Yaakov Castel is a Research Fellow in the Kogod Research Center at the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem. Until recently, he served as the Director of the Lev Aharon program, which provides seminars for senior officers in the IDF and the Israeli security establishment. Previously, he served as Educational Vice President and Director of Professional Development.

In the past, Yaakov served as a consultant to the IDF Chief Education Officer and the Head of the Manpower Directorate. He also held the position of Director of the Education and Training Department at Yad Izhak Ben-Zvi. He holds the rank of Colonel (Res.) in the IDF, where his final role was Head of the Education Department in the General Staff.

Yaakov holds an M.A. in Jewish History from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.