For Shirel Dagan-Levy, CEO of Kol Ha’am (“Voice of the People”), the groundbreaking initiative launched by Israeli President Isaac Herzog last year, its mission is to bring together Israel and the divergent Jewish communities of the Diaspora. “Our diversity is our power,” she declared.
“I hope our diversity shows as strength, not weakness,” she told JNS in an exclusive studio interview on Sept. 16, a week before Rosh Hashanah. “Disagreement is part of our DNA, from the Bible itself. Different voices are engines for change. Our task is to turn Oct. 7’s horror into opportunity.”
The initiative, established as a global platform to unite Jewish leaders and communities, has evolved into a 150-member council tasked with addressing the most urgent challenges facing Israel and the Jewish world since the Hamas attacks on Oct. 7, 2023.
Divided equally between Israel, North America and the rest of the world, the council’s mandate is to work over a period of two years to produce actionable solutions to issues identified through extensive surveys of thousands of Jews worldwide. The global Jewish community is estimated to surpass 15 million, with almost half living in Israel.
Dagan-Levy, who has a successful background in law, business, high-tech and startups, said that the council represents the widest spectrum of Jewish voices—“from secular to ultra-Orthodox, from 19-year-olds to octogenarians, from business leaders to Jewish federation officials, media and technology experts.”
Herzog, she stressed, is deeply engaged in the project, often meeting with members and ensuring that the initiative is on the agenda in every encounter with Jewish communities worldwide.
“It’s his council,” she said, describing it as part of Herzog’s legacy to strengthen ties between Israel and Diaspora Jewry, especially now.
Among the initiative’s early findings: Before Oct. 7, antisemitism ranked only sixth or seventh among Jewish concerns. Today, it is the number one issue across every community. Other top challenges include polarization, dialogue and the need for proactive leadership, she said.
Despite having its inaugural summit in Haifa in March during one of Israel’s most turbulent years, Dagan-Levy insisted that the council embodied Jewish resilience.
“Every time we planned something, reality hit us—an Iranian attack, hostage bodies returned,” she said. “But that’s the Jewish story: to rise above and think of the future, even in difficulty.”
Asked how successful the initiative had been in serving as a bridge between Israel and the Diaspora in the past year, she said, “A third of Voice of the People is from Israel, two-thirds from the Diaspora. That’s unusual. We want a new discourse about this relationship. Oct. 7 was a trauma for all Jews, wherever they were. We don’t need to compete over who suffers more; we all suffer. We need one mission: to take care of the Jewish people globally and proactively, with trust.”
Looking ahead, she said the first council would present its proposals by June 2026. Meanwhile, preparations are underway for a virtual event in November and an in-person gathering in Europe early next year.
Asked for her message to Israel and the Jewish people ahead of the Jewish New Year, she said, “I wish us simplicity; no drama; and that all hostages return home. We must unite and understand that our strength is being together. Our diversity is our power. That’s the beauty of the Jewish people and we should be proud of it.”
