The new co-chairwoman, Noam Yavin, 33, will serve alongside current chairman Eran Globus, according to WDG, an LGBT+ news site.
Yavin works in informal education and serves as assistant to the head of the Zionist Enterprises Department of the World Zionist Organization. She studied political science and sociological anthropology at Bar Ilan University and the management of nonprofits and organizations in civil society at the Hebrew University.
She has served on the board of the Open House since February 2019 and volunteered with youth for four years after joining soon after the murder of Shira Banki at the Jerusalem Pride March in 2015.
The Open House changed much over the past year, with all of the board members changing except for Globus and the addition of CEO Alon Shahar, who had served in the Open House in the past.
This is the first time that there have been two chairpeople of the Open House, according to WDG. Even after Globus finishes serving in his position, which is expected in the coming months, the board is considering appointing a second chairperson to continue having two chairpeople.
Yavin's appointment comes as concern deepens about the LGBT+ community in Jerusalem during the coronavirus outbreak.
A study carried out by the Myers-JDC-Brookdale Institute along with the Open House, found that one out of ten elderly LGBT+ people in Jerusalem refrained from receiving necessary health and welfare services due to fears about being discovered as LGBT+. 60% of adult LGBT+ people live on their own, almost twice as many as the rest of the population at that age. Due to the lockdown, these people are now at risk of being completely cut off from the services usually supplied by the organization.
The Open House has set up an advisory team, consisting of treatment and medical personnel to assist in coping and up-to-date information on the coronavirus, according to WDG.
The Open House is not receiving government or municipal aid in the face of the outbreak and is handling the situation on its own.
"Noam is a true leader, who proved in the past four years that the LGBT+ community, and especially the weakest in it, is her top priority," said Globus to WDG. "I have no doubt that she is the right woman at the right time and that she will move the Open House forward."
Yavin told WGD that she is "very excited and honored" to be appointed as co-chair of the Open House.
"The Open House became my second home in Jerusalem, a giant community that was added to my life and a social mission of great importance in Israel," said Yavin. "I am glad to work alongside Eran Globus, Alon Shachar, the Executive Committee and the Open House team on strengthening the deep foundations of the Open House in Jerusalem as a leading LGBT+ organization in Israel, and a home for volunteers, community members and service users."