Thousands of teens from the United States, Canada, and Israel convened in central Israel on Sunday for RootOne’s Big Tent event, the largest annual Diaspora-Israel solidarity event in the Jewish state.
“The Big Tent event is an opportunity for teens to feel like they're connected to something bigger,” explained Nadav Shachmon, the Director of Israel Partnerships at RootOne, a Jewish teen Israel-travel initiative run through The Jewish Education Project.
“We say ‘peoplehood’. We feel ‘resilience.’ All these big words,” he continued. “But what does it come down to? It comes down to this feeling that everyone has in their hearts that they're a part of something. They're not just wandering Jews around the world. You know it, but to come here, you feel it.”
Shachmon added that the “energy” and “koach” (power) the teens experience at the event would be carried back to the US and Canada and serve as a force to dispel feelings of isolation.
“They might be the only Jew in class,” he said. “This experience really makes you feel you're not alone, you're part of something bigger, and you have to hold it in your heart. That's the point.”
First event held since Hamas war
The RootOne event was the first since the Hamas-led massacres of October 7, 2023.
At the event, nearly 5,000 teens, a group of Americans and Canadians participating in a host of different programs, along with Israelis, thronged at Rishon Lezion’s Live Park to socialize, meet pen pals, and enjoy live music. Some also worked to assemble care packages.
“We are packing for children of families who are in the IDF reserves so those kids can have toys while their parents are away,” Evan, a teen participant in Ramah Israel Seminar, explained.
According to RootOne, which put on the Big Tent event along with The Jewish Agency for Israel, the Diaspora Ministry, and Mosaic United, the event came as “personal relationships and mutual understanding” between North American Jewish teens and their Israeli counterparts are “more important than ever.”
Many teens who spoke to The Jerusalem Post during the event affirmed their commitment to Israel and asserted that their connections to one another held immense importance. Among those were Aliyah and Jess, who were on a trip with Yallah! Israel.
“'I’ve seen so many people I know and made so many new friends. It's so crazy to be in a space with so many Jewish teens at the same time.” Aliyah said.
Jess noted that, for her, in Israel she had found a place rich in culture with abundant learning opportunities.
Isaac, who was on a Young Judaea Gesher trip, said that he had Israeli friends in his everyday life, but that “it's always awesome meeting people when they don't have to travel 1000 miles plus” in order to visit face-to-face.
Also on a Young Judaea Gesher program were Sofia, an American teen from Florida, and Ella, an Israeli teen from Holon.
“The Israelis have genuinely become like my family, and we just met a few days ago,” Sofia said.
“I can say the same,” Ella said, adding that she has loved getting to know her peers from the US. “I’ve learned a lot about Americans, and it’s really fun to meet people who are different from me.”
“It was such a privilege being able to co-host such an important, inspiring event,” teen emcee and event co-host Shir Greenberg of Austin, Texas told the Post. “It made me feel so proud to be Jewish and made me forget about all of the struggles I've had to face in the [United] States surrounding my Judaism. I felt so connected.”
“I was reminded of the true importance of going to Israel and why Israel is so important to the Jewish people,” Greenberg, who was participating in a NCSY summer program, added.
Herzog: May this event leave you with the courage to fight what really matters
During the event, a video message from President Isaac Herzog was broadcast from the stage, during which the president bid the teens to take courage and strength in their belonging to the Jewish people.
“May [this event] inspire you to find your own place within the story of our people,” he said. “And may it leave you with the courage to fight what really matters, even when it is difficult, to fight for our people, for Israel, and for a world of justice, democracy, and peace without antisemitism.”
Among the musical performances to take place at the event were songs sung by Israeli Musician Daniel Weiss from Kibbutz Be’eri, whose parents were murdered on October 7. Weiss sang Naomi Shemer’s “Lu Yehi” and Avicii’s “Hey Brother.”
Noam Bettan, who placed second in the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest, also sang, performing his hit song “Michelle” and leading the crowd in several other songs to close out the event.
Former Gaza hostage Moran Stella Yanai, who was kidnapped on October 7 from the Nova Music Festival, also addressed the crowd.
“Resilience, I don’t think that it’s something that you can teach,” Yanai, who spent 54 days in captivity, said.
“Resilience is something you need to discover at the right time,” she reflected, adding that she was given strength by her faith as well as by the Jewish people, who she described as the “big lion” that stood behind her.