What happened when Isaac Herzog asked 150 Jews to solve their people’s problems

Israeli President Isaac Herzog's Voice of the People initiative concluded with a conference in Budapest, where 89 of the original 150 council members presented 38 initiatives addressing Jewish communal challenges. The 18-month project, run with the Jewish Agency and World Zionist Organization, funded 21 projects with seed grants up to $20,000. Participants included Rachel Goldberg-Polin and Aleeza Ben Shalom.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog's Voice of the People initiative held its closing conference in Budapest, bringing together 89 of the original 150 council members from Israel, North America, and the rest of the world. Over 18 months, the group developed 38 initiatives addressing five major challenges: antisemitism, polarization, Jewish identity and heritage, Israel-Diaspora relations, and relations between Jews and non-Jews. More than 20 initiatives reached the proof-of-concept stage, and 21 received seed grants of up to $20,000. The conference featured a fireside chat with Rachel Goldberg-Polin, whose son Hersh was murdered in Hamas captivity, who spoke about engaging with people holding deeply upsetting views. Participants developed projects ranging from AI tools for communal bridging to the Jewish & Indian Alliance, which has already organized gatherings in Los Angeles and Tel Aviv. The initiative required recognizing Israel as the state of the Jewish people, but ideological tensions remained, with some left-leaning participants feeling silenced on Gaza and Haredi participants objecting to pluralistic values. Organizers noted the difficulty of coordinating across time zones and the voluntary nature of participation, with some members dropping out or disengaging along the way.