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The President\u2019s Conference for a Shared Israeli Future convened civic leaders, Jewish organizations, and community initiatives focused on dialogue and social cohesion ahead of Israel\u2019s 80th anniversary. (credit: Courtesy JFNA)<\/p>\nA national conference dedicated to repairing Israeli society and building a shared civic future opened Wednesday at the International Convention Center in Jerusalem, as President Isaac Herzog warned that division had become the country\u2019s most urgent internal threat.<\/p>\n
The President\u2019s Conference for a Shared Israeli Future, titled \u201cTime to Talk | Building Together,\u201d was convened as part of Herzog\u2019s broader effort to rebuild trust, strengthen social cohesion, and move Israeli discourse from crisis toward repair ahead of Israel\u2019s 80th anniversary.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is not just a conference,\u201d Herzog said in his opening remarks. \u201cA movement has arisen here that says, \u2018Enough! We are sick of the hatred, the division, the labeling, the curses, the violence, and the shaming.”<\/p>\n
Herzog said the initiative was meant to promote \u201cmutual recognition,\u201d \u201cmutual respect,\u201d dialogue, listening, and a desire \u201cto build a shared Israeli tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n
The conference brought together partners in Herzog\u2019s \u201cTime to Talk: The President\u2019s Initiatives for a Shared Israeli Future,\u201d an effort launched at the beginning of his presidency to encourage dialogue among institutions, civil society groups, social leaders, young change-makers, and community heads from across Israeli society.<\/p>\n
The President\u2019s Conference for a Shared Israeli Future convened civic leaders, Jewish organizations, and community initiatives focused on dialogue and social cohesion ahead of Israel\u2019s 80th anniversary. (credit: Courtesy JFNA)<\/p>\n
Herzog thanked the initiative\u2019s partners, including the Jewish Federations of North America, Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Boston, the Maimonides Fund, and Maala, Business for Social Responsibility.<\/p>\n
Herzog warns of rising tensions ahead of elections<\/p>\n
He said the President\u2019s Residence had developed a \u201clarge network of activities and initiatives,\u201d including \u201cValues in Sport,\u201d which promotes respect through sports; \u201cVoice of the People,\u201d which seeks to strengthen Jewish leadership in Israel and the Diaspora; the President\u2019s Climate Forum; HaMerchav (The Space), a dialogue initiative; and a forum focused on combating boycotts and public shaming.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis family came to provide a response to the greatest disease of Israeli society<\/a> and its greatest danger: division,\u201d Herzog said.<\/p>\n Citing a survey published Tuesday in Yedioth Ahronoth by the Agam Institute at Tel Aviv University, Herzog said Israelis identified division as the country\u2019s greatest threat and rated the level of division at 8.9 out of 10.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are fuel fumes in the air,\u201d he said, adding that 70% of the public had said it was willing to compromise to preserve unity, while warning of \u201ca small but very dangerous minority\u201d that threatens violence.<\/p>\n \u201cThe answer to this danger, when there are fuel fumes in the air, and we are entering elections, is here, in this tremendous movement of \u2018Time to Talk,\u2019\u201d Herzog said. \u201cI will go from one end of the country to the other to do everything to lower the flames and enable respectful discourse in Israeli society.\u201d<\/p>\n Herzog also linked Israel\u2019s internal cohesion to its relationship with Diaspora Jewry<\/a>, saying Jews abroad were facing \u201ca hell of unimaginable antisemitism\u201d and looking to Israel for stability and responsibility.<\/p>\n \u201cThey want to hear us, and they want to know they have our backing,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Jewish leaders stress unity and shared responsibility<\/p>\n The conference included lectures, panels, and dialogue forums on core questions facing Israeli society. A dedicated panel addressed relations between Israel and the Diaspora and included a special conversation with Israeli actress Gal Gadot. The event was moderated by Ofer Hadad, Netali Shem Tov, and Sivan Sisay Yosef, and was scheduled to conclude with a performance by Yuval Raphael, a survivor of the Nova massacre and Israel\u2019s representative at Eurovision 2025.<\/p>\n Rebecca Caspi, senior vice president and director general of the Jewish Federations of North America\u2019s Israel office, told the conference that \u201cwords matter, and actions have power,\u201d warning that antisemitic and anti-Israel rhetoric around the world had translated into violence against Jewish communities. She said North American Jewish communities<\/a> had been forced to divert major resources from community-building programs toward growing security needs.<\/p>\n Caspi said Jewish Federations had worked since October 7 on two fronts: mobilizing public support for Israel and fighting antisemitism, while also providing \u201chistoric\u201d support on the ground in Israel of more than $900 million. That support, she said, had included a loan fund for small businesses damaged by the war, assistance for thousands of businesses supporting more than 34,000 people, and the establishment of a national support system for reservists\u2019 families.<\/p>\n \u201cReconstruction is not only a matter of infrastructure or systems,\u201d Caspi said. \u201cIt begins and ends, like every truly important thing, with people.\u201d<\/p>\n Rabbi Marc Baker, president and CEO of Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston, described the Israel-Diaspora relationship as a central part of Jewish peoplehood. Speaking on behalf of the Boston Jewish community and Jewish communities across the US, Baker said that bringing Americans and Israelis together creates \u201ca spark of Jewish peoplehood,\u201d rooted in the understanding that Jews are family.<\/p>\n Baker said October 7 had marked \u201cthe beginning of an awakening\u201d for Israelis and North American Jews, forcing both communities to recognize their vulnerability and their shared Jewish fate. He invoked Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik\u2019s distinction between a \u201ccovenant of fate\u201d and a \u201ccovenant of destiny,\u201d saying the Jewish people must invest in both survival and a shared future.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are too small to drift away from one another,\u201d Baker said. \u201cAt the end of the day, we are all we have.\u201d<\/p>\n Conference focuses on rebuilding Israeli society<\/p>\n