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“In times of crisis, it’s essential to think about the future. That’s the power of the Jewish People” “The Voice of the People” was created as a platform for action and discussion on the main issues Jewish communities are facing around the world. Launched by President Isaac Herzog when he was chairman of the Jewish Agency, the initiative has taken on new meaning since October 7 2023. CEO Shirel Dagan-Levy told us all about its activities, and how it plans to nurture a new generation of young leaders / By Shiri Dover

The council will convene once every two years, when new members are elected. With the help of consultancy company Deloitte, twenty meetings with Jewish communities around the world were organized in order to understand which issues were the most urgent to discuss. “When the war began, we were in the middle of going over the reports from these meetings which took place before October 7. Then, the project was put on hold for the first six months of the war, until President Herzog got us back on track”, she explains. “October 8 Jews” “October 7 changed everything. Antisemitism became the most urgent issue of all. We sent out a new survey to 10,000 Jews around the world, in six languages. The results were chilling. There’s this new term that’s being used: “October 8 Jews”. It refers to Jews who say they’d never given much thought to their Jewish identity but now place it at the forefront of how they define themselves. They say they feel scared to send their children to school. Others say they’ve removed their mezuzah from their front door out of fear. And

Members of "The Voice of the People" visiting the south I Photo: Avraham Tzachor

When President Isaac Herzog thought of creating the “Voice of the People” platform five years ago, his intention was to build a space where all the many different Jewish voices could come together to discuss burning issues. He couldn’t have imagined just how crucial this initiative would be after the events of October 7 2023. A global Jewish council “In times of crisis, it’s essential to think about the future. That’s the power of the Jewish People”, says Shirel Dagan-Levy, CEO of the Voice

of the People, a global Jewish council that aims to make a difference in Jewish communities around the world. “October 7 made us realize just how necessary this initiative is”. Dagan-Levy, who was appointed CEO last July, explains that “President Herzog first outlined the idea for the platform when he was chairman of the Jewish Agency, but it only launched in September 2024, as a global council made up of 50 members from Israel, 50 from the USA, and another 50 from the rest of the world”.

38 ATMOSPHERE APRIL 2025