About

Our History

Israel Firstfruits is the culmination of a process that began decades ago with early efforts of the emergent community of faith in Israel. The next generation, convinced of the need to strengthen the economic foundation of the local Body, came together and formed the Messianic Business Fellowship (2007) and Mofet Avi ministry (2009). In 2012, this group of locals, together with international business leaders, founded Israel Firstfruits, an NGO focused on economic development within Israel. What began with a handful of volunteers in Israel has since grown into a global network of believers passionate about empowering and equipping entrepreneurs, business leaders and marketplace professionals in the Land. We are a development and networking hub for:

  • Believers in Israel (Jews, Arabs and Gentiles) who are called to the marketplace, with a special focus on business leaders and entrepreneurs.
  • Believers worldwide who see the marketplace as a key channel for advancing the Kingdom of God.

Israel Firstfruits is a unique, one-of-a-kind intersection of Israel, Business and Kingdom. And we believe the marketplace is the best place to impact Israel and the world.

Our Purpose

We exist to empower marketplace leaders and grow businesses in Israel to advance the Kingdom of God.

Our Values

Ask God First
God is King and Lord of all. He must be first in our heart and mind. We commit to asking God for His specific will before acting on our plans. We lean on His power to accomplish the tasks that He has assigned us according to His direction and timing, while recognizing that there are many things we must leave to His sovereign care.

Proverbs 3:5, 6
Embrace Sonship
Our value and strength as people are rooted in our identity as children of God. When we embrace our roles as sons and daughters, our work becomes an act of love and worship. This is the foundation of truly fruitful and excellent stewardship.

Romans 8:14-17, Ephesians 2:4-6
Pursue Excellence
Because our work is an act of worship, we want it to be excellent. God desires wholehearted obedience, not perfection. Excellence is a process, not an outcome. It requires humility and a hunger to learn. Success is the outcome of the partnership between the Spirit’s empowerment and our obedience.

Matthew 5:16, Colossians. 3:23
Walk Together



We are better together. God’s Kingdom is wondrously diverse and includes men and women as well as people from every nation, ethnicity and social class. We are called to be one in Messiah. We therefore believe the expression of the Kingdom of God requires honoring and embracing each other’s unique identity and giftedness. Unity is not uniformity, but the choice to walk together and serve one another. In our context, we believe it is essential that Jews and Arabs choose to walk together.

Revelation. 7:9,
Galatians. 3:28, John 17: 23,
Psalms 133
Serve by Example
We help other people and organizations grow by modeling Kingdom principles and walking alongside them. When God calls us, we are unafraid to pioneer new paths and generously share with others.

Philippians 2:5-8, Matthew 20:25-28
Care for People


God created us to walk in loving relationship with Him. Because people are precious to Him, He sacrificed His Son to redeem us. God endows each of us with unique giftedness and expects us to produce good fruit. Those who respond to His call are “living stones” with which He builds His Kingdom. Our task is to love, care for, empower and invest in people so they walk fruitfully in God’s calling. This care must be genuine, practical and competent, producing real blessings, earning trust and credibility, and the right to influence.

Ephesians 2:8-10, 19-22,
4:11-16; 1 Peter 2:5
Be Truthful
God is the God of truth and desires us to have truth in our inner most being. Our words and actions are a reflection of our heart and ultimately of our relationship with God. We are called to walk relationally, which requires trust. Trust requires integrity, transparency and accountability.

Ephesians 4:1, 5:8-10; Colossians 3:9;
Proverbs 28:13; 1 John 1:6-10; Matthew 5:37
Build Generationally
God’s work is multi-generational. Things of great value take time to develop. We are willing to go slow in order to go deep and grow big. We must be willing to patiently invest in “small things” without seeing immediate results. We are building infrastructure and self-sustaining organizations to enable eternal outcomes and to advance the Kingdom.

Zechariah 4:10, Matthew 13:31–32

Our Team

Mordechai Wiseman

Managing Director of Firstfruits Funds and Co-Founder, Chairman & International Director of Israel Firstfruits

Naeem Barhoum

Israel General Manager at Firstfruits

Michelle Nipp

U.S. Partner Relations Director and U.S. Manager at Firstfruits

Michael Elliott

Senior Advisor at Israel Firstfruits and Firstfruits Funds

Razan Ajaj

Office Manager (Israel)

Elizabeth Florvilus

Partner Relations Manager (U.S.)

Linda Paek

Executive Assistant

Jessica Seguin

Finance Assistant (U.S.)

Yoel Ben Nesher

Data Analyst (Israel)

Meet Our Board

International Board:

Mordechai Wiseman 

Ehab Jabour Najed Azzam

Daniel & Shirit Carlson

Evan & Sarah Liberman

Joseph Magen

Gil & Veronica Paz

Yoel Shoshani

U.S. Board:

Todd & Jenny Johnson

Pirooz & Mitra Abir

Matt & Debbie Beer

Bob & Judy Borcherdt

Martin & Marsha Day

Cy & Jill Wegman