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From the center of Manhattan's restless civic landscape -- now an epicenter of Jewish anxiety, political upheaval, and intensified ideological fault lines -- the inaugural Israel Hayom U.S. Summit opened on Tuesday with a level of urgency and international attention rarely accorded to a media-sponsored gathering. Backed by the formidable philanthropic force of Dr. Miriam Adelson, and drawing statesmen, diplomats, former hostages, philanthropists, intelligence figures, scholars, and American political leaders, the summit unfolded as a sweeping attempt to recalibrate the conversation on Israel, Jewish identity, and Western security at a moment many speakers described as "historical," "existential," and "irretrievably altered" since the Hamas-led atrocities of Oct. 7, 2023.
As Israel Hayom repeatedly emphasized in its own coverage and in comments by senior editors, the decision to situate the conference in New York City -- home to the world's largest Jewish population outside Israel -- was as symbolic as it was strategic. New York has, throughout the last two years, become a prism for Jewish life under pressure: a city witnessing a dramatic spike in antisemitic attacks, the election of a virulently anti-Israel mayor-elect, and a barrage of campus, street, and social-media hostility that has reframed the lived experience of its Jewish residents.
Against that combustible backdrop, the summit positioned itself not merely as a conference but as a counter-narrative: a rebuttal to the erosion of Jewish security and dignity, a reaffirmation of the Israel-America alliance, and a forum for unflinching discussion of what lies ahead. Over the course of the event, Israel Hayom served not only as organizer but as an intellectual cornerstone, continually reminding participants that media itself has become a battlefield -- a terrain where Israel's story, legitimacy, and moral position are contested daily.
A Summit Born of Crisis: Why Israel Hayom Brought the Conversation to Manhattan
Opening the summit, Israel Hayom Editor-in-Chief Omer Lachmanovitch delivered remarks that set a solemn, even martial tone. Addressing a packed audience of policymakers, community leaders, and observers from Europe, Israel, and the United States, Lachmanovitch spoke of "a turning point in Jewish history" and "a moment in which we must reclaim our narrative with unapologetic clarity."
Citing the newspaper's extensive reporting from both Jerusalem and Washington, Lachmanovitch noted that the decision to relocate the conference from Jerusalem -- where Israel Hayom held its last major summit -- to New York was deliberate. This, he said, was now "the frontline of the global battle for Israel's narrative" and the site where American Jewry faced one of its most consequential reckonings in memory.
"We are bringing the American story directly to the Israeli public," he announced, invoking the newspaper's mission to bridge the psychological and informational divide between the two democracies. "And we are standing at the frontline of the battle for Israel's narrative against radical Islam."
Referencing the two-year multi-front war that emerged after Hamas's Oct. 7 massacre -- including subsequent mobilizations in the north against Hezbollah and the escalating drone and missile aggressions from Iranian proxies -- the editor argued that Israel and the Diaspora stand at a "junction between resilience and retreat."
If journalism, as he described it, is "a national mission," the summit was structured to be a similarly collective undertaking: a platform for unfiltered testimony, strategic discussion, and moral clarity.
Dr. Miriam Adelson's Call for Steadfast Unity: The 'Majestic Alliance' as Strategic Necessity
Taking the stage with characteristic frankness, Dr. Miriam Adelson, publisher of Israel Hayom, delivered what many attendees described as one of the summit's most emotionally charged speeches. Adelson's remarks, framed as both an appeal and a warning, invoked the long arc of Jewish history while emphasizing the unprecedented agency the Jewish people possess today.
She opened with a wry acknowledgment of New York's shifting political climate, quipping about whether it was still "kosher" to say "Shalom" in a city that had just elected Zohran Mamdani, an openly anti-Israel figure, as mayor-elect. The remark drew ripples of knowing laughter, but its undertone was unmistakably serious: Jewish belonging, even in America's historically safe urban epicenter, could no longer be presumed.
The bond between the U.S. and Israel, she continued, is not transactional or even merely strategic -- it is a "majestic alliance," forged in shared values and tested in the crucible of global hostility. Those values, Adelson warned, are under assault by "actors who project their own darkest impulses onto us," including terror groups, ideological extremists, and elements of Western academia and media.
"Peace," she said, "is our eternal aspiration. But our adversaries deny us even the dignity of our narrative. They insist on portraying us as precisely the opposite of who we are."
As Israel Hayom reported, Adelson cast the moment as a "significant test," urging Jews to unite across denominational, national, and political lines. "We must walk proud and confident through this age of moral confusion," she said, "and fight slander with facts."
Her closing exhortation -- that Jews owe it to both their ancestors and their children to stand tall and shout "Am Yisrael Chai!" -- brought the audience to a standing ovation.
U.S. Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz: 'The IDF Is Fighting for Our Values'
In an interview moderated by Israel Hayom's Ariel Kahana, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz offered an unambiguous affirmation of American strategic interests in Israel's survival.
Calling Israel a "core American interest," Waltz emphasized the symbiosis between the nations' intelligence, military partnerships, and shared democratic ideals. His comments echoed the newspaper's longstanding reporting on the deep operational ties between the IDF and U.S. forces and intelligence agencies.
