Gesher

Gesher congratulates our longtime supporter and close friend Rabbi Charlie Savenor on being named as a recipient of this year’s Covenant Award (awarded by The Covenant Foundation), honoring three exceptional Jewish educators for their integral contributions building the field of Jewish education.

“As he has done in so many settings, Charlie sets the educational vision and teaches alongside a team of educators at all workshops and conferences. He believes that the integration of Jewish teachings and values in civics education is essential to the betterment of both the Jewish community and American society.”

Upon receiving the news that he’d been selected for the Award, Savenor shared, “Torah has given my life purpose, passion, and hope. Building Jewish community through meaning and learning is truly all I have ever wanted to do.”

Mazal Tov Charlie!!!!

To read more: https://covenantfn-2026.kudos.nyc/news/the-covenant-foundation-announces-recipients-of-2026-covenant-award/

Gesher congratulates our veteran facilitator Hillel Debow on being named a JDC 2026 Ralph I. Goodman Fellow.

"Encountering these diverse perspectives is the substance of my work. At Gesher, I facilitate conversations between people from across Israeli society. These are spaces in which people enter with strong identities and often even stronger assumptions about one another.

Again and again, I see how fragile our sense of shared Jewish identity can be. How quickly disagreement becomes separation. How two people keeping Shabbat in different ways — one by keeping to the letter of the law and not touching electronics, the other by driving to his grandparents to share a Friday night dinner — can initially create distance.

But I see something else, too. When people are given the space to speak honestly and truly listen, something shifts. It’s not necessarily agreement or resolution, but recognition, an understanding that even across deep differences, we still have something shared.

I love this open space of diversity and respect, dialogue and exploration, and difference without alienation."

To read more and learn what led him to apply for this special and unique leadership opportunity, click here:

“Connection Across Difference”: Introducing the 2026 Ralph I. Goldman (RIG) Fellow | JDC Hillel Debow, the 2026 JDC Entwine Ralph I. Goldman (RIG) Fellow, is a rising Jewish leader dedicated to building bridges between Jews of all backgrounds. At Gesher, an organization where he serves as group facilitator, Debow promotes respectful, effective dialogue between people from every sector o...

What an extraordinary week in New York City.

Leading two separate delegations of influential Israeli leaders and Mayors to the heart of the Jewish community in New York was a profound experience. Over the past several days, we engaged in deep, honest, and transformative dialogues with communal leaders, organizations, and the next generation of young people.

These meetings were not about sharing our story but about listening. We explored the complexities of our shared destiny and the critical importance of the bond between Israel and the Diaspora. Our goal was to bridge divides and strengthen the connection to our global family, and the insights we gained were invaluable.

The week culminated in a powerful moment of unity as we marched together in the Celebrate Israel Parade on Fifth Avenue. Standing shoulder to shoulder with tens of thousands of others, the energy was a testament to our collective resilience.

Our team is returning home with a heightened sense of connection to our brothers and sisters overseas. We are reminded that we are not working in isolation. We are part of a vital and vibrant partnership that spans the globe.

I am incredibly grateful to all the partners who made this week possible, including קק״ל - קרן קימת לישראל , בית בן-גוריון בתל אביב and the מרכז השלטון המקומי בישראל Federation of Local Authorities in Israel, as well as to the members of our delegations for their vision, intellect, and commitment to a shared future.

I am also grateful to all of the leaders and people we met with and all those who hosted our group in their offices or in their homes throughout the week. Without the hospitality and generosity of these individuals, none of this would have been possible.

Together, we are building the strategic social infrastructure that will sustain our people for generations to come.

Words have the power to build bridges or burn them. Following recent public discourse regarding the relationship between Israel and the Diaspora, our CEO, Ilan Geal Dor shared a vital perspective in מקור ראשון (link to the original article in Hebrew in the first comment).

While the original article was published in Hebrew, we believe the message of the "Great Jewish Family" is one that must be heard by our partners and friends worldwide.

Read the full English translation (thanks Gemini) below.
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Calling US Jews "Traitors" is a Failure to Understand the Relationship Between Israel and the Diaspora

By Ilan Geal-Dor | April 24, 2026

In a recent article, the harsh term "traitors" was used toward broad segments of American Jewry. Beyond the provocative verbal bluntness, this reveals a concerning worldview that reduces Zionism to a technical, contractual, and cold "here and now" relationship. It is a simplistic approach that ignores the deep, rooted essence of the State of Israel as the national home of the entire Jewish people.

The Great Jewish Family

We must correct a common error: the connection between Israeli Jews and Diaspora Jews is not a parent-child relationship. The State of Israel is not the "parent" who educates, scolds, or acts as a patron, and we in Israel are not the sole guardians of their identity.

We are brothers. We are members of the same ancient family, sharing a common history and an inseparable shared destiny. Within this family, the connection is horizontal and equal; it is based on mutual responsibility (Arvut Hadadit), not on relations of authority.

Belonging Beyond Geography Belonging is not merely a function of geography. It crosses oceans and political borders. As Zionists, Aliyah remains a central and supreme value for us. We strive and pray so that every Jew finds their home here with us.

However, even if a Jew does not move to Israel, they remain a brother. They do not lose their right to sit at the family Shabbat table. The inability, or even the lack of will, to move at one point in time does not turn a Jew into a "traitor".

A Shared Destiny Since the "Black Shabbat" of October 7th, we have seen this shared destiny in action. We have seen:

• Volunteers who came in the heat of the conflict to pick fruit in the fields of the Gaza envelope.
• Professionals who dropped everything to assist on the civil front.
• Brave young people who fought for Israel's reputation on hostile campuses.

They did not do this as "strangers" lending a hand to a foreign country, but as family members who feel that any harm to Be'eri or Metulla is a direct hit to their own home.

The Mosaic of Our Strength

The Jewish people is not a monolith, but a complete puzzle where every piece - whether it is in Los Angeles, Paris, or Johannesburg - is essential to completing the picture. The thought that we can "give up" on entire parts of this puzzle is a fatal blow to the national, spiritual, and cultural resilience of the State of Israel itself.
We need their spirit and their support, and they need us as a center of identity and pride. Not as scolding patrons, but as loving brothers.

A Call for Partnership

We must move from a language of exclusion and petty accounting to a language of partnership and deep responsibility within the Great Jewish Family. The word "traitor" must not be spoken within the Jewish home.

At the end of the day, despite all the disagreements and distances, we are one family. And brothers, even when they choose different paths and even when they are far from home, always remain brothers.