It’s summertime.
People are returning to the Jerusalem streets.
From June 21-23, 1000 people gathered in Jerusalem, Israel, to meet and hear from 200 speakers.
The Waldorf Astoria Jerusalem was the site of the three-day JNS 2026 (Jerusalem News Syndicate) International Policy Summit.
Breaking 3 full days down to 3 minutes of highlights was not simple.
DAY ONE
Before the official program began, the VIP Lounge was briefly open.
South African Chief Rabbi Warren Goldstein was one of the speakers.
Miss Israel 2025 Melanie Shiraz was one of the participants.
Security was at the highest level.
Getting stuck with Col Richard Kemp and Jonathan Cornicus made for an interesting wait.
Outspoken Sid Rosenberg was back again, as was diplomatic Malcolm Hoenlein.
As always, US Ambassador Mike Huckabee was a favorite speaker.
JNS Editor-in-Chief Jonathan Tobin moderated the first panel
One of the Israeli politicians at the summit was MK Ohad Tal.
The opening night program ran late, waiting for the Prime Minister and his wife to arrive.
During the day, they were at Har Herzl for the 50th anniversary of Yoni Netanyahu’s death during the rescue in Entebbe.
PM Benjamin Netanyahu spoke – all the plenaries were livestreamed and recorded.
We were all smiling when the program ended, and we could finally eat something.
I went home just as long-time friends were also leaving the hotel.
DAY TWO
Tzipi Hotovely, former Ambassador to the United Kingdom, now Head of the National Public Diplomacy Directorate, was interviewed by JNS CEO Alex Traiman.
There were hundreds of people outside the main sessions. Some spent their time taking selfies.
No, that is not me for a selfie. But one person I was glad to see, and compliment was Marcus Sheff, IMPACT SE CEO. I often use their information on UNRWA’s Arabic hate against Israel on social media.
Imagine so many people, I did not find friends in the crowd, but got these two with similar names together!
Jonathan Tobin found a minute of solitude to check his phone.
Shabbos Kestenbaum and comedian Ami Kozak were together again. I had taken their photo together at another conference.
I missed Einat Wilf speaking, but stopped her in the hall.
She is starting a new political party, OZ, and just wrote a complementary post on social media about the Lebanon-Israel agreement.
There was a long list of speakers and many panels.
Plus, videos were made during the days with interviews for JNS TV.
A highlight of the day, as the day went on, was the Shalva Band.
Interestingly, several minyanim, prayer services, were not in the schedule, but popped up in the hall, and not only in the synagogue.
Caught Caroline Glick on my way out, and watched the rest online.
More Day 2 photos- HERE
Nice to see something bright and new on the Jerusalem streets on my way home.
DAY THREE
Montana Tucker spoke well. I have been a fan since her movie, The Children of October 7, opened at the Museum of Tolerance in Jerusalem. I was glad I had a minute to tell her when she left the stage.
She is to be featured at the Maccabiah Opening event on Wednesday night.
Tired yet?
Summit chairman Richard Heidemann welcomed EMET founder Sarah Stern and Mosab Hassan Yosef to the stage.
Along with Dr. Dan Diker, the “Green Prince” spoke without politically correct filters about the Middle East to great applause.
As the son of the founder of Hamas, his inside views should be valued.
Another favorite panel – Israel’s Wounded Warriors – was corrected to Heroes by moderator Tila Falic Levi.
It was followed by ‘Making Aliyah Easier.’ For sure, not easy. However, it’s been almost 20 years for us.
One speaker of the night was Minister of Foreign Affairs Gideon Sa’ar.
Nissam Black was the featured entertainer, caught him with JNS Feature editor Steve Linde.
Skipped the rest of the program that ran late and watched at home.
That’s it, folks…
Now back to the real world.
Out on the Jerusalem streets, Emek Refaim has been torn up for light rail construction, and buses are being rerouted.
Road work delays and construction in Jerusalem are the norm.
BUT – the signs are up for Jerusalem Design Week from July 9-16, 2026.
Tomorrow is a med-tech innovation conference at the Jerusalem International Convention Center.
Always something happening on the Jerusalem streets, hope to see you here soon.
