During a recent press trip to Lausanne, I had the privilege of meeting an exceptional individual: Simon Bismuth, the Youth Director of the Communauté Israélite de Lausanne et du Canton de Vaud (CILV). Simon is not simply someone who works in community life; he lives it, breathes it, and embodies it. His passion is present in every program, every young person he mentors, and every new idea he brings to life. Yet alongside his remarkable contributions to Jewish youth in Lausanne, Simon also carries a profound personal story—one marked by both joy and unimaginable loss.
It is precisely this combination of heart, purpose, resilience, and love that has shaped the way he continues to build, guide, and inspire an entire generation.
It is my honor to share his story with you.
Life Shaped by Community and Calling
“My name is Simon Dispute. I am 35 years old, and I have been in Lausanne for 10 and a half years—but I thought I was coming for only two or three,” he begins with a smile.
Simon grew up in Paris, attending public non-Jewish schools. After completing his baccalaureate, he joined the Jewish youth movement DEJJ (Département Éducatif de la Jeunesse Juive), and there he discovered his calling.
“I discovered my passion for animation, for community life, and for guiding and inspiring young people.”
“After completing his baccalaureate, Simon began studying at the Institut de Formation en Soins Infirmiers in Paris, at La Salpêtrière.
During his second year, while also working as a youth leader with the DEJJ, he decided to stop his nursing studies and enroll at The Village – The School of Animation and Entertainment Professions, where he also earned his Director’s Qualification Certificate.
He then spent a year and a half as an animator for Club Med in Morocco, Spain, and France.
Upon returning to Paris, he founded his own event and entertainment company, while also working as a nursing assistant in a hospital, where he led activities for the elderly.
Later, while serving as director of the Lucien de Hirsch Jewish School summer program in Paris, he met the woman who would become his wife. Marriage brought a crossroads: moving to Israel or settling in Lausanne.
“At first, I said, Lausanne? What is that? I don’t even know this place!” he recalls.
But once he arrived, he fell in love with the city, its people, and its community. What was meant to be temporary became a true home.”
Building a Community from the Youngest to the University Years
Simon leads programs for children aged 3 to students aged 25—a breathtakingly wide age range, each with its own needs and joys.
He and his small team organize:
- Weekly after-school programs
- Youth leader training
- A choir, drawing workshops, and Krav Maga classes
- Summer and winter camps
- Two annual European heritage trips exploring Jewish history
- Monthly Shabbat experiences for 12- to 15-year-olds
- Student programming at Lausanne’s major universities, including EHL, EPFL, and UNIL
“Lausanne is a small city,” he says, “but it makes its voice heard around the world.”
He also directs Guil Hazahav, an intergenerational program pairing students with elderly community members for weekly companionship—creating meaningful relationships, dignity, and belonging across generations.
Love, Loss, and the Strength to Continue
One year ago, Simon and his family experienced an unbearable tragedy: the passing of their two-and-a-half-year-old daughter, TSofia z”l.”
His voice softens—but his eyes remain steady.
“Everything I do now, I do in her memory. She is still with us. She inspires me. She strengthens me.”
The community surrounded him and his family with unwavering love. The youth he had guided and supported for so many years returned the care he had poured into them.
From this loss came a movement of unity, faith, and resilience.
He created a weekly gathering called Ketchup & Kavana, where teenagers share a meal and learn together about the meaning of prayer and Jewish connection—a project born during the months Simon attended synagogue daily to say Kaddish.
Every week, nearly 100 young people attend.
Every week, her light continues.
Action, Not Just Words
Since October 7th, Simon and the youth of Lausanne have leaned into action. Together they have:
- Raised funds for Israeli relief organizations
- Swam the 13 km crossing from Lausanne to Evian
- Cycled 170 km around Lake Geneva
- Founded Run UEJL—a new Jewish student running collective
- Organized countless events rooted in solidarity and unity
“Travel, shared experience, and movement shape identity,” Simon explains.
“When young people return from these journeys, they come back changed.”
He dreams next of founding the first European Francophone Jewish Youth Zionist Congress in Switzerland.
A Legacy Still Being Built
Simon’s leadership is not defined only by programs, events, or calendars. It is characterized by presence — by showing up, by listening, by believing fiercely in the potential of every young person who walks through the doors of the CILV. His work reminds us that community is not something inherited; it is something built, tended, and renewed, day by day, gesture by gesture, heart by heart. In the laughter of children at a holiday workshop, in the shared songs of Shabbat, in the footsteps of students returning from journeys of memory and identity, his influence lives.
“I try always to move forward,” he says. “To create. To build. To give. To help others stand strong. To teach resilience.”
Simon does not just strengthen the youth.
He strengthens the future.
About the Author: Meyer Harroch is the founder of the New York Jewish Travel Guide, documenting Jewish heritage, life, and culture around the world.
Special thanks to the Swiss Tourism Office and to Divine Bonga, of Switzerland Tourism North America, for their hospitality and dedication to showcasing Switzerland’s cultural and Jewish heritage.
