How do we reconnect the Jewish people? The initiatives trying to turn ideas into reality

When was the last time you practised yoga or meditation inspired by the ideas of your community’s rabbi? This unusual connection, which its founder says is “closer than people think,” is offered by Jewish Third Space, one of many initiatives presented in recent days at a gathering of inspiring Jews in Budapest, Hungary’s capital.

“The idea is to promote Judaism and make it accessible through spirituality,” says entrepreneur Alycia Fridkin. “I realised that quite a few Jews around me were seeking a spiritual connection but could not find it in the synagogue, including many young people. So I decided to create a community based on yoga retreats…”

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“…In my view, you do not even have to be Jewish to benefit from the ideas of Judaism, many of which are universal,” she notes. “You need to come with an open mind and a willingness to experience something new, a kind of spiritual experiment that connects body and mind in a remarkable way, just as Judaism connects body and soul.”

Indeed, this is not an experiment that suits everyone. When I ask about criticism and claims that this is not “Judaism according to halakha,” she replies: “It is clear to me that this will not work for everyone. Not every stream of Judaism will accept it, and that is legitimate. But my message is different: this is not the right way, but another way. The many Jews who feel more connected thanks to the initiative are the best evidence of that.”

The surprising initiative was one of many presented in recent days in Budapest at the closing conference of the first cohort of Voice of the People, an initiative of President Isaac Herzog and the World Zionist Organization.

Over the past year and a half, 150 Jewish leaders and entrepreneurs from the private and business sectors have developed initiatives through the movement to address urgent challenges facing the Jewish people in Israel and, especially, the Diaspora. The initiatives focus on five main areas selected before the programme began: antisemitism; relations between Jews and non-Jews; relations between the State of Israel and Diaspora Jewry; Jewish education and tradition; and dialogue and polarisation between different communities. Now, these 150 ambassadors are seeking to put their ideas into practice.

“My idea seeks to bring Israeli Jews and Diaspora Jews closer together,” continues Josh Buchtler, who is behind the One Bayit project. “We have created a secure community through which Jewish travellers around the world find local Jewish hosts. Through the platform, hosts offer travellers a bed for a night or several nights, hospitality for a Shabbat or holiday meal, or even simply a hot meal on the other side of the world, free of charge.”

According to Josh, this gives both sides a safer hospitality experience, but it does not end there. “For me, one of the goals is to create a community where Israelis can also talk with Diaspora Jews about more complex issues. They do not necessarily need to convince Jews abroad of the rightness of Israel’s position, although for me that would be the best possible outcome. Even moving them towards a more neutral position regarding the State of Israel and giving them authentic knowledge about what is happening there is enough, so that they can become ambassadors in their own countries.”

“Think about it: a combat soldier who has completed his service and is travelling in South America or the Far East talks with a Jewish family in a remote city about life in Israel and service in the IDF. The family, in turn, talks about the complexities of being Jewish in the Diaspora. It is an incredible connection.”

When I ask whether the platform itself poses a risk, including the possibility that hostile actors could infiltrate the pool of travellers and hosts, Josh takes out his mobile phone and opens the app.

“It is a closed community,” he replies. “When people register, we ask whether they have connections to Jewish communities and, if so, which ones. We are connected to those communities and verify this. If we are unsure, we hold a video call and ask for links to social media accounts, such as LinkedIn. If we identify that a user has no connection at all to the Jewish world, they simply cannot continue the registration process. At this stage, the emphasis is on quality rather than quantity, and to date we have already made 36 successful connections around the world.”

The Kivun initiative, founded by Rafael Harel, Brittany Levy and Yotam Schleier, also seeks to create connections of this kind. Harel, who grew up in Singapore and worked at Apple and PayPal, wanted to connect technology with the lives of different Jewish communities.

“It is a kind of AI-based group concierge operating within the community,” he explains. “The tool knows who needs what and connects community members in everyday life: rides, Shabbat meals and job searches, and, of course, people on different sides of disagreements over various issues. In fact, when a rift develops between community members, it can also help with mediation.”

In his view, the field of artificial intelligence barely focuses on solutions for communities. “One of the Jewish people’s greatest advantages is that we live in communities. The group is our strength, even alongside polarisation, which is an enormous problem. The idea is to harness artificial intelligence to help people live better together.”

“I believe we can build stronger Jewish communities if we connect people even across disagreements,” he continues. “Polarisation is not resolved by arguing about the burning issue, but when people from both sides meet again and again in everyday life and see the human being in front of them, even if they disagree. In addition, we want newcomers to a community to get to know people they would not have met on their own. Artificial intelligence will do the coordination work, and people will devote their time to one another.”

Shirel Dagan-Levy, CEO of Voice of the People and herself a technology professional, believes the initiative is an important step towards returning the State of Israel to global headlines in a positive light.

“Over the past three years, in a sense, we have lost the ability to imagine,” she says. “There is no reason we should not have a vision. True, we cannot ignore October 7 or the fact that people come to destroy us at every turn. But we always manage to get back on our feet, find the spark of a vision and even spread goodness and light in the world, with the help of the wonderful people who say ‘Here I am’ when everything around them is falling apart…”

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According to Dagan-Levy, much of the initiative’s success stems from its range of ages, which allows younger and older people to work together. “The young people say to me, ‘Wow, how much I have learned from the older people.’ But just as much, the older people come and tell me how vital they feel and how curious they are to learn about fields that have entered our lives only in recent years. It is a wonderful connection.”

Shirel concludes our conversation with a request to both the Jews of our tiny country and those of the Diaspora.

“I admit that before joining the initiative, I knew nothing about Diaspora Jewry. More than that, I repeatedly apologised to philanthropists and community leaders for the fact that this is a subject that is not on our Israeli minds at all, not even in the back of them. Today I understand that the State of Israel’s strength is rooted in the Jewish presence outside it. That word, ‘Israel,’ is tearing apart Jewish families and communities around the world. My request is that we assume good intentions, talk and listen with the understanding that we are one people. We do not have to agree on everything. We can continue to live with a certain amount of tension, and that is all right. What matters is that we hear one another and understand our needs as a community, as one people, and act together to advance solutions.”