About 120

The 120 is a multiyear-long initiative, begun in 2014, to build a cadre of young multicultural national political leadership that can help change the fabric of Israeli politics and promote a public discourse based on promoting the common good. The program, currently in the midst of its sixth cohort, is envisioned as one single network, with 20 additional leaders joining the program every year.

Our participants come from a variety of political backgrounds and from all of Israel’s diverse communities: Ultra-orthodox,Modern Orthodox, Arab, Religious, Secular, Mizrahi, Ethiopian, Ashkenazi, Bedouin, Druze, Immigrants from the USSR, and more. What unites them is their passion for change, leadership ability, and aspirations to influence national politics.

Over the course of their 120 cohort year, participants attend eight two-day seminars, gaining in-depth exposure to the basics of Israeli society, politics, and economics. These seminars are formulated with an eye towards the hot-button issues that will dictate Israel’s future, as we reframe the tired dichotomies on subjects like the relationship between religion and state, between Jewish and democratic values, between a market economy and a welfare state, and between peace and security, among others. Participants are exposed to Israeli politics and politicians from up-close, spending a two-day seminar at the Knesset and holding intimate, “Inside the Actors’ Studio” style conversations with leading national politicians.

A highlight of the year is a late-spring eight-day long trip to Morocco, in which participants analyze the meeting of identities and cultures in a fellow Middle Eastern country’s history and compare it to the Israeli context. We specifically chose Morocco due to its similarities with Israel – majority/minority relations, issues of religion and state, long-term territorial conflict, Jewish/Muslim partnership, and tensions between tradition and modernity, just to name a few – and location as a gateway to both the West and the Middle East.

"120 showed us the type of creative thinking necessary in order for us to find real solutions that will advance our common interest and the common good.”

"The focus on the participants themselves reflected the complexities within the Israeli society, its richness, and its challenges, as well as the necessity of moving on from questions of “who’s right” in order to find real solutions."

"An excellent program, unforgettable, and that will accompany us in all of our work for the whole Israeli society moving forward."

Selected Updates and Accomplishments

Iman Khatib Yassin was elected to the Knesset in 2020. Iman is the first MK to wear a hijab and was the first woman to run for Knesset in the Islamist Ra’am party.

Idit Silman, a Mizrachi religious feminist, was elected to the Knesset in the spring of 2019 as a member of the Religious Zionist party HaBayit HaYehudi.

Moshe Morgenstern was elected as the only “integrationist” city councilor in the Haredi stronghold of Bnai Brak.

Fourteen, 120 network members were elected to local city councils or as Deputy Mayors in the fall of 2018.

Zainab Abu Swaid became the first Bedouin woman to be elected to an Israeli city council, and was chosen to Ehud Barak's "Democratic Camp" Knesset list.