President Isaac Herzog announced the launch of a pivotal global survey to shape dialogue and leadership development within the Jewish world — the first step of his Voice of the People initiative. The survey will help create a new worldwide Jewish advisory council to address the most pressing challenges facing Jewish communities in Israel and the Diaspora.
President Isaac Herzog said, “We are currently engaged in safeguarding the State of Israel and reinforcing the strength of the Jewish people amid a challenging war and rising antisemitism. Simultaneously, we face critical issues that demand our attention. In response, we are establishing the Voice of the People council, which will ensure the Jewish people’s ability to thrive in a changing world. The survey we are launching today will shape the council, and therefore shape the discussions impacting the future of the Jewish people. I encourage everyone to participate and contribute to help build our collective future.”
Voice of the People, Kol Ha’am, in Hebrew, was launched to become an incubator for innovative and practical solutions to the pressing challenges facing the Jewish people worldwide, while also fostering international Jewish leadership. Led by CEO Shirel Dagan-Levy, the initiative will set goals and objectives to implement the ideas generated in working groups, aiming to bring about real change in shaping the Jewish future.
The initiative will include the establishment of an international Jewish council composed of 150 leaders from communities around the world — 50 representatives from Israel, 50 from the US and Canada, and 50 from other countries. This council will convene online once a month for two years, culminating in a conference in Israel in March 2025, with all representatives attending in person.
The first step in launching the project involves distributing a survey to the global Jewish community to select the topics for discussion in the first council meeting. This survey will be open for responses for the next 45 days, after which the results will guide the council’s priorities and strategic actions. Twenty survey respondents will be selected to participate in a private conversation with the President during the virtual launch event on September 15, 2024.
So, I entered the survey and left the following responses:
Please describe the most pressing challenges facing the Jewish people today. Consider issues related to identity, practice, community, Israel, or global challenges.
Deficient empathy for fellow Jews
Please select 5 out of the 10 challenges listed below you believe to be the most critical:
- Our collective memory
- Jewish culture & heritage
- Economic discrimination against Jews & Israelis
- Jewish Identity & Practice
- A Shared Journey: Israel & global Jewry relations
How have recent events impacted your sense of Jewish identity and community?
I have grown to accept that Jews in and out of Israel are surrounded by antisemitic gentiles who want us all dead.
Voice of the People is a joint project of the President’s Office and the World Zionist Organization and Jewish Agency, who cooperate with philanthropic foundations including the Azrieli Foundation, the Patrick and Lina Drahi Foundation, and the Wilf Family Foundation.
