Offir Gutelzon

Co-founder of UnXeptable

A) What qualities make the nominee deserving of the Z3 Bridge Builder Award?

Offir Gutelzon co-founded UnXeptable four years ago to support protestors in Israel and apply pressure from abroad to preserve Israel’s democracy. UnXeptable originally consisted of Israeli expatriates and, over the past four years, Offir has overseen the organization's expansion from its San Francisco Bay Area base to over 70 cities worldwide, and from an expat movement to one that includes Israeli and Jewish communities around the world.

This outreach faced two significant challenges. There has been limited engagement between the US-born Jewish community and Israeli immigrants and expatriates for various reasons. Despite sharing a common heritage, gaps in language, culture, and religious practice have kept them apart. The second challenge is that Israeli internal politics has always been a taboo subject for American Jews. They have been expected to write checks, march in parades, and keep quiet about how Israel governs itself.

At first, UnXeptable’s demonstrations were comprised of highly engaged and very worried expat Israelis, many of whom intended to return to Israel, and did not view themselves as participating from the ‘outside.’ Offir recognized the importance of reaching out to American Jews and bridging the gap with these equally concerned Jewish communities that care about the democratic and liberal future of Israel. Offir believed that without this connection, UnXeptable’s impact would be limited.

Under Offir’s leadership, UnXeptable created a new "town square" where Israelis and American Jews, who are not accustomed to working together, gather for a common purpose. Bridging the gap has become possible by reaching out to Jewish institutions and developing personal relationships with clergy and Jewish community leaders.

Since the establishment of Israel, partnerships between Israeli and diaspora communities have been characterized by distinct roles. For many years, Israel's partners in the diaspora primarily offered resources, connections, and support.

Offir recognized that to engage American Jews in UnXeptable protests, chants, and keynote speeches, we needed to begin by listening to clergy and Jewish leaders to better understand their perspective on Israel, particularly why safeguarding its democracy was crucial to them and their communities.

Through those bridge-building conversations and events, it became clear that Israeli ex-pat and diaspora communities share values—still, crucial differences in priorities and hot-button issues prompt action. The Israeli ex-pat community naturally focuses on Israelis’ livelihood if the international community perceives the country as less than fully democratic. They have a front-row seat to how investors, business partners, and governments were already changing their approach to Israel with the proposed changes to the judiciary. For their families, religious laws that could potentially exclude their children and grandchildren from making aliyah were a flashing red light.

Diaspora communities take pride in the success of the 'Startup Nation' but feel less are less viscerally connected to its success. While the Law of Return exists for their benefit, few expect to move to Israel. However, the idea of having laws that cannot be reviewed and undermine the egalitarian foundations of the state for non-Jewish minorities, women, and LGBTQ people profoundly concerns them. They are also worried about the expansion of religious coercion that suppresses and restricts the practice of Conservative and Reform Judaism, which they see as a threat to their very existence.

Incorporating these insights in a way that would build the movement of Israeli and diaspora communities required inclusiveness of language, in all its meanings. While the Hebrew language, with its poetry, biblical references, slang and military analogies, is a source of joy and familiarity for the Israeli community, Offir and leadership team decided that all events would be in English, even when held in the heart of the ex-pat community and even if there were few non-Israeli attendees, especially at the outset, and massive effort was invested to ensure that all content shared by the movement was created or translated into English, with added context for participants new to the Israeli political scene.

In addition to listening to and delivering messages in English, ensuring that diaspora community members and leaders were active and equal participants was essential. Under Offir's leadership, events were carefully planned to incorporate a variety of perspectives, including those from Israeli and American speakers and community members. The ultimate goal was for Jewish communities to become more informed, passionate, and involved with events in Israel. However, an additional positive outcome emerged: Israeli expats, many of whom had never visited a synagogue outside of Israel, had the opportunity to hear Conservative and Reform rabbis speak and lead prayers for the first time, listen to cantors sing unfamiliar melodies, and engage with the language of Jewish values in the context of the diaspora.

The strength of a bridge is tested when the wind howls. Similarly, the bridges that Offir and his team built among Israeli and Jewish communities and organizations around the world came under immense strain as October 7th upended life for all of them. While it was still October 6th in California, the entire decentralized organization was redirected to responding to the attacks, filling Israel-bound planes with reservists and gear, and supporting the civil response. As the grim reality became clear, UnXeptable gathered the first Bring Them Home rallies, galvanizing not only those who had been active in the protests but also the broader Jewish and Israeli communities, along with local political leaders.

Faced with crises on multiple fronts and deep soul searching, many who had been active previously prioritized responding to antisemitism locally or pro-Israel public relations efforts, and others refrained from criticizing Israeli leadership. At the same time, it was apparent that the hostages’ families were a liability to the government and became a target of criticism and Offir led UnXeptable in focusing on building pressure to return the hostages in a deal.

As the communities that UnXeptable touches grappled with the crisis and the questions of when and if to reengage in political action, Offir nurtured the web of relationships that was developed before October 7, through conversations and educational events that maintained the cohesion among these communities while enabling each to reengage on their own time.

