The Temperature of the State of Israel as it Enters Rosh Hashanah, 5786
Featuring Avi Mayer
Wednesday, the 17th at 1 p.m EST
As Israel moves into Rosh Hashanah 5786, there are internal and external pressures confronting the State. We will address the widening social, political, and ideological divides within Israeli society; current military developments—particularly the implications of recent escalation, such as the strike in Doha—and how shifts in strategy influence prospects for a negotiated resolution. In addition, the conversation will assess the growing international criticism of Israel’s actions in Gaza, the legal and moral debates surrounding the definition of genocide, and whether diplomatic isolation or reputational concerns are contributing to an atmosphere of unease domestically.
In light of these developments, this session will also explore how global antisemitism is evolving—whether heightened incidents abroad and reports of antipathy in academic, cultural, and political spheres are affecting collective morale and identity among Israelis. To what extent can civil society bridges survive under the strain of war and polarization? How do diasporic perceptions feed back into internal debates in Israel? What role might international law, media narratives, and diaspora activism play in either deepening divisions or fostering reconciliation?
About our speaker: Avi Mayer is the founder of Jerusalem Journal and the immediate past Editor-in-Chief of The Jerusalem Post, the most-read English-language newspaper in Israel and the leading news outlet in the Jewish world. With more than a quarter-million followers on X (formerly Twitter) and a monthly audience in the tens of millions, Avi is considered one of the most prominent millennial voices in Israel and the Jewish world.
In 2013, he was named one of the “Jewish 100”—the top one hundred people positively influencing Jewish life—along with then-U.S. President Barack Obama, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and other leading figures. He has been named the third most influential person on ‘Jewish Twitter,’ just behind Prime Minister Netanyahu, and one of the most influential English-speaking immigrants in Israeli politics. He previously held leadership roles in some of the world's leading Jewish organizations, including serving as Managing Director of Global Communications and Public Affairs at the American Jewish Committee (AJC) and as the international spokesperson of The Jewish Agency for Israel, the largest Jewish organization in the world, and of its then-Chairman, Natan Sharansky.
Avi has met with the President of the United States at the White House and he conducted the first newspaper interview with the Prime Minister of Israel after his election. He has addressed lawmakers in both the U.S. Congress and the Knesset, Israel's parliament, on numerous occasions. He is regularly invited to discuss developments in Israel, the Middle East, and the Jewish world on international news networks and he and his work have been featured in some of the world's leading publications. A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Maryland, he has worked for the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs; the Embassy of Israel in Washington, D.C.; Hillel International; and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). He has served on the international boards of KAHAL, an organization for Jewish students studying abroad around the world, and ACCESS, AJC's young leadership program. Avi currently serves as Co-Chair of the Advisory Board of Global Jewry and is a member of the ROI Community.
He is a former participant in the Schechter Institute of Jewish Studies' Jewish communal leadership program. Born in New York and raised in Jerusalem and Maryland, Avi served in the Israel Defense Forces as a spokesperson to the international media. He lives in Jerusalem.
