It’s not always the loudest voice in the room that holds it together. Sometimes it’s the one quietly making sure everyone else has what they need to shine. For nearly two years, that’s been Moriah Bentolila’s role at Voice of the People.
“I’m not the front-facing type,” she says with a smile. “But I try to help connect all the threads behind the scenes, down to the smallest detail.”
With a background in business administration and years of experience in startups and nonprofit operations, Moriah came to VOP ready to roll up her sleeves. She manages everything from HR and admin to events and logistics, most notably, the March 2025 council summit in Haifa.
“It was incredible to see how something that started as an idea, a dream really, became real,” she recalls. “Council members flew in from around the world. They arrived unsure of what to expect, and five days later, they didn’t want to leave. That kind of bond is rare.”
Pulling off a summit of that scale wasn’t easy, especially during a time of national and global tension. Moriah worked across teams; internal staff, the production company, institutional partners, even special requests from council members and offices like the President’s Isaac Herzog’s team.
“There were a lot of unknowns, a lot of security challenges,” she says. “But we made it happen. The feedback was so moving.”
Moriah lives in southern Israel, in a mixed religious-secular community in Israel’s Lachish region, with her husband and three children. When she’s not in the office, she’s active in local initiatives — or training for her next adventure. (She recently returned from hiking Mount Kilimanjaro with her husband.)
Her work at VOP has also shifted her perspective. “I didn’t come from this world,” she says, referring to the intersection of global Jewry and public engagement. “But being here, hearing firsthand what Jews around the world are experiencing, it’s opened my eyes. Their challenges are real, and sometimes we don’t see them clearly from Israel.”
She recalls one moment in particular: during the application process, a French residing applicant shared that they removed their mezuza. “He was afraid it could put himself and his home at risk of danger. It really stayed with me.”
For Moriah, the true strength of Voice of the People isn’t just in the projects, it’s in the people. “We’re building a community that has power,” she says. “I’m sure we’ll see meaningful initiatives come out of this council. But even more than that, I think the relationships we’ve built will last. That’s something we can carry forward, together.”
