Gavin Gross, the director of the Zionist Federation, is leaving the organisation to make aliyah.

Mr Gross, 46, who has been at the ZF for the past two years, intends to go to Israel on the Nefesh B'Nefesh flight in mid-December. His last day at the ZF will be on October 3.

In Israel, he hopes to continue his advocacy and education work. He tells People: "I first visited Israel 25 years ago and, like many Jews, I had the idea that one day I would go and live there. I want to be there to help build Israel in any way I can."

US-born Mr Gross moved to the UK in 1993. He spent 12 years as a commodities trader at the London Metal Exchange, before completing an MA in Near and Middle-Eastern studies at SOAS . He joined the ZF in 2006.

So what have been the highlights? "My focus has been on trying to tell Israel's story to the non-Jewish community. In that respect, I am proud of getting Israeli ambassador Ron Prosor to speak at SOAS. We also brought over comedian Yisrael Campbell, a Catholic who converted to Judaism, and Mr Gay International 2007 Nathan Shaked. Although this was controversial for some, he received a huge amount of press coverage."

Mr Gross has appeared on several media outlets, including BBC One, BBC radio and Al Jazeera English news. He follows in the footsteps of ZF chair Andrew Balcombe, who made aliyah earlier this year.