Am Yisrael Foundation

The foundation describes its mission as championing young leaders as pioneers and advancing "Observant Zionism" as a force for developing the Jewish people and the Land of Israel.[1] It characterizes Zionism today as a movement to build the Jewish nation and lists community-building, volunteerism, environmental sustainability, education, civic engagement, business creation, aliyah, and IDF service as possible expressions of the idea.[2]

Shultz has described his approach as "oldschool Zionism": "you come to Israel to give – not to take. You come to Israel to roll up your sleeves, get your hands dirty, and build."[3] He has argued that encouraging young Jews abroad to make aliyah and develop Israel's cities — especially Tel Aviv — serves as an antidote to what he characterizes as the decline of Judaism in the Diaspora.[4] The foundation was described by the Times of Israel as unabashedly Zionist and focused on English-speaking immigrants, with an aspiration to become a one-stop resource for new arrivals to Tel Aviv.[4]

The Am Yisrael Foundation was established by Jay M. Shultz.[3] Shultz, a New York City native, moved to Israel in 2006.[5] By 2013, multiple independent initiatives he had developed were consolidated under a single umbrella beginning in the fall of that year, when organizations working with TLV Internationals joined the foundation.[3] Shultz said he combined the projects to amplify their impact: a foundation structure could facilitate fundraising, attract contributors, and provide the operational capacity to grow programs that had previously functioned without dedicated funding.[3]

By the time the umbrella was established, Shultz reported eight organizations actively functioning under it and eighteen more "on the back burner" for lack of capacity to develop them.[3] A 2020 profile described the foundation as run by "an army of young people, young Jews in their 20s and 30s," with Shultz serving as president.[6] The foundation describes itself as distinct from traditional Jewish organizations by taking on major challenges facing the Jewish people with ambitious ideas and minimal investment, and presents itself as a vessel for new pioneers connecting the Jewish people with the Land of Israel for spiritual and physical development.[1]

White City Shabbat is a communal program connecting residents with Shabbat hospitality across Tel Aviv and hosting monthly inclusive Shabbat meals, holiday events, Jewish learning, a beginners' minyan, and inter-community programming.[7] Monthly meals typically drew close to 200 attendees, with roughly 100 more waitlisted.[3] The program reported serving more than 10,000 Shabbat dinner guests since 2008, as well as hundreds of lone soldiers at no charge.[7] On June 13, 2014, a dinner organized as an attempt to set a Guinness World Record for the largest Shabbat dinner attracted 2,226 attendees.[7] White City Shabbat codirector Deborah Danan joked that the program's mix of participants resembled having "the United Nations" at the Shabbat table.[3]

TLV Internationals functions as a community and advocacy platform for young international Jews in Tel Aviv, connecting newcomers and representing community needs to local and national government.[8] The foundation's website reports a following of more than 90,000 people from multiple countries, backgrounds, religious practices, and professional fields, and describes it as Israel's largest international community.[8]

Tribe Tel Aviv brings together Olim, Sabras, and international residents through talks, Jewish learning, Shabbat and holiday programming, lectures, social and cultural activities, civic engagement, and volunteering.[9] Rabbi Jonathan Feldman, identified as the foundation's director of community engagement, heads the group with an expressed aim of helping participants engage with Israel's challenges and Zionism, build community, network for jobs, and contribute to the country's future.[10] Events drew hundreds of residents in their 20s and 30s, and a "Sunset Series" of happy hours with speakers and informal conversation became a signature format.[11] Philadelphia-born immigrant Steve Reich credited Tribe Tel Aviv events and Shabbat lunches with helping him feel connected to Israeli society and develop a stronger sense of Jewish identity.[11]

Adopt-A-Safta pairs olim and young Israelis with Holocaust survivors, addressing loneliness and isolation for both groups: immigrants without family in Israel can gain a surrogate grandparent, while survivors receive companionship and ongoing connection.[3] Shultz said that with sufficient financial backing, the program could expand to include 1,000 survivors.[3]

The Tel Aviv International Salon brought prominent speakers and decision-makers to young professionals. It began with a small gathering of friends in a living room before growing into a program that recorded more than 5,000 participants across over 150 events by 2013.[3]

Torah Tech is an educational program for Jewish students aged 15–22 and older that combines Jewish studies with career development, delivering STEM courses and workplace skills through seminars, mentoring, on-campus activities, internships, and job placement.[12] A 2020 profile described it as pairing intensive Jewish study with business internships.[6]

Zionize is a young Jewish leadership and advocacy organization for current and former participants of Birthright/Taglit, MASA, and gap-year programs.[13] It holds talks, lectures, debates, and training sessions focused on proactive Zionism, claims to engage tens of thousands of young Jews each year, and operates Tel Aviv's only Zionist Beit Midrash, dedicated to intensive study related to Israel advocacy and Jewish peoplehood.[13]

The Tel Aviv Arts Council organized arts activities within the English-speaking immigrant community, and ProjecT.A. encouraged civic engagement among that same population.[3]

In 2020, the foundation launched Curio Auctions, an online fundraising venture developed in response to pandemic-era cancellations of in-person fundraising events.[6] The model featured objects associated with Jewish and Zionist history, with sale proceeds divided among the seller, the foundation, and a partner nonprofit.[6] Items planned for the inaugural auction included a 19th-century calling card of Theodor Herzl and his wife Julie, a copy of Israel's Declaration of Independence dated May 14, 1948, and a 1943 petition signed by Jewish schoolchildren in pre-state Israel.[6]

The foundation credits TLV Internationals with helping bring Yom HaAliyah — a national holiday honoring aliyah and the contributions of Olim — to the Knesset, describing its lobbying efforts as instrumental in advancing the bill, which was submitted in March 2012.[14] The measure passed its final Knesset vote on June 21, 2016.[14] The foundation observes the holiday on the 10th of Nisan, which it presents as the date of the biblical Israelites' entry into the Land of Israel; this is the foundation's account of the holiday's religious-historical basis rather than an independently verified historical claim.[14]

The foundation's significance lies in its umbrella model, which connects immigrant support, communal Jewish life, education, volunteerism, civic participation, and Zionist advocacy in Tel Aviv. Rather than offering a single service, its projects seek to help young adults build social networks, deepen Jewish engagement, and contribute to Israeli society.[1][9]

Accounts of Tribe Tel Aviv illustrate that aim in practice: participants described stronger ties to community and Jewish identity, while its leadership emphasized engagement with Israel, professional networking, and participation in the country's future.[10][11]

Several scale claims are organization-reported. TLV Internationals' following of more than 90,000 people is stated on the foundation's website, while White City Shabbat's page supplies its 2014 attendance and cumulative service figures; they should therefore be read as the organization's own reported metrics.[8][7] Shultz's characterization of Diaspora Judaism as declining and aliyah as an antidote is his stated opinion rather than an independently established finding.[4] Likewise, "Observant Zionism" is the foundation's own ideological definition of Zionism, not a consensus description of the term.[2]