and Narda Forman
This Yom HaAtzmaut, let’s celebrate our Jewish homeland without apology. Let’s celebrate with undivided pride.
Israel is a nation engaged in creation, a land and people constantly evolving. But let us go back and revisit the past so that we can see the future.
Land and the Land of Israel is not a 20th century phenomenon. Indeed it is a 5,000-year-old commandment. God’s message to Abraham to start a new religion and establish a new nation was predicated on him doing so in a new land. His was the first recorded land purchase.
Moses knew that his task was not to free his people by negotiating a better life for them in Egypt, but to bring them to the Land of Israel. To the Jewish people, Israel is not just sacred because of consecrated moments or prophets and ancestors buried there. It is the land itself that holds significance.
Our Jewish nation is the only one where its very land is integral to its essence. The soil is the soul of the Jewish people. And this land is something we must continuously work to preserve, defend and nourish.
Indeed, the needs of the nation have evolved rapidly over the last century — from purchasing the land to making it a modern sustainable country, both physically and spiritually.
But throughout this natural evolution our collective mission should always remain the same, to be caretakers of the Land of Israel on behalf of its owners — Jewish people everywhere.
We must still serve the Jewish people by creating and strengthening our homeland. For one generation this meant buying the land itself; for another it meant planting the forests vital to the development of the land.
Today, that mission includes creating water projects, new communities in the Negev and new Israel advocacy education initiatives. But the core and essence of all these projects has always remained the same: a commitment, in perpetuity, to a land in Israel for Jewish people everywhere.
As the State of Israel continues to evolve, and as we continue to be a nation under creation, we need to be unified and continue to create hope for the Jewish people.
The facts are that our 2,000-year-old prayers have been heard. The challenge is not over but, with a national anthem called “Hatikvah” (“Hope”) and a national flag made out of a tallit, we have the strength and spirit to continue to create our Jewish democratic state and land for the Jewish people forever.
Happy Birthday Israel.
Audrey Brooks and Narda Forman are co-presidents of the Wisconsin Region of the Jewish National Fund.
Loading ...