Actor Michael Rapaport is given “Brave Leadership of Zion” award.
(Credit: Sharon Altshul)
(Courtesy of Pulse of Israel) Over 2,000 people attended the second annual Pulse of Israel Conference, in person and via livestream, to learn about key issues that lay ahead for Israel. “What’s Next For Israel,” held at Jerusalem’s Begin Center, featured a roster of internationally recognized experts who explored Israel’s most pressing issues. Among the topics were the future of Gaza, Yehuda and Shomron, Israel’s approach to Iran, its relationship with the United States, its justice system, and the alarming escalation of antisemitism around the globe.
Speakers included Pulse of Israel CEO Avi Abelow; Minister of Diaspora Affairs Amichai Chikli; Knesset members Simcha Rotman and Dan Ilouz; Len Khodorkovsky, former deputy assistant secretary of state for digital strategy and senior advisor to the US special representative for Iran; Brig. Gen. (Res.) Amir Avivi, founder and chairman of IDSF; veteran Middle East journalist Caroline Glick; Kenneth Abramowitz, founder and president of SaveTheWest.com; and Shay Kallach, a former combat pilot in the Israeli Air Force and founder and chairman of Netsach Yisrael.
(Credit: Pulse of Israel)
Abelow opened the conference with an emotional address, calling for the safety of IDF soldiers,including two of his sons, the return of the hostages and a complete victory over Hamas. He called on Israeli and Jewish leadership to “play offense with our powerful story of justice, instead of always playing defense,” emphasizing Israel’s need to ensure its own security by reclaiming Gaza, which Israel unilaterally surrendered in 2005.
In a video message, Mike Johnson, speaker of the United States House of Representatives, recalled his first trip to Israel this past year, calling it “life-changing” and “an invaluable resource… to see it with our own eyes and share our experience with our colleagues.” Speaker Johnson called for an end to funding for organizations that spread antisemitism, calling on the US to defund UNWRA for this reason.
Actor Michael Rapaport was recognized with Pulse of Israel’s Brave Leadership of Zion Award for his outspoken pro-Israel activism on social media. “This is my fourth time in Israel since November 2023. Before that trip, I had never been here. There has been so much suffering since October 7—now 268 days—and I pray every single day for the release of the hostages, the safety of our soldiers, for the people getting lambasted every day,” the actor said. “Along the way, I have met so many inspiring people, incredibly brave soldiers and amazing families. It feels like home; I feel so comfortable here. Never doubt your Judaism. Stick together. Be together. Am Yisrael Chai!”
(Credit: Pulse of Israel)
Journalist and political analyst Caroline Glick spoke of the “volcanic eruption of antisemitism in the West” and the explosion of anti-Zionist policies, which no longer makes this an Arab-Israeli conflict but a world conflict. “The emergence of world bodies, such as the ICC, ICJ and the UN, as well as the rise of unelected, undemocratic leaders who are increasingly hostile to Israel leaves Israel unable to do anything against these organizations, who only become more hostile towards the Jewish state no matter what they do.”
Abelow concluded the conference with a video featuring “Pulse of Israel Warriors,” a program that supports students fighting antisemitism on campus, and outlined a proposed five-point plan for a bright future for Israel and the Jewish People.
