President Isaac Herzog announced the launch of a new initiative to bridge the gap between Israel and Diaspora Jewry, at the opening ceremony of the annual Jewish Federation of North America’s General Assembly.
The venture, “Kol Ha’am – Voice of the People: The President’s Initiative for Worldwide Jewish Dialogue,” is between the president, the Jewish Agency and the World Zionist Organization.
“Its vision is to launch a first-of-its-kind global council for Jewish dialogue; a Jewish ‘Davos,’” the president told the 3,000 Jewish audience members who gathered from around the world in Tel Aviv last night.
“Nonpartisan and apolitical, Voice of the People will be a collaborative forum. One that can hold and reflect the full and diverse range of Jewish voices. It will be a place where we can engage in serious, sensitive and strategic discussions on the most complex and pressing issues facing our people. A place where we formulate concrete proposals and action items to address them. But, most importantly, a place to cultivate the next generation of Jewish leaders.”
He added that he sees “we need our best and our brightest to show up on the front lines for our people. To pool their resources of vision, courage and capability to help position our nation to survive and thrive. These are the building blocks on which our future world depends. And we cannot afford to neglect them.”
The Israeli president added that over the next months, a broad consultation process will begin “so that this new platform will be optimally equipped to serve its purpose. We are delighted that prominent philanthropic actors have seen the potential in this project. And will be bringing their capabilities and resources to the table as well.”
