The Israeli American Council held its annual summit in Washington, D.C., from Sept. 18 to 20, bringing together Jewish community members from across the United States for its first national summit since the Oct. 7 attacks with high-profile speakers and celebrations.
The ninth annual IAC summit brought in delegations from all 20 IAC chapters across the country to build connections and a national community in a face-to-face environment.
“It’s about bringing people together and letting them feel proud that they’re Zionist and Jewish,” said Tal Shuster, co-chairperson of the IAC board.
Shuster said that in addition to speakers, the estimated 4,000 attendees had plentiful opportunities to partake in workshops on business, tech and medicine that were focused entirely on Israel.
“You can go to probably 20 sessions a day. Each one of them is more interesting than the other. We can learn everything from the experts,” Shuster said. “The experts we have over there [in Israel are] unbelievable leaders from different fields, and it’s especially from the technology industry, which we know is so important to the economy of Israel and to the image of Israel in the world.”
She added that summit had three featured topics per day, which mirrored priority issues for the American Jewish community: Oct. 7, antisemitism and fostering connections to Israel with the next generation.
Shuster said that the first day of the summit was centered around Oct. 7 and broadcasting the voices of survivors, soldiers and hostage families.
“This year, especially after Oct. 7, it was important for us first to bring the heroes from Israel who were there during the Nova festival and survived Oct. 7 in the kibbutzim. So, we mostly focused on heroes,” Shuster said.
The first night of the conference also featured a speech from former President Donald Trump, who said that he would be a staunch defender of the Jewish community, but that Jewish voters would bear a lot of the responsibility if he were to lose the election, and that Israel would be destroyed if he is not elected.
Trump’s comments at the IAC event caused controversy with several Jewish organizations, including the Jewish Council for Public Affairs and the American Jewish Committee.
The second day of the summit was focused on antisemitism, and Shuster said they had several amazing and inspiring speakers, including British author Douglas Murray, American influencer Montana Tucker, former Israeli government spokesperson Eylon Levy and Australian actor Nathaniel Buzolic.
“They represent a new voice, and they advocate for Israel in the best way that we all should learn from them,” Shuster said.
The final day of the summit focused on fostering a love of Israel within the next generations.
Shuster said the day was centered around providing the tools and support for young people to feel comfortable and confident in their identity as Jewish and Israeli Americans who are coming together over their shared love of Israel.
Shuster added that putting together such a large event with scores of high-profile speakers is an endeavor that takes months of preparation and careful planning to accomplish the goal of creating an educational and fun multiday event.
“You want to get a great list of speakers and balance, and you want to make sure that someone like me, who is not a young generation with kids, is coming there and enjoying it,” Shuster said.
She added that it’s important for kids like her own to enjoy the programming as well if they’re attending, which is why the IAC created an entire floor for children with information sessions and activities.
Shuster said it’s important that the community interact with some of the high-profile speakers throughout the duration of the conference and have interpersonal connections in the lobby of the hotel where the event is held.
“The beauty of the conference is that the high-profile speakers usually won’t come just to speak for 20 minutes. They’ll come for a day or two and spend the time over there,” Shuster said.
Shuster said that part of the charm of the summit is the professionalism displayed throughout the day and the switch that happens at night with celebrations and dancing.
Shuster cited from an emailed comment that she received from an attendee.
“I’m an Israeli and I’m an American. I am an American. I’m Jewish and I’m Zionist. I am me,” Shuster read.
But the work of the IAC doesn’t stop at the summit, as Shuster laid out what the IAC will continue to work on in the coming year.
“The IAC is not just about teaching the Israeli and the Jewish identity in the next generation. It’s also about civic engagement, and that’s where we get the community involved. And it takes time. It takes time to get the community active and involved. That’s what we’ve done in the past 11 months, and will continue to do,” Shuster said.
