From a Friday night Texas barbecue Shabbat to a glitzy Saturday night gala emceed by actor and comedian Michael Rapaport, Jewish National Fund-USA’s (JNF-USA) latest gathering set out to prove the famous saying: “Everything’s bigger in Texas.”
That it did.
The organization’s 2024 annual Global Conference for Israel — held from Nov. 14-17 at the Hilton Anatole in Dallas, Texas — drew approximately 2,500 attendees while highlighting the often under-the-radar work of JNF-USA in Israel’s north and south, from Be’er Sheba in the Negev to Kiryat Shmona in the Galilee.
Among those who turned out were 500 college students, 250 Alexander Muss High School in Israel students, dozens of JNFuture members along with adults from JNF-USA post-Oct. 7 volunteer missions in Israel, Israeli mayors, regional council leaders, rabbis from across the country and many others.
The organization’s Los Angeles delegation, meanwhile, was comprised of 70 attendees.
Highlights of the four-day conference included a Friday plenary with Rabbi David Wolpe; an Israel Expo featuring vendor booths (at one, people strapped on virtual reality headsets and undertook virtual tours of the Nova festival memorial while hearing firsthand testimony from survivors); and a Saturday dialogue between retired British army officer, Colonel Richard Kemp, and Jewish News Syndicate Editor-in-Chief Jonathan Tobin.
In short, there was a flurry of activity all weekend long, with people of all political beliefs bound together by their unwavering support for Israel.
“I feel like I’m amongst family,” Rapaport, a Jewish actor and comedian, said onstage in the hotel’s cavernous ballroom on Saturday night. Rapaport, who has spoken out in support of Israel in the aftermath of Oct. 7, denounced the reluctance of his peers in the Hollywood community to express solidarity with Israel after Hamas’ attack last year.
On Friday, the conference’s first full day, Wolpe delivered a lecture on “The Future of American Jewry” that emphasized the way in which Israel is singled out amongst nations. It leaves one no choice but to assume anti-Zionism stems from antisemitism, he said.
“No other country in the world, none, is targeted for elimination,” Wolpe said, emphatically.
The emeritus rabbi of Sinai Temple, who took a one-year position at Harvard Divinity School, has spoken about the ways in which Harvard was rife with antisemitism and anti-Zionism following Oct. 7. Wolpe served on Harvard’s antisemitism committee before stepping down in early December 2023.
When he referenced his time at Harvard, saying, “I have since left,” the crowd broke into applause.
Later in the day, a panel titled “Hashtag Zionism” brought together four pro-Israel social media influencers: journalist Emily Austin, Columbia assistant professor Shai Davidai, Israeli Judoka and Olympic medalist Peter Paltchik and Angelina Palumbo, who was given the nickname “Little Miss Zionism” by her detractors and has chosen to embrace the name by turning it into a pro-Israel brand.
A student at SUNY Binghamton, Palumbo discussed why she began posting messages of support for Israel on platforms including Instagram.
“Nobody was listening to me on campus anymore, so I turned to social media,” she said in a matter-of fact way.
Austin — who has racked up more than 2.4 million followers on Instagram by delivering content that includes pro-Israel messages — said she was just “like everyone else,” in an interview with The Journal. “I guess people just like my opinion.”
On Saturday, during an afternoon discussion titled “Ethics of War and the IDF,” Kemp spoke about the commonly expressed idea that Israel can’t defeat Hamas because Hamas, ultimately, is an idea.
But “we don’t need to defeat the idea,” he said. “We need to defeat the capability of the idea to pose a threat to us.”
As for Iran’s role in Israel’s current, multi-front war, Kemp was unequivocal about the need for Israel to eliminate the threat. He shared his confidence that Israel, in the end, would be successful.
“The head of the octopus has to be chopped off, and I think it will be chopped off,” he said.
During a Q&A segment of Kemp’s discussion, an individual in the crowd asked Kemp what he predicted for the “day after” in terms of governance in Gaza and what kind of military presence he expects Israel to have in southern Lebanon. “I think Israel has to maintain overall security responsibility for Gaza, come what may … and the same applies to southern Lebanon,” he said.
Asked where his steadfast support for Israel came from, Kemp, who is not Jewish, attributed his pro-Israel beliefs to his Roman-Catholic upbringing.
“When I was a child, I was taught right from wrong,” he said. ”That’s why I support Israel.”
All weekend long, the feeling of unified support for Israel was strong in the air and few were even aware of the anti-Israel protesters gathered outside the hotel property, at one point numbering approximately 1,000, according to security officials. Their multiday protests led to 14 arrests, all of them among the demonstrators, according to head of security for JNF-USA.
All weekend long, the feeling of unified support for Israel was strong in the air and few were even aware of the anti-Israel protesters gathered outside the hotel property.
Protests aside, the weekend showcased the many sides of JNF-USA’s work — which is stronger and more impactful than ever, JNF-USA CEO Russell Robinson said. He highlighted the contributions of the organization’s 600,000 donors, saying the goal was to reach one million. As he spoke, the words, “We Are Zionists!” flashed in huge font on the massive TV screen behind him.
Photo by Jim Woods Photography
Driving home the point of JNF-USA’s commitment to inclusivity, the conference highlighted JNF-USA’s Special in Uniform initiative, which integrates young adults with disabilities into the IDF, and, in turn, into Israeli society. The Special in Uniform band performed several times over the weekend, with a trio of singers offering moving renditions of everything from Eden Golan’s “October Rain” to Simon and Garfunkel’s “Sound of Silence.”
Driving home the point of JNF-USA’s commitment to inclusivity, the conference highlighted JNF-USA’s Special in Uniform initiative, which integrates young adults with disabilities into the IDF, and, in turn, into Israeli society.
A spokesperson for JNF-USA said the organization’s ability to turn out more than 2,000 community members, both Jewish and non-Jewish, to the conference was a testament to the important work it’s doing.
“It’s a sign that we still have momentum,” he said, “and the people who found us, post-Oct. 7, that we still have resonance with them.”
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