Herzog Brings Jewish Leaders ‘Outside the System’ Together

(Oct. 22, 2026 / JNS) Some 100 Jewish community activists, leaders and innovators from 17 countries on Wednesday concluded in Budapest the second gathering of Voice of the People, a framework developed by Israeli President Isaac Herzog to address shared challenges and develop future Jewish leaders.
The three-day conference, held Oct. 19–21, marked the conclusion of the initiative’s inaugural council term and its transition into a network whose members will continue developing projects and partnerships, organizers said.

More than 20 initiatives have reached the proof-of-concept stage with support from Voice of the People and its partners, according to the organization. Meanwhile, approximately 2,500 people completed applications for its second cohort, more than double the number who applied for the inaugural group.

The conference, which Herzog attended, featured workshops, lectures and project presentations, including new technologies for facilitating Jewish community growth.

One presenter, Raphael Bijaoui Harel, is a Singapore-born artificial intelligence engineer who presented an AI solution that he said was designed to de-escalate polarization in online interactions, typically in WhatsApp groups.

The technology allows users who encounter polarization or confrontational rhetoric in such groups to chat with an AI engine on the same platform to understand the confrontation and de-escalate it, said Bijaoui Harel, whose parents are French Jews who work in finance in Singapore.

Other presenters included Gvira Milworm, a Haredi Israeli woman who heads Temech, a nongovernmental group that helps integrate Haredi women into Israel’s job market. She said Temech was helping Haredi women shift from the saturated hi-tech sector to Israel’s booming infrastructure sector, which has manpower shortages.

The initiatives grew out of work by the inaugural 150-member council, comprising 50 members from Israel, 50 from North America and 50 from other regions worldwide. Since first convening in Haifa in March 2025, members have developed projects and partnerships intended to address challenges facing Jewish communities.

An algorithm selects the projects that receive support from Voice of the People and its partners. The first group of initiatives was presented at a virtual event in June. In Budapest, members shared updates and explored further collaboration.

Rachel Goldberg-Polin, whose son, Hersh, was abducted by Hamas terrorists on Oct. 7, 2023 and murdered in Gaza, also addressed the gathering, discussing the need for greater understanding between Jewish communities and engagement across deep disagreements.

“We were given this incredible inheritance. Every single one of us has the toolbox. What you choose to do with the toolbox is your business,” she said. “Some people will put that toolbox in their attic. Some people will display it prominently in the middle of their dining room table. Some people will shove it under a bed, but you have it.”

At the event’s farewell dinner at the InterContinental hotel in Budapest, Herzog told participants: “We have a huge duty to preserve the future of the Jewish People, and it’s not easy when you have millions of unaffiliated Jews. The only way to do it is to identify forces who care, who want to be involved, who have a sense of purpose, who bring a great story to the table, who are diversified enough.”

He recalled being impressed with the diversity of participants at the inaugural gathering in Haifa because he didn’t recognize most of the names recruited to the council by the project’s CEO, Shirel Dagan-Levy, a former high-tech executive. It meant they came from outside the Jewish Peoplehood circles he knows so well, Herzog explained.

“We wanted to see people outside the system who go in and take a leadership role,” he explained.

In a statement to journalists, Herzog said: “We have to open our arms, give them all a hug, listen to the multitude of voices, and develop the future Jewish leadership who will be faced with enormous challenges of the new age of AI and other challenges that humanity is facing.”

Applications for the second cohort closed early last week. Candidates will now undergo a selection process intended to produce a diverse and representative council, the organization said.

Members of the first cohort will remain involved through an active alumni network, continuing their initiatives and partnerships alongside the incoming group, Dagan-Levy said.

Herzog established Voice of the People in partnership with the World Zionist Organization, the Jewish Agency for Israel, the Azrieli Foundation, Wilf Family Foundations and the Patrick and Lina Drahi Foundation. Businessman and philanthropist Patrick Drahi attended Wednesday’s event.

In 2025, Herzog’s office said the initiative would have a $10 million budget for the initial period through June 30, 2027, plus 100,000 shekels ($32,400) annually from the President’s Office for events, materials and publicity.

During his visit to Budapest, Herzog met his Hungarian counterpart, András Baka, and Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar, conducting the highest-level exchange since the current government took power earlier this year.

A diplomatic source involved in the meeting told JNS: “It was a very warm reception. The Hungarian side diverged from what is merely required by protocol,” the source said, noting that the hosts had arranged a working lunch on Tuesday in which Herzog met top Hungarian cabinet ministers.