Can't vote in Israel? 'The main way to influence is through giving'

Giving through JGive is now more than four times its pre-October 7 level. Founder and CEO Ori Ben-Shlomo on whether Israel-diaspora solidarity can last. Three years after October 7, the surge in giving to Israel hasn't faded; it has kept climbing. Ben-Shlomo says JGive expects more than a quarter of a million Israeli and diaspora donors this year, giving a combined half a billion shekels. The bigger shift, he argues, is cultural: "Before October 7, the third sector was nice to have. Now it's a must-have." With elections approaching and many diaspora Jews unable to vote, he makes a provocative case: "Politics divides people, and giving connects them." In his view, philanthropy can shape Israeli society more than politics does. Ben-Shlomo founded JGive after reserve duty in Operation Protective Edge in 2014. In this conversation, he explains how donors moved from the old "Uncle Sam" model of writing a check to an institution toward direct, transparent giving, often alongside Israelis rather than for them. He also takes on a hard question: how diaspora communities are balancing support for Israel against the rising cost of protecting themselves from antisemitism at home. He shares the story of a wounded reservist who used his own rehab to fundraise for his hospital roommate, and he lays out his vision for Israel's "fourth power": a strong civil society, built alongside defense, the economy, and technology.