B) In what ways has the nominee demonstrated exceptional leadership and commitment to their work in bridging divides?

When the judicial reform was proposed, Offir made a significant sacrifice by leaving his job to dedicate himself full-time to the UnXeptable mission. For nearly two years, he has worked tirelessly without compensation, leading a core team that has committed themselves to the organization's work at the level of a second job. His engagement is not limited by time zones, as he is active 24/7 online, building a bridge between Israelis and worldwide Jewish communities and keeping them updated with each other's messages, events, and developments. By the time the US team came online in the morning, Offir had already held several conversations with Israeli protest movement leaders, journalists, Knesset members, and cultural leaders, bringing the team fully in sync.

At first, the idea that expats and diaspora Jews could collaborate to influence Israel’s politics seemed improbable. However, Offir established personal connections and mutual trust with American community leaders and rabbis to inspire hundreds and eventually thousands of people to participate in impactful actions. Under Offir’s leadership, UnXeptable initiated Zoom meetings with Israeli experts, politicians, and influencers to explain current events and answer audience questions. Offir also motivated and assisted numerous UnXeptable branch leaders across the US, teaching them how to plan events and engage with their local American Jewish communities. This effort culminated in multi-city demonstrations during Prime Minister Netanyahu's visit to the US in September 2023.

Under Offir's leadership, numerous activists contribute at their highest and best level, and each feels (and indeed is) critical to the mission's success. UnXeptable has shown professional-grade organization in content, communications, sound, video, and logistics, responding to events and mobilizing efforts within hours.

Leadership is tested not at the peaks but at the darkest moments when it seems like ground is lost or not gained. Offir's proactive approach to leadership is evident in his constant communication with the team, always suggesting new ideas and strategies. He never gives up. He will message a team member or the group, saying, “What if we tried…?” When the team has worked until late at night, he’ll ask if they are up for translating one more video, one more tweet, reviewing one more op-ed, or one more email we can send to motivate and bring more people into the movement.

Great leaders espouse vision beyond the immediate struggles in which they are engaged, and Offir is no exception. The immediacy of the hostages’ situation, rapid-fire news cycle, and multiple crises create tremendous temptation to focus the organization’s activities on the here and now. Offir, however, has insisted that the conversation that UnXeptable address the broader question of the future of Zionism. Under his leadership, the organization has facilitated conversations among Israelis and Jews around the world about the messianic alternative that is being proposed–and, in some ways, quietly implemented–by engaging experts and translating content that is not easily accessible to the broader community.

Understanding the goals and methods of the messianic Zionists illustrates that, beyond the narrower, partisan political divisions that are dividing the Israeli and Jewish world, there is a much broader, common agreement on a vision of liberal Zionism that incorporates liberal democratic values. Identifying these areas of consensus have enabled UnXeptable to maintain a high level of engagement across its constituent communities, even as views on the current political situation vary widely.

C) How has the nominee's work impacted the Jewish community and beyond?

Offir’s leadership of UnXeptable has broken barriers and built a bridge between Israel and the Jewish diaspora. Global Jewish communities are actively participating in the debate about the future character of the Jewish State at a grassroots level, perceived as equal partners Israelis rather than far-away isolated groups abroad. Not only are they speaking, but they are also being listened to. UnXeptable’s family-oriented activities and gatherings provided opportunities for the American Jew's older and younger generations to engage in conversations about the state of Israel, Jewish values and Zionism.

The global movement has had a noticeable impact on press coverage in Israel and Jewish communities. Both the protest movement in Israel and its opponents have placed great importance on its contributions. This impact is a result of several factors: the involvement of expat Israelis in the high-tech economy, the potential for Jewish institutions to take a less deferential stance towards the Israeli government and its policies, and the ability of Jewish communities worldwide to capture the attention of their own governments and local media. All of these factors have had a significant impact on decisions in Israel, including the recent defeat of a key component of the judicial overhaul just before October 7th.


Partners whom Offir has worked with to build bridges across communities eloquently describe his impact:

“While Offir is a political activist, the merit of his work transcends individual political beliefs. His efforts are not about endorsing a specific political stance but about bridging gaps between communities and fostering a broader understanding of democratic values. Offir embodies the spirit of a Zionist bridge-builder, dedicated to connecting people through shared values and mutual respect.”
- Rabbi Nico Socolovsky, Senior Rabbi, Congregation Shir Hadash, Los Gatos, California

“Offir is a unique leader among leaders because he has sought relationships among Rabbis, congregants and community members across North America where there were none before…Offir’s focus is to create a better Israel for all of her inhabitants and to ensure that the diaspora has a seat at the table to help write Israel’s next chapter.”
- Daryl Messinger, Chair, ARZA

“Offir has successfully bridged the gap between these two groups around the civic struggle he leads, uniting them in actions despite the language and cultural differences that often seem impossible to overcome.”
-Tomer Persico, Research Fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute