This Chanukah, after two years filled with stories of unimaginable bravery, we want to shine the light on a form of courage that is rarely recognized:
The courage of the women studying at Her Academy—women who show up, study, break barriers, reclaim their worth, and build a new path for themselves after years of prostitution, violence, survival, and marginalization.
This year too, against the backdrop of constant sirens and daily uncertainty of ongoing war, we saw women complete their very first course, and others reach their tenth.
Women who entered their first job.
Women who advanced to a new role.
Women who did the impossible and were accepted to accredited academic programs – some of whom have already successfully graduated.
Each one is an extraordinary story of courage, made possible through hard work, persistence, and the right conditions to succeed.
One of these stories is the story of Chila Ezra.
At age 22, Chila was kidnapped to Israel by human-traffickers and sold for $1,000. She endured a decade of hell.
We met her when she enrolled in our “Communication and Public Speaking” course, just before the premiere of the acclaimed documentary about her life, “A Whore Like Me,” which went on to win the Ophir Award.
Since then, Chila continued studying, working, and growing – even while facing the threat of deportation from the country to which she was trafficked and in which she rebuilt her life.
Chila went on to serve as the representative of trafficking survivors in the Knesset’s national advisory committee for victim recognition, and as a member of Her Academy’s board of directors.
This month, Chila received the President’s Award for Combating Human Trafficking. Her unbelievable and unwavering courage lights the way for all of us.
This Chanukah, we invite you to join us in lighting candles of courage and spreading the light of solidarity.
Her Academy is a social school for women who have experienced prostitution and violence. We support their economic recovery through professional training, employment guidance, and a warm, empowering community.
Since our founding, more than 620 women have studied with us.
In 2025, 179 women participated in our programs in Tel Aviv and Haifa. They completed 60 professional courses in English, Hebrew, computer skills, early-childhood assistance, QA, Pilates instruction, office administration, back office, and more. Course completion rates reached ~80% in Tel Aviv and ~78% in Haifa.
Throughout the year, 59 women worked with with our employment department:
Let’s not wait for a miracle.
Let’s create solidarity together.