Jay Shultz, Am Yisrael Foundation -- For the past 100 years, the “White City” has been home to the most significant vibrant innovative centers of Israeli culture, business, fashion, art, finance, high-tech, film, television, and the army. Tel Aviv is currently is one of the youngest cities in the world per-capita with over 40% of the populace being between 20-40 years old. Today the majority of new immigrants to Israel choose Tel Aviv as their home. A city full of bustling boulevards, cafes, startups, baby strollers, construction cranes, venture capital, art galleries, and over 500 synagogues; has surpassed even the dreams of Theodor Herzl, approaching the visions of our ancient prophets.

“For all of Israel’s triumphs over the past 75 years, we are still in the pioneering phase of the country. What an honor it is to be a young Jew here now, being able to invest creativity, imagination, and energy towards building the next 1000 years of the Jewish People. Nowhere else on the planet can a young Jew be as relevant and central to our nation’s collective destiny than Tel Aviv”, says President of the Am Yisrael Foundation, Jay Shultz. 

Jay moved from New York to Tel Aviv in 2006 and has been championing the banner of the city ever since, with Israeli media understandably dubbing him “The Other Mayor of Tel Aviv”. Recognizing the potential to use Tel Aviv as a positive fundamental force for the benefit of young Jews worldwide, Jay founded the Am Yisrael Foundation over a decade ago, building the nonprofit into what is now the largest young adult Jewish community organization in the world with a following of over 100,000. The Am Yisrael Foundation (AmYisrael.com) has become a large umbrella organization for tens of innovative initiatives that empower young Jews to pioneer Israeli society.

“We cannot take for granted that the future of our People will have strong Jewish or Zionist identities. The main goal of our work in Tel Aviv is to inspire every young Jew on the planet to connect to a shared vision of Jewish destiny and Jewish imagination, giving them the tools to continue building our Home in the Land of Israel”, says Jay.

The Am Yisrael Foundation is about redefining our time in history, giving young Jews the opportunity to be uniquely relevant. Jay focuses his foundation’s work on building what he believes are the next steps in Zionist pioneering - developing the vacuums left in Israeli civil society; community, volunteerism, tzedakah, civic engagement, grassroots leaderships, and Jewish identity.

To this end, the Am Yisrael Foundation has created something unique for Israel, what can be described as Tel Aviv's Jewish Federation, founding and managing a multitude of initiatives, with a special focus on Tel Aviv. Many of these organizations have become pillars of community life for so many of the city’s young adults. There is the Tel Aviv International Salon (TLVSalon.com), Israel’s largest speakers forum that works to engage young adults in the critical issues of the day, regularly hosting local and international thought leaders from former heads of the CIA & Mossad, to Prime Ministers and media personalities such as Dr. Ruth, Alan Dershowitz, Bari Weiss, Ben Shapiro and Douglas Murray.

Then there is the Tel Aviv Arts Council (TelAvivArts.com) which builds a community of young patrons of the arts celebrating the best of Israeli creativity from film to fashion, theater to photography. The Tribe Tel Aviv nonprofit (tribe.org.il) that focuses on young Jewish communal life, regularly hosting events surrounding Jewish education and holidays.

As the proud grandson of Survivors, Jay founded the impactful volunteer program Adopt-A-Safta (AdoptASafta.com). “Safta” being Hebrew for “Granny”, the nonprofit pairs young volunteers with lonely Israeli Holocaust Survivors nationwide based on the Big Brother/ Big Sister model.

Even though Tel Aviv has its legendary Chief Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau (another strong supporter of Jay’s work), and is home to more synagogues and kosher restaurants than New York, the city still has a stronger reputation for its beaches and parties. Jay laments over Israel’s complacency when it comes to Jewish education. A major focus on the Am Yisrael Foundation’s efforts is not taking for granted the Jewish character and Jewish identity of the nation. “It is a great investment for the future of our People in giving Tel Aviv’s young professionals positive Jewish life experiences and transformative Jewish educational opportunities. Most of Israel's future leaders in politics, business, and culture are young Jews living in Tel Aviv today. If we care about our Homeland having a rich Jewish character in more than name alone, investing in Tel Aviv should to be our main collective focus”, says Jay.

The Am Yisrael Foundation has developed groundbreaking initiatives with its Jewish outreach efforts. White City Shabbat (WhiteCityShabbat.com) is the main portal for community Shabbat life in Tel Aviv, hosting tens of thousands of young Jews for Shabbat and holiday meals each year. It is so important to Jay to reveal the deep spiritual potential of what he calls “Tel Aviv Ir HaKodesh”, that in 2014 he set the Guinness Record for the World’s Largest Shabbat Dinner. Working as Educational Director of the Am Yisrael Foundation, Rabbi Shlomo Chayen is Tel Aviv’s popular young Jewish community leader, running a center for Jewish education and the city’s most active Beit Midrash, Torah Tech, home to hundreds of young Jews from all backgrounds, religiosities, and nationalities.

A key to the Jay’s strategy is to create partnerships between young Olim that come to Israel with a dedicated passion for Zionism, with native-born young Sabras. Together, these two populations complement each other in ways that have the ability to truly “move needles” for the positive vibrant future of Israel. Jay's TLV Internationals (LoveTelAviv.com) is Israel’s largest Olim/Aliyah community organization and is the main “welcome home” portal for young immigrants.

As a passionate promoter of every young Jew on the planet choosing a life in Israel, Jay is credited with inventing the Jewish calendar's newest holiday aptly named, Yom HaAliyah (YomHaAliyah.com). Aliyah Day was signed into law by the Knesset in 2016. This Israeli national holiday is celebrated annually according to the Jewish calendar on the tenth of the Hebrew month of Nisan to commemorate the first mass Aliyah in history when Yehoshua led the Jewish People across the Jordan River to enter the Land of Israel as recorded in the Torah. According to Jay, the holiday was also established to acknowledge Aliyah as a core value of the State of Israel, and honor the ongoing contributions of Olim to Israeli society.

When asked to sum up his philosophy, Jay coined the term “Observant Zionism”.

“Observant Zionism holds that every Jew must take upon himself the mantle of mutual responsibility for our Home and our People. Observant Zionism is the pioneering spirit, vision, and pro-activity of reinvigorating our national renaissance in Eretz Yisrael. There is no one way to observe Zionism, the key is dedicated and elevated action. Just like all aspects of Jewish life, Observant Zionism should take on wonderfully varied forms of expression that reflects the individual and their unique ability to contribute to Am Yisrael. Observant Zionism cannot be limited to religious or secular spheres, it is part of our romantic, mystical and revolutionary national DNA. There has never been an easier time in history for a Jew to live in the Land of Israel. This is your Home, come build it. We have spent millennia wanting to build this country, now that we are here we must get our hands dirty continuing to build our Nation. Am Yisrael Chai!”