out of mind” attitude wasn’t working. I missed engaging with the field, and specifically with Israeli women. 

Following a few conversations and meetings with our CEO, we decided I would join the leadership team in developing the association’s vision, incorporating the knowledge and experience I had gained over the years. I’m active in the association on a voluntary basis, alongside my career and life abroad. 

My vision is to see the association leading in three channels:

  • Raising awareness of gynecological cancers, early diagnosis and prevention.
  • Supporting active patients and their families.
  • Supporting patients in recovery.

I am proud to be part of this association, particularly seeing how important and beneficial it is to Israeli women.

Omer Shaul, Spokesperson & Government Relations Director

Omer Shaul owns a public relations and strategy consulting firm, and has served as the spokesperson and director of government relations for the association since its establishment. 

Previously, he served as the spokesperson for the city of Ganei Tikva, and as artist manager and spokesperson at “Tedy Productions”. He served as an officer in the Israeli Navy Spokesperson Unit and as the spokesperson for former minister and member of Knesset Orna Barbivai.

Orr Erlich, Director of Medical Content

Orr is a fourth-year medical student at Tel Aviv University, a co-founder of “Women in Medicine”, and active in medical research in major hospitals in central Israel. 

Hi, I’m Orr, a 26 year old medical student at Tel Aviv University. 

After being exposed to the experience of cancer patients, both from the family’s point of view when my mother had breast cancer and from other women in my life, I now understand the importance of asking the right questions. 

It isn’t always easy, even following extensive research. Sometimes the endless sources and search engines can feel like a bottomless pit, easy to get lost in. I’m a big believer in making medical information more accessible, enabling those who don’t necessarily know the right questions to deepen their understanding reliably. 

I’m proud to be part of this incredible association, and hope you’ll be able to find a home and support in whatever you may need. 

Orr

Executive Board

Anat Levi

Mazal Shrem

Adi Weiss

Sarit Harari Shaul

Erel Dagan

Tali Chen

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