More than 150 Jewish leaders gathered in Haifa to try to address the most urgent challenges facing the Jewish people, meeting under the banner of the Voice of the People initiative spearheaded by President Isaac Herzog.
The council members, 50 hailing from Israel, 50 from North America, and 50 from the rest of the world, have been having dialogues on issues such as rising antisemitism, but the five-day convention, which began Sunday, was the first time that the delegates met in person.
Chosen by algorithm to represent the diversity of voices in the Jewish world, Herzog said just before the Wednesday gala that the delegates were an injection of new blood into the Jewish body.
While the old guard Jewish organizations were honed to their specific tasks, having unaligned or new figures to provide insight on pressing issues would allow for new ideas to be developed for Jewish global infrastructure to adopt.
The president noted that even just having the different Jewish figures meeting would foster change in world Jewry.
Impact of October 7
Herzog said during a gala conversation with Jerusalem Post Editor-in-Chief Zvika Klein that VOP gave an opportunity for Israelis and Diaspora Jews to converse, and for Israelis who “don’t know anything about the Diaspora” to learn about their challenges. The president called on youth seeking to make a difference to join in the process to have their voice heard.
“I welcome the convening of the council of the Voice of the People initiative, especially during these difficult days, as we work toward a better future for the Jewish people in Israel and the Diaspora,” Herzog said on Sunday.
“The foundation of this initiative rests on our most significant asset as a people – the ability to engage in deep, collective dialogue and, through it, drive joint action. I am confident that the leaders chosen to advance this vision will bring practical tools for profound change in the perceptions and processes affecting the entire Jewish people.”
Voice of the People delegates, ranging from 18-82 in age and the gamut of religious denominations, were divided into five groups, with each one devoted to an urgent issue identified by a survey – a poll that had to be taken again following the seismic impact of the October 7 massacre. Issues included polarization in the Jewish community and Jewish identity and education.
VOP CEO Shirel Dagan-Levy discussed on Wednesday the growing phenomenon of “October 8 Jews.”
“Now, more than ever, we need this initiative,” said Dagan-Levy. ‘Many people who before October 7 never had to deal with their Jewish identity, are now seeing it is deeply important to them. It’s amazing to see them as part of the conversation.”
The program is not a three-month accelerator, Dagan-Levy noted, with the participants expected to perform a deep dive into the problems over six months of research. The process, she argued, was just as important as the solutions that were developed.
“Sometimes we don’t agree on a problem, and that’s what we want the council to work on,” she said. “We already see tension in the room – we want people to experience some discomfort because if we keep just talking to people that look like us and talk like us, that’s not going to lead to change.”
VOP CMO and CPO Neta Danciger said the solutions developed by the program could be adopted and implemented by its partners, like the World Zionist Organization and Jewish Agency for Israel.
Herzog also explained that he was inspired by programs like the World Economic Forum to bring leaders around the world together.
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