TEL AVIV, Israel |ย Birthright Israel will convene approximately 350 philanthropists, entrepreneurs and business leaders from around the world in Tel Aviv this November for its inaugural Global Business Summit, bringing its international network of supporters together in Israel for the first time in the organizationโs 26-year history.
The invitation-only gathering will take place Nov. 1 to 3 at the Hilton Tel Aviv. Organizers say the three-day program will combine business and economic discussions, networking, alumni stories and direct engagement with Israeli communities.
The summit will bring together figures from Israeli business, technology, finance and public life with international entrepreneurs, investors and philanthropists.
The gathering will open with a Gala Evening of Recognition honouring the leadership and philanthropy that Birthright Israel says have sustained its programs over the past 26 years. Israeli President Isaac Herzog is scheduled to deliver remarks alongside major supporters from Israel and abroad.
Birthright Israel said the summit is intended to extend the principle underlying its programs, that experiencing Israel firsthand can create connections that cannot be replicated from abroad, to the donors, business leaders and partners who have helped finance nearly one million Birthright journeys.
โFor 26 years, we have brought young Jewish adults to Israel because we believe that experiencing Israel personally creates a connection that lasts,โ said Gidi Mark, international CEO of Birthright Israel.
โNow we are bringing together the people who made those journeys possible. This Summit is an opportunity for our global community to experience Israel again for themselves, to meet the people shaping its future, and to ask what we can build together for the next generation.โ
Mark said the gathering was designed to bring Birthrightโs international supporters together โnot to talk about Israel from afar, but to be in it.โ
Israeli Business and Technology Leaders to Participate
The summitโs second day is expected to feature discussions involving prominent figures from Israeli and international business, investment, technology and public life.
Scheduled participants include Sir Ronald Cohen, impact investing pioneer and co-founder of Apax Partners; Dr. Miriam Adelson, a major Birthright Israel supporter; Eyal Waldman, founder of Mellanox; Amit Krig, NVIDIA-Israel site leader and senior vice president of networking software; former Mossad director Yossi Cohen; investor and ICON founder Yasmin Lukatz; and former Microsoft Israel CEO Shelly Landsmann.
Other scheduled participants include author and public intellectual Dr. Micah Goodman; entrepreneur and investor Yoel Cheshin; real-estate developer and philanthropist Danna Azrieli Hakim; and Angela Homsi, co-founder and president of Ignite Power.
Birthright said the program will also feature alumni who have become entrepreneurs, investors, philanthropists, and community leaders.
Organizers describe the summit as focused on connection and collaboration rather than operating as a traditional fundraising conference.
โCombining Business and Purpose has been my life mission and this first Birthright Israel Business Summit is the culmination of 26 years of impact on nearly one million lives and tens of thousands of supporters from around the world,โ said Ethy Levy, vice-president of Global Resource Development & Partnerships at Birthright Israel.
โIt is our way to give back to our supporters by providing an exclusive and intimate platform for networking, doing business and doing good together.โ
Birthright Cites $2.6 Billion Economic Impact
Birthright Israel says nearly one million young Jewish adults from 70 countries have participated in its programs during the past 26 years.
The organization estimates those visits have generated approximately $2.6 billion in economic activity in Israel through spending on hotels, tour operators, guides, restaurants and other Israeli businesses.
Birthright also says many alumni have subsequently returned to Israel independently to study, intern, invest or establish businesses.
The summit is intended in part to highlight that economic dimension of Birthrightโs activities while creating new connections among international supporters and Israeli entrepreneurs, investors and innovators.
Final Day to Move Beyond Conference Room
The summitโs third day will take participants outside the conference setting for what organizers are calling a Field Day.
Participants are expected to encounter Israeli businesses and innovation while volunteering alongside current Birthright participants in communities where the organization has been active since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led terrorist attacks on southern Israel.
Organizers say the day is intended to give participants direct exposure to Israeli communities and the countryโs continuing recovery.
The summit comes as Birthright Israel enters another stage in a program that has become one of the largest organized efforts to connect young Diaspora Jews with Israel.
Since its launch, Birthright has brought participants from dozens of countries to Israel on educational trips that include encounters with Israeli peers and visits throughout the country.
The Global Business Summit will apply a similar emphasis on firsthand engagement to the international network of philanthropists and business leaders whose financial support has helped make those programs possible.
Participation in the Nov. 1 to 3 summit at the Hilton Tel Aviv is by invitation and limited to Birthright Israel supporters worldwide.
TheJ.ca receives no government money. Independent journalism depends on readers who believe these stories must be told. Consider supporting our efforts.
Stand Proud. Stand Strong. Stand Zionist.
