According to her interview with LIFE.ro, she was sent to Bucharest as a Jewish Agency envoy for just three months, and she stayed.
According to the school, Laude-Reut was founded in 1997. A kindergarten in a wing of the State Jewish Theatre was the first step.
According to the school, more than 600 pupils study at the complex, in kindergarten, primary, middle school and high school.
At the opening of the 2026–2027 school year the school marked 30 years, and its founder called it a new chapter in the story.
Tova Ben-Nun Cherbis: the short answer
Tova Ben-Nun Cherbis is the founder and president of the Laude-Reut Educational Complex in Bucharest, and of the Reut and Magna cum Laude-Reut foundations. According to the school, the complex was founded in 1997, today covers kindergarten, primary, middle school and high school, and has more than 600 pupils. In September 2026 it marked 30 years.
She was born in Israel to parents who left Romania in 1947. In a 2021 interview with LIFE.ro, she said she came to Bucharest as an envoy of the Jewish Agency for just three months. She did not plan to found a school. She simply stayed.
In plain words: the first question every family moving from Israel to Bucharest asks is "where will the children study?" A large part of the answer was built by one Israeli woman, step by step.
Her background in Israel: the army, Beersheba and the Jewish Agency
According to the LIFE.ro interview, her parents left Ploiești shortly after the war. They left in 1947 via Vidin in Bulgaria, passed through Cyprus and reached Israel. Her mother worked as a chemistry lab technician.
She joined the Israel Defense Forces in 1972 and served for two and a half years. "I think that what I am here today, I owe to the army" ("Cred că ce sunt eu astăzi aici datorez armatei."), she said in the interview.
After her service she studied in Beersheba and trained to become a chemistry teacher. While still a student she began working for the Jewish Agency, in culture and education activities for new immigrants. Before Romania she also took part in Operation Solomon: according to the interview, she interviewed families in Ethiopia who wanted to emigrate to Israel, and helped absorb them in Israel.
Arriving in Bucharest: three months that became a life
In the early 1990s a temporary replacement was needed for the official Israeli envoy in Romania. According to the interview, she was sent for three months, and stayed for five. She remembers the day she was due to leave: 31 March 1993, with Bucharest covered in snow.
She connected with Bucharest quickly. "When I arrived in Romania I felt very good, as if I were at home" ("Când am ajuns în România m-am simțit foarte bine, ca acasă."), she said. And about the people: "I found them extremely warm and friendly. Here I felt at home" ("i-am descoperit extrem de calzi și prietenoși. Aici m-am simțit acasă.").
In 1995, according to the same interview, the World Jewish Congress appointed her as its representative in Romania for the restitution of communal property, in dialogue with the government.
How a children's club became a school
The Laude-Reut story begins with a small children's club she set up in the Kogălniceanu area. According to the interview, when Ronald Lauder came to Bucharest for a short visit, she filled a hall with children in two hours, on a Saturday. The children asked him for computers. Donations that came after the visit bought ten computers for the club, and in her view it may have been the first educational institution in Romania with computers and the internet. That same day, she said, Lauder suggested that she open a school.
In 2025 she told Spotmedia: "It has been 28 years since Ambassador Ronald S. Lauder suggested that I set up an educational institution in Romania" ("Au trecut 28 de ani de când ambasadorul Ronald S. Lauder mi-a propus să înființez o instituție de învățământ în România").
When I arrived in Romania I felt very good, as if I were at home. (Tova Ben-Nun Cherbis, LIFE.ro, 2021)
In December 2022, at a gala at the National Opera marking the school's 25 years, she described the journey like this: "We cultivated and grew a tree with deep roots in education" ("am cultivat și crescut un copac cu rădăcini adânci în educație"), according to Q Magazine.
The next steps were practical:
- A place. According to the interview, the then mayor of Bucharest, Viorel Lis, agreed to give the new wing of the State Jewish Theatre to the kindergarten.
- Classes. After the kindergarten came the primary classes, then the middle school, and then the parents asked for a high school.
- An inspection before the high school. Before opening a high school, she asked the Ministry of Education for a thorough inspection. In her words, the inspection committee sat in the school for seven days.
- Staff. As the first high school principal she chose an English inspector who was not Jewish. "We do not hire people here on religious criteria!" ("Noi nu angajăm oamenii aici după criteriul religios!"), she recalled telling her.
