Some 300 Jewish teenagers from Israel and the Diaspora convened last week in Budapest—Zionist visionary Theodor Herzl’s birthplace—for the first World Jewish-Zionist Youth Congress, a state-backed initiative linking Israel’s Ministry of Education with national and international partners.
The four-day congress (Nov. 3–6) brought together teens and 50 educators from dozens of countries for workshops and discussions on Jewish identity, Zionism, Hebrew as a shared language, civic resilience and the global battle against antisemitism.
Participants drafted a Global Jewish-Zionist Youth Charter and elected a standing youth council to connect young Jewish leaders worldwide.
A second stage of the program is planned for Nov. 29, 2026, in Israel, where participants will present community projects, visit key heritage sites, and continue what organizers describe as a “shared learning journey” that began in Herzl’s city.
Israel’s Education Minister Yoav Kisch hailed the teens’ participation as “a renewal of the Zionist covenant and the Jewish people’s sense of mission,” calling them “a generation that looks forward with faith and responsibility.”
Gur Rosenblatt, head of the Youth and Society Administration in the Education Ministry, said the congress “brings together young Jews from Israel and around the world who are ready to commit to our shared future,” calling it “the beginning of a tradition of leadership, creativity and collective responsibility.”
Uri Cohen, founding CEO of Masa Yisraeli, an educational organization that runs a six-day journey for both Israeli and Diaspora Jews to strengthen their Jewish, Zionist and Israeli identities, said it applied the organization’s model of “shared learning, travel and collaboration” on a global scale.
He added that in 2026, the “Masa Yisraeli-I Belong Israel” program plans to unite Israeli and Diaspora teenagers, “in Herzl’s spirit, from the Negev to Jerusalem, strengthening their sense of belonging to the Jewish people and the State of Israel.”
Israel’s Minister for Diaspora Affairs and the Fight against Antisemitism, Amichai Chikli, said the congress gave “living expression to Herzl’s vision,” quoting historian Alex Bein as saying that Herzl’s goal had been to turn “poor young Jews into proud young Jews.”
Orit Adato, chair of Gesher, described the gathering as “the rise of a young, exciting Jewish leadership,” noting that participation from around the world “shows the unity between Israel and the Diaspora—and gives real reason for optimism.”
The congress was organized by the Ministry of Education in partnership with the Ministries for Diaspora Affairs and for Aliyah and Integration, the Jewish Agency, KKL-JNF, the World Zionist Organization, and educational organizations including Gesher, Netaim and Masa Yisraeli.
