Less than a week after a divisive national election and with emotions in the country running high, Jewish communal leaders, philanthropists, professionals and nonprofit officials from North America and Israel are flocking to Washington, D.C., for this Sunday’s Jewish Federations of North America’s annual General Assembly.

Sensing the national mood in the wake of the victory of President-elect Donald Trump, a polarizing figure in the Jewish community, Eric Fingerhut, JFNA’s president and CEO, warned against post-election disunity in the midst of a year of ongoing crisis for Israel and the American Jewish community. “We don’t have time for disunity. We don’t have time for a postelection period to further divide us,” he told eJewishPhilanthropy on Thursday.

Much has changed since the last GA, which was held in Tel Aviv six months before the Oct. 7, 2023 terror attacks, when Israel was in the midst of bitter domestic turmoil over the government’s judicial overhaul plans. The Hamas massacres and the ensuing war against the terror group in Gaza — and now against Hezbollah in Lebanon — and the accompanying wave of global antisemitism have dramatically reshaped life in Israel and Jewish life around the world. 

This year, the event takes place against the backdrop of Trump’s resounding victory in the United States and renewed protests in Israel over the government’s handling of the grinding wars in Gaza and Lebanon, most recently over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s firing of the country’s defense minister, Yoav Gallant.

The GA kicks off on Sunday with a rally at Nationals Park — dubbed as the “Stand Together” Event — which is expected to draw some 30,000 people.

“Emotions are very high right now on both sides of the political aisle in America and on both sides of the ocean, because of what’s happening in Israel. And that’s even more why we need to be together to remind ourselves of our shared values and common goals,” Fingerhut said, adding that he hopes the event and the conference will garner a spirit of bipartisanship and unity at a complicated juncture for world Jewry.

“We are absolutely working with officials from both parties and leaders in both parties, and of course, a wide diverse range of voices across the Jewish community will be present to model this way of working together,” Fingerhut said.  

Among the over 150 speakers at this year’s GA will be Israeli President Isaac Herzog, as well as former Meta COO Sheryl Sandberg; Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas; Rev. Dr. Wendell Anthony, president of Detroit’s NAACP chapter; American journalist Bari Weiss; and Israeli activist Hen Mazzig. 

Scheduled sessions will be covering a range of topics including antisemitism in academia, Black and Jewish relations, responding to a post-10/7 surge in Jewish life and the role of Jewish leadership at the White House. 

Sunday’s event, emceed by Emmy- and Grammy Award-winner Tiffany Haddish, will also feature several prominent names, among them Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY), Rep. Virgina Foxx (R-NC) Israeli musician Idan Raichel. 

According to Fingerhut, Herzog’s address will be a major highlight of the GA. The event will mark Herzog’s first visit to the U.S. since he addressed Congress last July, months before the Oct. 7 terror attack. 

In his address at last year’s GA, held in April to mark Israel’s 75th anniversary, Herzog warned against deteriorating social cohesion within Israel, and between Israel and Diaspora Jewry. “I am convinced that there is no greater existential threat to our people than the one that comes from within: our own polarization and alienation from one another,” Herzog said last year. At the 2023 GA, Herzog also announced the launch of an initiative — Voice of the People — that he hoped would bring Jews together. The project was shuttered in the aftermath of the Oct. 7 attacks but was revived this past summer and will be discussed at this year’s GA.

Like most years, the American Jewish community’s support for Israel lies at the heart of the conference, as highlighted by Herzog’s address. “To thank the American Jewish community and thank the American people for the support of the last year, to be able for him to do that personally, I think is very significant. He is so highly regarded and in such close touch with the American Jewish community,” said Fingerhut. Since the Oct. 7 attacks, JFNA has raised over $850 million in emergency funding for Israel through its Israel Emergency Campaign, almost $700 million of which has already been allocated, according to Fingerhut. Several hostage family members will also be in attendance, with one slated to speak during one of the plenaries, Fingerhut said.  

But this year’s GA will also focus on security and safety for the Jewish community and investing in American Jewish life during a surge in antisemitism.  “We have to continue that work, but we also need to make sure that we’re investing in Jewish life and the flourishing of Jewish life,” said Fingerhut.