HER Tel Aviv to Bring Thousands Together for International Summer Festival Celebrating Aliyah and Women-Owned Businesses

The free September 3 festival will bring Olim, Olot and Israelis together for a night of markets, live music, workshops, comedy, food and community in the heart of Tel Aviv.

More than 67,000 Jews have made Aliyah since October 7, 2023, according to HER Tel Aviv, many of them women, known in Hebrew as Olot. Tens of thousands of these women now live in Tel Aviv, building careers, raising families, creating businesses and finding their place in Israeli society.

One organization working to help them thrive is HER Tel Aviv, which supports more than 6,000 women who have made Aliyah from more than 80 countries.

Founded with the goal of helping Jewish women build successful lives in Israel, HER Tel Aviv organizes events throughout the year focused on networking, employment, women’s health, fertility and community building.

On September 3, the organization will take that mission to a much larger scale with a 5,000-Person celebration in central Tel Aviv

The HER Tel Aviv International Summer Festival will take place on Thursday from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Sheinkin Street at Beit Tami in central Tel Aviv.

The free, open-to-the-public festival is expected to attract thousands of attendees and will mark the fifth time the organization has brought Olim, Olot and Israelis together for a large-scale community celebration.

The event is open to everyone, including men, women and children, with both new immigrants and longtime Israeli residents invited to participate.

At the center of the festival will be an Olot night market, featuring more than 50 women-led businesses. Vendors will showcase clothing, accessories, handmade jewelry, home décor and other products created by female entrepreneurs.

Beyond the market, visitors can expect live concerts, food vendors and programming spread across four floors of workshops and activities.

Workshops, Food, Music and Comedy

The festival’s workshop lineup will offer something for a wide range of interests, including Bollywood dancing, Texas line dancing, Kabbalistic meditation and a chocolate chip challah bake and Torah class.

Workshops will be offered in English, Spanish and French, reflecting the international communities that make up Tel Aviv’s growing population of Olim.

Fluent TLV, a language school founded by an American Olah, will host a language exchange café, giving Israelis and Olim an opportunity to meet and connect through conversation.

The festival will also feature a letter-writing station operated by Sword of Iron Israel Volunteers, where attendees can write letters of support to IDF soldiers.

For those looking for entertainment, the “Nice Jewish Girls” comedy show will feature several English-speaking female comedians based in Israel.

And, of course, there will be plenty of food, including a particularly New York-style addition: sour New York-style pickles.

Building a Sense of Belonging

For HER Tel Aviv founder and CEO Sivan Hadari, the festival is about more than celebrating Aliyah. It is also about creating connections between immigrants and Israelis.

“Israel is made stronger when people who come here from around the world feel that they truly belong,” Hadari said.

She said the festival is intended to celebrate both the people who chose Israel and the Israelis who welcome them, while creating opportunities for communities to come together without emphasizing the distinction between locals and immigrants.

“We stop seeing each other as ‘locals’ or ‘immigrants’ and simply come together as people,” Hadari said.

Hadari, who made Aliyah from New York seven years ago, said the event comes at a time when Israel needs connection, hope and resilience.

The festival, she said, is designed to be “fun, powerful and deeply Israeli” while also recognizing the international communities and entrepreneurs who have made Israel their home.

“And this festival is an excellent way to support them, empower them, and connect them directly to the Israeli local community so they can really thrive,” she said.

Free Admission for the Public

Admission to the HER Tel Aviv International Summer Festival is free, while individual workshops cost 35 shekels and require advance online registration.

Most of the festival’s programming will be conducted in English, with select sessions available in Spanish and French.

The event will take place on September 3 from 17:00 to 22:00 at Beit Tami on Sheinkin Street in Tel Aviv.

More information and registration details are available at www.hertelaviv.com.