Ayelet Cohen Weil (originally Ayelet Gabriel Weil), 41-42, was born and raised in Mexico.
A December 2017 article in the Jewish Independent quotes Cohen Weil: “‘Being Jewish is what ultimately defines me. It has defined who I am, where I come from, where I’m going, why I am who I am, and who I want my children to be.’ The identity and sense of belonging has been handed down through the diverse and conflicted history of her family. ‘I come from a family of very devoted Zionists and devoted Jews,’ she says. ‘From my maternal grandparents, who lost most of their family in the Holocaust, to a great-grandfather from Salonika, who was deeply involved in the early Zionist movement and was to become the first president of the Sephardic community in Mexico and the first president of the Comité Central Israelita de México (the main operating body of the Jewish community in Mexico, the equivalent of the Federation), to my paternal grandparents, who did everything to get to Israel from an Arab country in the ’50s.… I can only dream to get close to the legacy they have left for me to pass over to my children.’”
The article goes on to note: “After high school, Cohen Weil volunteered on a kibbutz for a year and then joined the Israel Defence Forces at the age of 19 as a lone soldier. ‘I did basic training, a course for operational sergeants of the ground forces, and served in the Liaison and Foreign Relations Division,’ she says.” After finishing her service, Cohen Weil “moved to British Columbia to complete a bachelor’s degree in political science and Middle Eastern studies at the University of Victoria, the publication added.
Cohen Weil was quoted speaking about her Israeli military service on multiple occasions during this period. For example, a December 2009 Jewish Independent article about a vigil for Gilad Shalit in B.C. stated, “Two other young IDF veterans spoke movingly about Israel’s ethical mandate to protect its soldiers and respect human life. ‘Before I enlisted, I had heard that the Israeli army was one of the most humane armies in the world,’ said Ayelet Gabriel Weil, director of Hillel at the University of Victoria. ‘It wasn’t until I was part of it that I understood to what extent and how humane it is.’ Part of this humanity, she said, is the recognition of the supreme value of human life and the use of weapons and force only when faced with direct danger. Also core to the IDF’s ethic is the assurance of doing everything possible to bring captured Israeli soldiers home. ‘Every single soldier had the certainty that if anything was to happen to us, they would do anything to bring us home safely,’ said Weil.”
After finishing her degree, Cohen Weil moved back and forth between Israel and Canada. In 2017, the Jewish Independent wrote, “Cohen Weil returned to Israel for a yearlong academic excellence programs at the Hebrew University. Then, she returned again to British Columbia, where she took up a position as Hillel director at the University of Victoria for three years before moving to Vancouver and serving another two years as Hillel’s managing director of programs for the province. Then, she was back to Israel again, obtaining a master’s degree, with distinction, in public policy, specializing in conflict resolution and mediation, at Tel Aviv University. She served as a research assistant on strategic peace and security studies at the Institute for National Security Studies and, later, as head of marketing and admissions of graduate programs at the Interdisciplinary Centre (IDC), in Herzliya, where she also ran the Latin American desk. During this time, she also served as a board member and mediator for Minds of Peace, an organization designed to involve the people in the peace process through provoking a public debate over central issues. This past July, she took up the position of campaign manager, major gifts, for the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver.”
In February 2021, Cohen Weil was appointed as the executive director of the Louis Brier Foundation, a Vancouver charity for Jewish seniors. She is also listed on the board of directors for the Regional Animal Protection Society in B.C.