According to the school's website, the high school opened in 2006–2007. In 2016–2018 the institution gained full independence from the Lauder foundation and changed its name from Lauder-Reut to Laude-Reut.
What stands behind the name today
According to the school's website, the high school offers tracks in diplomacy, international relations, business, communication and marketing. Israel's ambassador to Romania, Dr. Lior Ben Dor, is honorary president of the board of trustees.
In September 2026 Laude-Reut opened the 2026–2027 school year. According to the school, it is the 17th year in a row in which all its high school pupils passed the baccalaureate exams. At the ceremony Ben-Nun Cherbis said: "This year we are not just opening a new school year, but a new chapter in a story that began 30 years ago" ("În acest an nu deschidem doar un nou an școlar, ci un nou capitol...").
She is also active outside the classroom. In December 2025 she co-hosted, with the director of the National Opera, the Hanukkah Friendship Gala at the opera in Bucharest, which according to EVZ drew more than 900 guests. In 2023 Euronews described her as an Israeli citizen with dual citizenship who had lived in Romania for almost 30 years, and one of the most prominent voices of Israelis in the country.
What a family moving from Israel can learn from her story
1. Start with the school. For her, the children were where everything began. For you too: choose a school first, then the neighbourhood and the home. A comparison of the options is in international education in Romania and our guide to international schools in Bucharest. On kindergartens in the north of the city, see kindergartens and schools in north Bucharest.
2. Apply early. According to Q Magazine, demand for Laude-Reut is high and waiting lists fill up well in advance. For the kindergarten, according to the school, families apply for the youngest group about a year ahead.
3. Roots open doors. Her parents came from Romania, and that connection helped her settle in. Many Israelis have a similar link. If you have parents or grandparents who were born in Romania, read our guide to Romanian citizenship for Israelis.
4. Community is built from the ground up. A Saturday children's club became an institution of 600 pupils. A new family can start small too: an activity, a synagogue, a holiday evening. On the community today, see the Jewish community in Romania.
Frequently asked questions
Is Hebrew taught at Laude-Reut?
Yes. According to the school, the curriculum includes Hebrew, Jewish tradition and holidays, and the kindergarten has teachers whose native language is Hebrew.
How do you apply?
Through the school's website. According to the kindergarten, applications are open all year, places are limited, and priority goes to siblings of pupils and to children who are members of the Jewish community.
Does Tova Ben-Nun Cherbis still run the school?
Yes. At the opening of the school year in September 2026 she was presented as the founder and president of the complex and spoke to the pupils.
The bottom line
Tova Ben-Nun Cherbis came for three months, with basic Romanian and an old family connection. She stayed, and built the institution that Israeli families in Bucharest check first. Her story is a reminder that a relocation works when the children are at the centre.
If you are at the stage of choosing a school and a neighbourhood, book a 30-minute call with me. We will go through the right order together: school, commute, neighbourhood, and only then the home.
Moti Azulay, Compass Group Romania
Sources: LIFE.ro, interview with Tova Ben-Nun Cherbis, 24 September 2021 · Laude-Reut, About us · Laude-Reut, opening of the 2026–2027 school year, 8 September 2026 · Laude-Reut, kindergarten · Spotmedia, Bright Minds award, 29 October 2025 (sponsored content) · EVZ, Hanukkah Friendship Gala 2025, 13 December 2025 · Euronews Romania, 13 October 2023 · Q Magazine, 25 years of Laude-Reut, 17 December 2022
Based on public reports and published interviews, correct as of 22 October 2026. Tova Ben-Nun Cherbis was not interviewed for this article.
The complete guide: relocating to Romania
- Relocating to Romania: the complete guide
- Visas, residence and legal status in Romania
- The Jewish community in Romania
- International education in Romania
- Prominent Israelis in Romania
Prominent Israelis in Romania: all the stories
- Chef Joseph Hadad
- Tova Ben-Nun Cherbis, Laude-Reut (you are here)
- Rabbi Naftali Deutsch, Chabad Romania
- Eli Davidai, Pepsi Romania
- Ambassador Dr. Lior Ben Dor
- Ofri Arad, FCSB
- Nancy Brandes
Now you know more.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult local professionals before any transaction.
