Strengthening Israeli Society

Photo by: Elad Malka


The core approach to our work in Israel is to strengthen Israel as a pluralistic, democratic and shared society with equal opportunity for all its citizens.

Israeli society comprises a myriad of communities, cultures, social groups, and nationalities, with four main “tribes”—secular, ultra-Orthodox, Arab, and religious Zionist. These “tribes” essentially lead to parallel but disconnected lives: they live in separate towns and cities, with varying access to education, employment opportunities, media sources, and infrastructure to connect them to the rest of Israeli society.

The Federation's work focuses on supporting Israelis in authoring the next chapter of Israel’s future, as a society that embraces its diversity as an asset. This consists of promoting more equal opportunity for all of Israel’s citizens in education and employment, while also working to create a shared society that brings the various “tribes” together through leadership development and building intentional communities of practice.

To achieve this, the Federation’s office in Israel collaborates with a variety of partner organizations from across Israeli society—including the Government of Israel—to achieve system-wide social change through innovative and cross-boundary (across all tribes) programs. We also provide opportunities for support that enhance our partners' capacity to ensure they leave a lasting impact on the lives of those they serve. Finally, we aim to serve as a platform for collaboration and coalition-building by building the field of shared society work and creating a network of organizations and leaders with this shared vision for Israel's future.

We focus our impact on:

  • Building a Shared Society in Israel
  • Closing Social Gaps for Equal Opportunity for All of Israel's Citizens
  • Combating poverty by offering skills training and employment
  • Using education to narrow socio-economic gaps and encourage excellence among disadvantaged populations
  • Using volunteerism as an effective tool for social mobility
  • Promoting Freedom of Jewish Expression in Israel

Our strategies for achieving our vision for Israel:

To learn more about our work in Israel: