While the war has taken over our consciousness, the scars felt in Israel from the confrontations that took place last year Yom Kippur – shouting and fist fights between Jew and Jew, some wrapped in talisses and holding siddurs, others with placards, whistles and megaphones – are still all too fresh. While the war has put a “band-aid” on the divisions between secular and religious, the rifts have recently begun to resurface.

As an organization that is widely respected by both sides of the divide, we at Tzohar have undertaken to promote healing. We will mount a global campaign aimed to help unify our people, including the following simple but impactful activities:

 1. A call for all in Israel to join one of Tzohar’s ~400 Tzohar Yom Kippur services. In these prayer gatherings, secular and religious pray together, and feel unified as a single Jewish people. You are invited to participate in a minyan near you: https://your.tzohar.org.il/minyen-kipurtzohar24/

2. A special Yom Kippur prayer. Tzohar Rabbi Shai Weitzman has composed a special prayer for unity that we’re distributing widely, and that we’ve included in this year’s High Holidays booklet. We call on all Jewish communities – both in Israel and around the world – to incorporate this moving prayer into their Yom Kippur services.

3. Global connection. We believe that the Diaspora has never been as important to creating unity in the Jewish people. We are reaching out to Diaspora communities throughout the world, “twinning” them with our Yom Kippur minyans, and encouraging activities that increase the feeling of global brotherhood and solidarity. 

The initiative has been joined by numerous partners: the Koren publishing house, the Rabbi Sacks Heritage Fund, Torah Mitzion, Young Israel, World Mizrahi and more.

To join the project and to download the Prayer for Unity, click here: