There is a particular kind of hope I have been thinking about since Oct. 7, 2023 — and now again after Israel celebrated 78 years of independence. This “hope” is not naïveté that floats above reality, untethered to facts; nor is it the Israeli expression yihiyeh beseder — “everything will be OK” — that waits for circumstances to improve. The hope I am thinking of now is something far more proactive.

Psychologist C.R. Snyder defined hope not as an emotion but as a cognitive framework built on three elements: a clear sense of agency (the belief that our actions matter), clear goals that give direction to that agency and multiple pathways forward to achieve them. Hope, in this formulation, is not a feeling. It is a structure for action.

That distinction matters profoundly in this moment. Across Israel, displaced families have not yet returned home. Communities in the North are not yet fully secure. Daily life continues under the weight of war, with reservists and their families carrying an immense burden. On a global level, antisemitism has seeped into public spaces and private lives alike, undermining Jews’ sense of safety and belonging. And yet, amid this reality, the Jewish people are not retreating. They are organizing.

These dynamics are demonstrated through The Jewish Agency for Israel’s newly released “One People Report” — a truly global survey of the Jewish people, conducted by the Ipsos research institute using a representative sample of 1,428 people spanning 19 countries. Telling the story of our people in four chapters, the report reads like Snyder’s framework brought to life. What makes our survey distinctive is that it treats the Jewish People as one people, with shared concerns and possibly shared aspirations. While we acknowledge the distinct character of each community, we also articulate something that potentially transcends geography — a common sense of purpose and responsibility for the future we could be shaping together.

The first chapter is a difficult one. Our new reality has been redefined by threat. Sixty-nine percent of Jews worldwide name antisemitism as the central challenge facing their communities today and for 79% of Israelis, it tops the list too. These are not abstract concerns. Forty-three percent of European Jews personally encountered antisemitism in the past year. Only 22% of French Jews feel safe as Jews in their own country. And beyond antisemitism, 46% of Jews globally identify Israel’s international image as their second-greatest challenge, a number that reaches 54% in Israel itself. This is our reality, redefined. But the report doesn’t stop there — and neither can we.

The second chapter reveals where we draw our strength, and it is both simple and deep: from each other. 

Fifty-six percent of Jews worldwide say it is important to be connected to the Jewish community around them, and 55% report that their community is a strong and supportive environment. These numbers are not merely comforting: they are strategic. The report reveals a striking correlation: Jews who feel more connected to Jewish life also feel significantly stronger and more secure. Among those who feel connected to their community, 51% report high personal security; among those who don’t, that number drops to just 25%. This means connection is not a comfort. It is a capacity. This is arevut hadadit — mutual responsibility.

Eighty-eight percent of respondents see Israel as the homeland of the Jewish people. Eighty-five percent say the State of Israel is essential for Jewish flourishing. Eighty-two percent of Israelis agree that a strong global Jewish community is vital for Israel’s resilience. This means that the relationship is reciprocal, and both sides know it. These are not sentimental attachments. They are shared goals, the second essential element of hope.

The third chapter belongs to the next generation — and it is where genuine hope is revealed. 

Seventy-four percent of young Jews ages 18-28 worldwide believe their actions can positively influence the future of their community. Sixty-seven percent of young Israelis believe the same about Israel’s future. Sixty-four percent of young Jews globally are optimistic about their community’s future — nearly double the rate of those over 60.

What makes this remarkable is not the optimism itself, but its source. These young people are not optimistic despite the challenges; they are optimistic because they feel the power to respond to them. That is agency. That is the first and most essential element of hope. And here, too, Snyder’s framework is instructive: Hope does not deny obstacles. It insists on confronting them with agency and strategy.

The fourth chapter reveals what happens when agency meets opportunity: an exceptional willingness to act. Seventy-seven percent of global Jewry and 88% of Israelis are ready to participate in at least one Jewish- or Israel-related initiative. Globally, 67% want to strengthen Jewish identity; 64% want to strengthen their local community; 59% want to deepen ties with Israel; 57% want to strengthen the State of Israel itself. In Israel, 76% are willing to support IDF reservists and 68% want to strengthen victims of war and terror. 

The willingness is there. The goals seem clear. What’s needed are pathways.

This is precisely where The Jewish Agency’s strategic work begins. Our mandate is not to respond to a report. It is to build the infrastructure that turns the potential energy revealed in this data into real, sustained impact. We work across two overarching impact areas: strengthening Israel and fostering mutual responsibility among the Jewish people worldwide. These are not parallel tracks — they fuel each other. And we pursue both through multiple, concrete pathways.

We are rebuilding Israel’s North and South — physically, economically and socially — as collective Jewish endeavors. Border communities devastated by war deserve the investment of an entire people, and we have seen a surge of young Jews asking not how they can observe from afar, but how they can participate directly. We are strengthening Jewish identity and connection to Israel among young Jews worldwide, expanding pathways for real mifgash, genuine encounter, through the work of shlichim (Israeli emissaries) and supporting the field of Israel educational travel. An entire generation has come of age with limited firsthand experience of Israel, between the disruptions of COVID-19 pandemic and the security situation since Oct. 7. Our global network of shlichim — Israeli envoys serving in communities, in Hillel branches on campuses and in summer camps — creates the relationships and understanding that close this gap. We are also empowering young Israelis through their connection to the broader Jewish world, because the data confirms that this bond is protective for them and for all of us.

And we are building the resilience and security of Jewish communities everywhere not just through security protocols, but through the deeper infrastructure of belonging that the data shows makes communities stronger. Through initiatives like the JReady emergency preparedness platform, we are ensuring that Jewish communities are not alone—they are connected to each other and equipped to respond.

We connect in different ways, but we are one people. 

The “One People Report” does something unusual for a survey: it treats Jews in Paris, New York, Buenos Aires and Jerusalem as part of one ongoing, diverse and deep story. These are not identical stories, as each community has its own character and its own challenges. Collectively, the stories reflect shared pains and shared aspirations for the future. That framing is itself a form of hope.

The Jewish people possess the ingredients Snyder describes: a shared sense of purpose, a growing belief in our own agency and an extraordinary willingness to act. Our task is to turn that potential into progress.

At this moment, that is not just a theory. It is a road map, and now is the time to act on it — together.

Shelley Kedar is the chief impact officer at The Jewish Agency for Israel.