Dec. 2026
Wendy Schneider

The Hamilton Jewish Federation has welcomed Oded Levy to its team as its new marketing, brand and social media manager, bringing to the organization a background that spans design, branding, marketing, communications, education and health technology.

Born and raised in Israel, Levy graduated from the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design in Jerusalem, beginning his career in design and creative work before expanding into marketing, branding and communications. Over time, he found his niche at the intersection of those disciplines: translating complex ideas into content and stories that connect with specific audiences.

That experience, he says, is particularly relevant to his new role at Federation.

“My expertise is to translate very complex offerings into something that people can understand,” Levy says.
That may be more challenging at Federation than it sounds. Unlike an organization with a single product or service, Federation is involved in a wide range of programs, initiatives and community-building efforts.

“It’s hard to say one thing that the Federation is doing that everybody should understand,” he says. “It’s not that simple.”
His job, he says, is to help tell that story.

Levy and his Canadian-born wife first lived in Toronto from 2010 to 2020 before moving to Hamilton. They returned to Israel at the end of 2022, settling in Haifa, where they were when the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks took place. They returned to Hamilton in 2024.

His own journey toward greater connection with Jewish community life is part of what makes his new role particularly personal.

Levy describes himself as having been very secular and initially having little interest in synagogue life. It was the birth of his daughter that changed his perspective. After becoming a father, he began thinking differently about Jewish identity, community and the stories children absorb as they grow up.

“People gravitate towards stories and narratives,” he says. “Young kids will get those stories no matter what. Either their friends are going to give them to them, or the teacher is going to give them to them, or the parents are going to give them to them.”

His own connection to organized Jewish life began in Toronto around 2016, when he started attending Forest Hill Jewish Centre.

Levy believes that experience is shared by many Israelis who move abroad. In Israel, he says, Jewish identity can be so woven into everyday life that people don't necessarily think about it. Community is simply there.
“Here you’re like, okay, something is missing,” he says. “Oh yes, I want to be close — but not too close.”

What people may ultimately be looking for, he suggests, is simple: belonging and community.

That perspective has become even more meaningful since Oct. 7.

Levy says that when people face a geopolitical landscape that feels increasingly uncertain, a natural response can be to seek out people and places where they feel connected and safe. For Jews, he believes, that can mean turning toward Jewish community — regardless of denomination, affiliation or particular beliefs.

“Just give me something,” he says. “I want to be close to Jews.”

That is one of the ideas Levy hopes to bring to his work at Federation: making it easier for people to find their way into Jewish community life without feeling that they first have to identify with a particular institution or point of view.

“I don’t care what they believe,” he says. “Whatever your shtick is, you’re going to find it with us, with the Jewish community.”

For Levy, that means using every available channel to reach people — social media, WhatsApp, email and, perhaps most importantly, word of mouth.

“In this kind of community, that goes much wider and stronger than any kind of post we can produce,” he says. “I’m going to use all the channels.”

Ultimately, Levy sees his role as helping Federation communicate the work that is already happening — and the opportunities being created to bring people together.

“With the guidance of Marion Zeller, the CEO, she has a great vision about bringing people together,” he says. “I’m here to support all these efforts and communicate these efforts better.”

And that, perhaps, is the heart of what Levy brings to Federation: an understanding that effective communication isn't simply about promoting events. It is about telling the story of why community matters — and helping people recognize that there is a place for them within it.