The Jewish Agency for Israel’s Board of Governors rebuked the Israeli government at its annual meeting in Tel Aviv on Sunday, with the organization’s leaders and other members decrying its “neglect and failure” in the aftermath of the Oct. 7 terror attacks and its continued absence in the rehabilitation and reconstruction effort.

In his address at the opening plenary, the Jewish Agency’s chairman of the executive, Maj. Gen (res.) Doron Almog, who lost several family members in the Oct. 7 massacre, contrasted the “neglect and failure of [Israel’s] government’s defense and state institutions” with the unwavering commitment and rapid mobilization of Diaspora Jewry.

“As part of this commitment, each one of you has been a source of hope,” Almog told the 120 members of the board of governors at the start of the three-day gathering — the second in-person meeting since the massacre. 

On Monday, the Jewish Agency board of governors toured communities throughout the country to see the organization’s work up close. The convening was due to conclude on Tuesday, following a session on the group’s initiative Wings, which supports lone soldiers — service members without familial support in Israel.

Almog, who took the helm of the organization in 2022, said the Jewish Agency was dedicated to building a new Israel in the wake of the Oct. 7 attacks.

“The image of victory will not be determined on the battlefield,” said the former IDF general. “True victory will be achieved only through building an exemplary society — a society that will be a source of inspiration, attracting Jews worldwide. A society that strives for excellence on one hand and does not leave the weak behind on the other. It will be measured by the society we will build together, a society that builds upon core values, in which all its members carry the burden and take part. The values ??that led you, my dear partners, since Oct. 7, the values ??that were reflected in your enormous contribution to the State of Israel… [have] never been more substantial.”

According to Almog, this effort includes the long-term rehabilitation and strengthening of Israel, as well as the promotion of aliyah (Jewish immigration to Israel) for young, educated Jews who can help with the recovery of communities in Israel’s north and the south. Since the war 33,000 people have made aliyah, he noted.

But true rehabilitation for Israel can’t begin until the 101 hostages still in captivity have come home, he said.

Reviewing the organization’s work over the past year, Almog noted that the Jewish Agency has mobilized extensive support for communities affected by Israel’s wars against Hamas in Gaza and against Hezbollah in Lebanon, providing critical aid through initiatives, including the Fund for Victims of Terror, assistance to small businesses in conflict zones, pre-military programs, the teen mentorship Youth Futures and preparing projects to support kibbutzim through its public housing subsidiary, Amigour. 

Additionally, the Partnership2Gether platform — which connects Israeli towns with Jewish communities in the Diaspora — has expanded, lone soldiers have received additional backing and Jewish Agency-run youth villages have hosted traumatized young people. The Jewish Agency has also continued its work to strengthen Jewish communities abroad, particularly in Ukraine, and has launched the year with a record number of emissaries worldwide. 

On Sunday, the Board of Governors also elected its first Druze member —  former Knesset member Col. (res.) Mofid Marai — and adopted a resolution calling on the Knesset to pass legislation that acknowledges the Druze community’s commitment to the State of Israel, and that affirms the full equality of rights to which the Druze citizens of Israel are entitled. This would effectively serve as an amendment to the controversial 2018 Nation-State Law, which declared that Israel is the nation-state of the Jewish people. The Druze community in Israel opposed the bill at the time and has continued to call for its repeal, seeing it as designating them as second-class citizens despite their military service and general commitment to the country.

Marai serves as the Jewish Agency’s commissioner for the promotion of Druze society and as chair of the Hurfeish-Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest New Jersey Partnership. He was elected on behalf of the Jewish Federations of North America with Almog’s recommendation.

“We, the members of the Druze community, have stood with the State of Israel for generations and will continue to do so in the future,” Marai said. “I see my new position as a mission to strengthen the relationship, partnership, and equality between the Druze community and the State of Israel, and a significant opportunity to advance the important needs of the Druze community in Israel.”

At the meeting, Israeli Druze spiritual leader Sheik Mowafaq Tarif addressed the board members, lauding the Jewish Agency for its work with the Druze community while criticizing the Israeli government for failing to.

