TL;DR: Jewish unity takes real work, especially in today’s divided world. After October 7th, tensions deepened, but as Aaron Katler, CEO of UpStart, points out, Jewish innovation thrives in disruption. Traditional unity efforts often fall short, while grassroots initiatives—like those at Makom Community, Jewish Studio Project, and Ammud—build real relationships through shared experiences. True unity isn’t about eliminating differences but creating connections strong enough to hold them. Now more than ever, we must embrace deep listening, co-creation, and action to bridge divides and secure a stronger Jewish future.

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Let’s be honest: Jewish unity doesn’t just happen. It takes real work—especially now, when Jewish communities around the world are more divided than we’ve been in decades. After October 7th, those divisions only deepened, as people struggled to process unimaginable grief, navigate complex political realities, and disagree passionately about what the future should look like.

At Global Jewry, we see these tensions firsthand, but we also see something else: a growing movement of individuals and organizations working to bridge these divides in real, lasting ways. That’s what gives me hope. As a member of Global Jewry’s Advisory Board and the CEO of UpStart, one of Global Jewry’s partners, I’ve had a front-row seat to the ways Jewish innovation can bring people together, even in the hardest times.

History shows us that internal division can weaken us even more than external threats. But history also teaches something else: Jewish innovation thrives in moments of disruption. That’s where my hope lies—not just in the concept of unity, but in the fact that across the Jewish world, innovators are already building new bridges.

For decades, most institutional responses to division have followed the same playbook: convene a summit, issue a statement, host a symbolic event. These moments of unity often look good from the outside, but they rarely reach the grassroots level, where division feels personal—at family Shabbat tables, inside WhatsApp groups, between friends who suddenly see each other as opponents.

True Jewish innovation takes a different approach. It starts from the ground up, using human-centered design to uncover not just differences, but underlying needs and values—the human stuff that we share, even when we fiercely disagree. This is something I learned firsthand when I launched my own Jewish venture years ago. People don’t want to be told what to care about—they want to help shape it themselves. I’ve seen it again and again in my work today: the most lasting solutions come from listening, not lecturing.

Across the UpStart network, we see this work in action:

• At Makom Community, families from different backgrounds come together for learning experiences that dissolve ideological walls simply by building real relationships.

• At Jewish Studio Project, participants process collective trauma through creative arts, bringing grief, hope, and complexity into the same space—and one of the core objectives is learning to hold tension with compassion.

• And at Ammud: The JOC Torah Academy, Jews of Color create transformative Jewish learning spaces enabling Jews of Color to learn, lead, and belong—proving that when historically excluded voices are trusted to lead, the whole community grows stronger..

It’s one thing to talk about unity, and another to sit in a circle and watch people share their actual stories, fears, and hopes. That’s where real bridges get built.

Here’s the truth: Unity isn’t the absence of difference. It’s the presence of relationships strong enough to hold those differences. And innovation isn’t just about flashy programs or new technology—it’s about designing spaces where those relationships can form and flourish.

This work isn’t optional. With threats rising from the outside and fractures deepening from the inside, unity isn’t a luxury—it’s survival. The good news is, we already have the tools we need. The Jewish innovation ecosystem has been building new doorways into Jewish life for years, and those same methods—deep listening, creative co-creation, radical openness—are exactly what we need to repair the fabric of Jewish peoplehood itself.

I’ve spent my career helping Jewish entrepreneurs turn their visions into reality—and I believe this moment calls all of us to think like entrepreneurs. To stop waiting for perfect solutions and start building the messy, beautiful work of connection.

I’m also a parent. I think a lot about what kind of Jewish community my kids will inherit. If we let division harden, they’re the ones who will pay the price. At UpStart, we say innovation isn’t about ideas—it’s about action. The same is true for unity. If we want to bridge our divides, we need to build something real, together.

Shabbat shalom and may the ceasefire continue to lead to the return of hostages,

Aaron Katler
CEO, Upstart

To learn more about our work, check out our website.