By Dr. Alick Isaacs
Siach Shalom Cofounder and Codirector
Dear Friends of Siach Shalom,
As we approach Rosh Hashanah, I write to you with a heart full of mixed emotions. I want to extend my warmest wishes for a happy and blessed new year, and to share words of Torah and hope, as is our tradition. I also feel immense pride in the meaningful work Siach Shalom has accomplished over the past few months, and I look forward to sharing those updates with you.
Collaboration with the Office of the President
Dr. Alick Isaacs attends a ceremony with Israeli President Isaac Herzog and Michal Herzog.
Yet, I cannot ignore the extraordinary and painful times we are living through. Each of us, in our own way, has felt the discomfort and uncertainty of recent months, as tides have turned against Jews across the world. As Israelis, we have endured relentless scrutiny—often biased, sometimes malicious—and it has taken a toll. This comes at a moment when many of us lie awake at night, worrying about the fate of the hostages in Gaza, the well-being of our children serving in the IDF and the chilling reality that there are forces who believe we should accept a future with terrorists committed to our destruction living on our doorstep. Tragically, the paths forward are often contradictory and, once again, our society finds itself torn from within—struggling to reconcile our fears, our values and our hopes for peace. During this difficult period, Siach Shalom has had the privilege of operating, as it were, in the eye of the storm—working within Israeli society to foster connection, understanding and healing. Our collaboration with the Office of the President has led to several successful initiatives that will be expanded in the coming year. One highlight was a pilot program with the Ministry of Education, which brought together two diverse groups of high school principals representing every sector of Israeli society. Just weeks ago, I had the honor of attending a ceremony with President Isaac Herzog and Michal Herzog, where awards were presented to the teams who led the most creative and impactful collaborative projects. Through these efforts, Siach Shalom’s vision reached thousands of students, and we are now preparing to launch six additional groups in 2026.
A similar initiative unfolded with the regional directors of the Israeli Association of Community Centers. At another ceremony hosted by the President, we listened as directors—Jewish and Arab, from all streams and identities—shared their journeys of mutual understanding. They spoke of learning to recognize each other’s pain and striving to build a more united society. On a quieter but no less meaningful level, we have also been working with families of hostages, families of fallen soldiers, residents of the Gaza envelope, social workers, psychologists and others. We are reaching people of influence—leaders, politicians, rabbis—and helping them experience the transformative power of Siach Shalom: A space where hearts open, and genuine connection becomes possible.
Sharing Our Work More Broadly
In addition to these groups and more, we have decided to gradually and carefully make our work more public. This shift emerged organically from within the community, as participants expressed a desire to share the richness of their experiences more widely. To mark this new phase, we held a beautiful event celebrating 15 years of our work together. It was a moment of reflection and renewal, and during it we launched our vision for how we will step into the public sphere. We now have a Facebook page and will be producing regular Siach Shalom podcasts. Many of us have already been interviewed on local podcasts, and we’ve begun creating short films that capture the spirit and stories of our gatherings. This digital content will continue to grow, offering participants new ways to share their journeys and insights with a broader audience online.
Our Work with Palestinians
One of the greatest challenges we have faced concerns our work with Palestinians and Israeli Arabs. After October 7, we made the painful decision to shut down that entire side of our organization. In its place, we embarked on a journey—amazing in its depth, but also deeply troubling—to learn more about Islam, Palestinian history and culture, and to begin defining the parameters of what a partner for peace that we can believe in might look like. In a world where support for Palestinians is too often conflated with support for Hamas, our primary concern has been to identify a vision of partnership that both the right and the left in Israel can trust. This has been an enormously challenging journey, filled with frustration and heartbreak. Our question is simple, yet profound: What is your vision for the future of the Jewish People? And what foundation is that vision built upon? Sadly, many of the answers we’ve encountered have broken our hearts.
Yet, even in the midst of disappointment, we have found hope. There is an Abrahamic awakening taking place in parts of the Arab world—a quiet but profound shift. We traveled to Cyprus with a group of Siach Shalom alumni, all rabbis, to meet senior global Muslim leaders who embrace an Abrahamic vision that celebrates the return of the Jewish People to our homeland. These leaders believe this return is the will of Allah, as taught in the Quran. The sessions were powerful and moving, and they opened a new path for our work to follow. We are fully aware that these voices represent a minority and are scarcely echoed in Palestinian circles. But along the way, we are meeting brave visionaries—Muslims and Arabs who not only reject the call for our destruction, but who genuinely welcome our return. We are beginning to work with them, amplifying their voices and showing Israelis that there are partners in the region, in Israel and even in the West Bank, who seek peace, not enmity. In return, even the most hawkish Israelis are moved—moved to seek the brotherhood of Isaac and Ishmael. Strengthening these bonds is essential work. And even if it takes a generation, we believe this is the foundation upon which the future peace we dream of will be built.
A Prayer for Rosh Hashanah
As Rosh Hashanah approaches, it is hard not to think about all the tears we shed last year in prayer—and all the pain that has not ended. Beyond the national and international turmoil, we are also holding close the personal struggles that have touched our community so deeply. We think especially of the Feldmans, who have endured extraordinary challenges with grace and fortitude. Meir has faced his medical journey with an indefatigable sweetness of character that has laid bare the sacred inner kernel of his soul. Tara, Adina and Gavi have shown us what love and support truly look like in a time of need. We pray for them, and we thank God for them.
With all this pain, and with all these challenges, the question swirling in my heart is: What are we praying for on Rosh Hashanah? If so much of what I thought I was praying for has been turned down, perhaps the prayers were never about outcomes at all. This week, I learned a beautiful teaching from Sefat Emet. He writes that our prayers on Rosh Hashanah are rewarded with Torah—not with things going our way, but with our hearts opening to closeness with God. That teaching reframes everything. It reminds us that prayer is not transactional; it is transformational. It is not a request for control but a surrender to connection.
And maybe, just maybe, that is the deepest kind of hope we can carry into the new year. Finally, we know that many of you have supported Siach Shalom over the years, and we are deeply grateful for your generosity and belief in our mission. As we enter this new year, we find ourselves in a time of real need—both spiritually and practically. The work ahead is urgent, and the opportunities to make a lasting impact are growing. If you are considering your charitable giving for the year, we would be honored if you kept Siach Shalom in mind. Your support enables us to continue building bridges, healing wounds and planting seeds of peace in the most vital corners of Israeli society.