Tarif noted that 13 Druze soldiers have been killed in battle and many more injured since the outbreak of war, and that 12 Druze children were killed in August by a Hezbollah missile on a soccer field in the Golan village of Majdal Shams. Yet he accused the government of overlooking the Druze community.

“Our Druze people have gone out to fight regularly in the reserves without hesitation. The communities stand firm, and have refused to be evacuated from our homes [near the Lebanese border] despite the difficulties… Yet can you imagine how the powerful State of Israel fails to solve the Druze community’s housing crisis?” he said. “The official State of Israel, which wants to strengthen and settle the Galilee and the North, does not see potential in the Druze communities there and does not invest in them in various areas of life. Israeli governments do not miss any opportunity to miss any opportunity to [help] the Druze community, and I wonder if Israeli governments do not want a partnership with the Druze community. But we will not give up on our Israeli-ness. This is where we were born. This is our country and we will do everything for its sake and benefit. We will not give up on our shared vision and values.”

Tarif said that, in contrast, the Jewish Agency has embraced the Druze community. “Where the government failed, you were there to help and assist the communities,” he said.

Also speaking at the opening session, Jewish Agency CEO Yehuda Setton stressed the need for the organization to expand its shlichim (emissaries) program in order to deepen the connection between Diaspora Jews and Israel. 

“One of our biggest challenges is to inspire the next generation to love Israel. Research shows that shlichim play a pivotal role in fostering meaningful, authentic relationships between Israel and Jews around the world. Currently active in 274 communities, our shlichim are at the forefront of this effort,” Setton said.

To that end, he said, the Jewish Agency aims to expand its already extensive network of emissaries to also include smaller more vulnerable communities in order to strengthen the interconnection of Jewish communities as well as creating a sense of security for Jews around the world.

Ultimately, Setton told the board of governors, the organization hopes to ensure that every Jew takes an active role in rebuilding Israel and the creation of a sense of mutual responsibility.

“We need you as active participants. Meaningful change comes at moments of disruption and discomfort,” he said. “My belief in a brighter future for the Jewish people and Israel is anchored in the people in this room.”

Pnina Agenyahu, director of the Global Partnerships Network, told eJewishPhilanthropy that while the Jewish Agency has been stepping in to fill in the gaps in this moment of crisis, and in her capacity she has worked to connect Jewish communities in a personal way with Israeli border communities needing support, its financial support is not meant to replace the government’s responsibility to these communities. North American communities have been asked to give a commitment of two to three years to the Israeli communities they support not only financially but also in person-to-person contact, she said, as many of those communities have expressed feelings of lack of trust due to the government’s absence when it was most needed.

“We always ensure that we’re not coming to replace, but we leverage the impact. We don’t want to be in a place where [the government] sees us and then say, ‘Oh, they have support already so they don’t need us,’” she said, adding that the government is slowly starting to provide support in some affected communities.

Daniel Elbaum, the Jewish Agency’s head of North America, added that as long as there are people in need, the organization will continue to support them but does expect the government to step in at a later time.

“There will be a time when we’re going to have to sit down and figure out what’s the proper role for the government and what’s the proper role for philanthropy at this point,” he said.

Lori Klinghoffer, a member of the board of governors from the Jewish Federation of Metro-West, N.J., and chair of the subcommittee for Partnerships2Gether, said she personally had been disappointed by the government’s lack of response from Day One and the continuing lack of support for certain struggles

“But I’m deeply proud of Israeli society and world Jewry that has stepped up to do what we can to provide the support to provide the heartfelt connection to all Israelis and especially those that are most affected. We hope to be an example for better partnership,” she said. “Governments change over time. Our role does not. Our role is to be the example.”

Shelley Kedar, director of the Jewish Agency’s Connecting the Jewish People Unit, told eJP that while the war and the current government has accentuated divisions of opinions among Israelis and within Jewish communities, it is also providing more ways for people to connect with each other in Israel. 

 “It opened up for a lot of people a lot of different ways to actually connect with Israel and with their Jewishness in a way that they had not done before,” Kedar said. “I think our challenge is to now leverage all these new openings and actually be creative and invite people into the Jewish community in ways that we haven’t before.”