A new Voice of the People survey seeks to assess the challenges that are most important to Jews around the world as part of a process of creating a body tasked with addressing problems facing the community, President Isaac Herzog announced on Wednesday.
The survey will identify the issues that Diaspora and Israeli Jews care about in the post-October 7 environment, as priorities and situations have arisen for Jewish people, VOP Director of Marketing and Products Neta Danciger told The Jerusalem Post on Wednesday.
Participants in the project, which reportedly had already received hundreds of responses hours after the launch, are tasked with identifying how recent events have impacted their sense of Jewish identity. Problems that world Jewry faces are selected from a multiple choice list as well as by open form. The issues, such as rising antisemitism, Israel-Diaspora relations, and interfaith relations were in part determined by research conducted in 16 countries a year ago by VOP.
Danciger said that “the October 7 massacre served as an awakening for many Jews about their identity and connection or lack thereof to Jewish communities.”
One 30-year-old American survey participant reportedly told VOP that they had experienced antisemitism in the country for the first time in 2024.
The form is available in six languages, and VOP will release the results and date of the survey, said Danciger, which will provide Jews with a greater understanding of their communities.
Danciger said that the survey is provided to Jews around the world to ensure that their concerns are prioritized and to share their thoughts.
The issues identified by the survey will be used by VOP to prioritize the tasks of its planned international Jewish council and the formation of dedicated committees. VOP, launched by Israel last April as a Jewish problem-solving incubator, is opening applications for members of the 150-person advisory council on September 15. Of these, 50 representatives will be chosen by Herzog from Israel, 50 from the US and Canada, and 50 from other countries. Working under the president, members will serve for two years until cycled out for a new cohort, according to Danciger to ensure new and fresh ideas are platformed. The Jewish leaders would engage in research sessions and test solutions in the field to find actionable plans to address pressing Jewish issues. Danciger, who comes from the technology sector, compared it to a start-up.
“By the Jewish people for the Jewish people,” Danciger said of the survey and Voice of the People Council.
Voice of the People CEO Shirel Dagan-Levy said in a statement that the project would use new algorithms to “ensure a diverse and fairly represented council for the global Jewish community, considering factors like gender, religious affiliation, ethnicity, community ties, and a particular emphasis on including members under the age of 50.”
Drawing attention to issues from the Israel-Hamas, rising antisemitism
Herzog said in a statement that the council would tackle critical issues that demanded the attention of the Jewish people amid the Israel-Hamas War and rising antisemitism.
“We are establishing the Voice of the People council, which will focus on ensuring the Jewish people’s ability to thrive in a changing world,” said Herzog. “The survey we are launching today will shape the council, and therefore shape the discussions impacting the future of the Jewish people. I encourage everyone to participate and contribute to help build our collective future.”
The Office of the President worked with the World Zionist Organization, The Jewish Agency for Israel, the Azrieli Foundation, the Patrick and Lina Drahi Foundation, and the Wilf Family Foundation to develop the Voice of the People project.