"The brave IDF," Waltz asserted, "is fighting for us in many ways."
Turning to the UN, Waltz was candid in criticizing the body's failures. He referred to UNRWA as "essentially an operating arm of Hamas" and said that history would ultimately credit the White House meeting convened after the Doha strike as instrumental in paving the road to the most recent ceasefire and hostage releases.
Pressed on whether Washington allowed Israel sufficient freedom of action in Gaza and Lebanon, Waltz was direct: "Israel always has the right to defend itself. If tough actions are necessary, then tough actions must be taken."
He also predicted an expansion of the Abraham Accords, telling Israel Hayom that regional realignments were "not a matter of if but when."
Ron Lauder: 'This Is Not a Moment -- It Is an Assault'
Philanthropist and World Jewish Congress President Ronald Lauder delivered one of the summit's darkest -- but most galvanizing -- assessments of the global Jewish condition.
In remarks quoted by Israel Hayom, Lauder rejected the notion that the rise in antisemitism is an ephemeral eruption or the work of "angry kids." Instead, he described a systematic campaign against Jewish life and truth, encompassing violence, propaganda, and institutional complicity.
He cited murders of Jews in Washington and Colorado, and a stabbing in Berlin, portraying the incidents not as isolated tragedies but as manifestations of a widening moral abyss.
Echoing Israel Hayom's analysis following Oct. 7, Lauder called that day "the Kristallnacht of the 21st century," a phrase that resonated sharply in the room and underscored the sense of epochal rupture.
He emphasized education as the primary battleground, warning that antisemitic lies have infiltrated schools where Israel is erased from maps and Jewish students return home questioning their own people's legitimacy.
"If we do not tell our story," he said, "others will write it for us -- and we already know how they write it."
Ambassador Danny Danon: 'The Days of No Response Are Over'
Israel's Ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, stunned attendees with a searing critique of international hypocrisy.
Describing the UN's paralysis after Oct. 7 as "a disconnect from reality," Danon recounted how even leaders who initially stood with Israel pivoted swiftly to condemnation once the IDF began to win on the battlefield.
He offered a pointed example: "President Macron said he would send troops to fight Hamas -- then he led the effort to establish a Palestinian state at the UN."
Still, Danon projected unyielding confidence: "The days when you massacre Israelis and there is no response -- those days are over. When you kill Israelis, we will come out to get you."
Addressing concerns about whether anti-Israel political leadership in New York could hinder future Israeli visits, Danon was unequivocal: "With all due respect to the mayor-elect, he does not decide who comes to New York."
Sylvan Adams: 'We Are Here to Stay'
Canadian-Israeli philanthropist Sylvan Adams, who has funded countless initiatives across Israel, spoke with a visionary's passion about the imperative of reinvigorating Zionist demographic and cultural vitality.
Citing Israel Hayom's initiative to encourage a million additional Jews to make aliyah, Adams explained his own decision to move to Israel and his investments in rebuilding Soroka Hospital and the Negev.
"In the biggest part of the country -- the natural corridor -- we must show the world we are here to stay."
Harmeet Dhillon: Fighting Antisemitism with Federal Power
In a rare public appearance, Harmeet Dhillon, Assistant U.S. Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division, spoke about using federal authority to protect Jews on campuses and in cities.
Dhillon admitted that conditions on campuses remain deeply troubling, and she described the federal response -- especially after Oct. 7 -- as an unprecedented mobilization.
Referring to New York's mayor-elect, she did not mince words: "He is an antisemitic demagogue. That is a fact."
If New York fails to protect Jews, she warned, "federal authorities are already investigating."
The Strategic Horizon: Amos Hochstein and the Northern Question
The summit's policy segment, as the Israel Hayom report highlighted, focused on the looming crisis in northern Israel. Amos Hochstein, Biden's senior energy and diplomacy envoy, addressed the critical question of whether the region is heading toward stabilization or war.
The discussion underscored the precariousness of Israel's northern frontier and the possibility that the post-Oct. 7 geopolitical order could yet shift again.
A Summit That Functions as a Mirror -- And a Mandate
In its comprehensive coverage, Israel Hayom described the summit as part revival meeting, part war-room briefing, part communal reckoning. Across its many hours of panels and addresses, several themes emerged repeatedly:
Media and narrative warfare are now strategic battlegrounds.
Oct. 7 irrevocably reshaped geopolitical, moral, and communal realities.
Unity -- not agreement, but unity -- is the indispensable tool for survival.
By the end of the morning session, one sentiment had crystallized: the summit marked not only a first but the beginning of a tradition. As Israel Hayom reported, the aim is to make this gathering "a yearly anchor" -- a forum that mirrors the upheavals of the age and equips the Jewish world to meet them.
In an atmosphere of menace and fragmentation, the morning segment of the Israel Hayom summit was an assertion that Jews will not retreat from the public square, that Israel will not cede its narrative to hostile forces, and that the alliance between Israel and the United States -- despite political turbulence -- remains one of the last great pillars of democratic civilization.
Whether viewed as diplomacy, defiance, or destiny, the message of the morning segment of the summit was unmistakable: Israel and the Jewish people will not be intimidated. They will speak, strategize, unite -- and endure.