OPINION: Let’s renew our commitment to this deep, precious bond

Dear sisters and brothers from around the Jewish world, happy Independence Day!

What a pleasure it is to celebrate seventy-four years since David Ben-Gurion declared the establishment of the State of Israel, with you, our family in the Diaspora, supporting us.

Since assuming the office of the President of the State of Israel, I am continually amazed by the modern-day miracle, the State of Israel, which I am so proud to call everybody’s home.

In Israel we have overcome wars, terror and boycotts, just recently experiencing devastating attacks across the streets of Israel, while still keeping our hands outstretched in peace.

We have turned an arid and underdeveloped land into a global leader in water reuse, creative agriculture, start-up innovation, great science, and more. We have built a diverse, multicultural society that takes pride in its Jewish character, while insisting upon equal rights, religious freedoms, and a vibrant democracy.

We have accomplished all this together, together the tribes of Israel, Diaspora Jewish communities, and our friends from around the world, hand in hand as a family.

And as we celebrate the past, we also look towards the urgent missions of the future. Chief among them is renewing our commitment to the deep, precious bond between the global Jewish community and the Jewish national homeland. This bond is critical to the future of the State of Israel and critical to the future of the Jewish People. It must be a priority.

This can be done by showing up for our fellow Jews in need, be it the Jewish community in Ukraine, which is experiencing unimaginable hardship, or communities throughout the Diaspora, who offered each other support during COVID, or our brothers and sisters in Ethiopia.

This can be done by encouraging Jewish youth to come and experience Israel, to meet, tour, and feel this unique homeland. This can be done by streamlining aliyah and making Israel as welcoming and accessible to all who choose to come. This can be done by establishing positive dialogue with all our groups, streams, and individuals who see themselves as or wish to be part of our Jewish People.

Let us join hands in the coming year so that one year from now, next Pesach, please God, and on our seventy-fifth independence day, we will be proudly celebrating our evolving miracle together.

Because, as David Ben-Gurion said, in Israel, in order to be a realist, you must believe in miracles.

Thank you, brothers and sisters, dear friends.

Happy Independence Day.

Am Yisrael Chai!