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Around 150 people from Jewish communities worldwide arrived in Israel this week for the first gathering of Voice of the People (VoP), a global initiative led by President Isaac Herzog to strengthen unity and empower Jewish communities.
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VOICE OF THE PEOPLE
(ILTV)
“Our nation is ever challenged,” said Israeli President Isaac Herzog. “The Jewish nation, the Jewish story, the story of Israel, the State of Israel, and the lack of knowledge and understanding of the challenges that each one of your respective communities faces, have to be told to one another.”
Jewish Agency Chairman of the Board Marc Wilf emphasized the fresh perspectives and energy within the gathering. “What I find here are people from all walks of life in the Jewish world, and I see a lot of new faces, a lot of innovative energy, and people that I don't necessarily know or have seen before, and so I think that's good.”
The inaugural meeting, held in Haifa, marked the beginning of a collaborative effort to address key communal challenges, harness data-driven insights, and shape a shared vision for the Jewish future.
“It’s almost like the diplomatic version of the Startup Nation,” observed VoP delegate from London, Efrat Sopher.
The delegation included 50 participants from Israel, 50 from North America, and 50 from other regions worldwide. Over five days, attendees engaged in meaningful discussions and developed actionable strategies to strengthen Jewish communities globally. The Voice of the People initiative aims to translate the ideas exchanged at the summit into concrete action.
“Who are we? And what is our voice?” asked Israeli VoP delegate Aleeza Ben-Sharlom. “I think we are literally here to answer that question.”
She elaborated, “When we talk about Voice of the People, it’s ‘voice.’ We didn't say, ‘Voices’ of the People. We said, Voice of the People. We might live in different countries, we might speak different languages, and somehow we're supposed to have one voice and we're supposed to be unified.”
Throughout the summit, key sessions focused on adaptive leadership, crisis resilience, and the role of technology and data in shaping the Jewish future. Prominent academics, analysts, government and diplomatic officials, and community leaders led discussions on security, combating antisemitism, strengthening Israel-Diaspora relations, fostering Jewish identity, and leveraging data for strategic decision-making.
“We have to make sure that we are strong together and that we know each other, respect each other, and break our heads together, bang our heads together, to come for solutions that are so important to the future of our people,” Herzog said.
Sopher added, “I hope that there'll be practical, very, very innovative solutions that haven't been considered before.”
Beyond the discussions, the summit was also about embracing diversity and fostering hope for a better future—especially in the wake of the October 7 tragedy and nearly a year and a half of war.
“The Jewish people will persevere,” Wilf concluded. “We need to be more in touch with our identity and our heritage. And I think when you come to a conference to voice the people, and you see all the great energy here, you feel very hopeful.”