In 1897, 200 participants From 17 countries gathered in Basel, Switzerland, convened by Theodor Herzl, the father of modern Zionism.
In 2025, 150 Jews gathered in Haifa for the Voice of the People’s Council, an initiative and vision of Israel’s president, Isaac Herzog. Fifty Jews from Israel, 50 Jews from North America, and 50 Jews from the rest of the world, coming together to embrace the Jewish world’s greatest challenges.
As President Herzog wrote in the most recent SAPIR Journal, the diversity of Zionism is its greatest strength. The time for conversation must not wait.
As I looked around the room, this is who I saw; a top Israeli AI professional, a doctor from Sweden, a Chabad Rabbi from Russia, a leader in the world of Christian-Israel relations, an actor from the United States, a recent Jew by Choice from an Arab country, IDF veterans, academic professors, and more, only to name a few.
As we gathered for the opening plenary, the same questions crossed our minds.
How are we all in this space together?
Voice of The People’s Council is data driven. From the 10,000 responses to a survey sent out to the Jewish world, we were presented with today’s greatest challenges.
Antisemitism, diaspora-Israel relations, internal polarization, and Jewish and non-Jewish relations. While Jews from almost every location on earth face these difficulties, there was one fact that almost all respondents agreed. The Jewish people have a shared destiny, and Israel must be the central place in that story.
The president reminded us we were not there to bring solutions back home. We were there to be inspired by the problems.
It is with this approach that we visited the Madatech museum in Haifa, and met with CEOs of Israel’s greatest startups. Instead of defining their end goals, they described the failures it took to allow them to succeed. Whether it was BeeHero in agriculture, Belkin Vision helping cure glaucoma, or the Iron Dome missile defense, each success derived from failure as the CEOs embraced the process.
Our tradition teaches “It is not your duty to complete the work, but neither are you free to desist from it.”
On our first day of meeting, we toured the Nova site. After reciting the traditional memorial prayer on that hallowed ground, we continued to Sapir College, and listened to two Oct. 7 attack survivors describe in harrowing detail the events of that day. How could we move on from those atrocities?
That is when a young man, a council member and an advisor to the mayor of Sderot, stood up and excitedly described the new developments of the south, including a partnership with Berklee College of Music. He said while Hamas desired our removal from the land, victory will arrive when we turn 40,000 residents into 250,000 residents of this area.
Before the Voice of the People Council commenced, I spent Shabbat with my family outside of Tel Aviv. As we walked to the synagogue, my cousin pointed out a few homes. Her neigbor’s house is under renovation, as one of the children is now an amputee from war. The next home is in mourning, losing a son to battle in Gaza. The next home is the aunt of Eitan Mor, still held captive in Gaza, with recent news that he is alive.
When we arrived for Shabbat services, I saw a rabbi a few years younger than me. I was told he was hired 18 months ago, but had a delayed start as he too was called up for reserved duty.
After Shabbat, I visited two families in shiva: Lifshitz and Bibas. These were tragedies that I witnessed on television, 7,000 miles away, and now I was expressing condolences on behalf of us all.
After hearing story after story of loss and destruction, it felt strange at first to sit with 149 strangers and intellectually ponder the world’s greatest Jewish challenges. Yet, day after day, deep in conversation, I saw the sparks of light that will lead to a brighter tomorrow.
After hearing story after story of loss and destruction, it felt strange at first to sit with 149 strangers and intellectually ponder the world’s greatest Jewish challenges. Yet, day after day, deep in conversation, I saw the sparks of light that will lead to a brighter tomorrow.
At the closing gala, President Herzog exclaimed that it is about time we see that diversity within Zionism is a source of strength and a key to our future as a nation.
As President Herzog sat at his table, his vision came to life. Four individuals came up on stage. One from Israel, one from the United States, one from Morocco, and one from Russia. They recited a poem that a council member had written, inspired by the conference. It was read in English, Hebrew, Arabic and Russian, yet all with the same intent of expressing our shared destiny as a Jewish people.
I watched as President Herzog smiled from ear to ear.
The vision was now a reality.
The solutions are stil very far away, and the problems are now before our eyes.
The converation has begun. It’s time for us all to join in.
Am Yisrael Chai.
Rabbi Erez Sherman is Senior Rabbi of Sinai Temple.
