Throughout our people’s history, persecution of Jews was often manifested by the targeting of our religious practices and laws. Our oppressors mocked and undermined the very commandments and rituals that distinguished us from other nations. We needed great conviction to follow our values.
As we mark the celebration of the 77th anniversary of the founding of Israel, we are forced to reckon with a painful reality: What was true of opposition to Judaism then has mutated into opposition to the Jewish state. We are now mocked, maligned, and delegitimized, not for being Jews or adhering to Judaism but for supporting and being part of the Zionist endeavor and Jewish statehood.
The blood libels we were accused of have transformed. No longer are the accusations about contaminated Jewish blood, as Hitler claimed, nor medieval allegations of Jews killing Christian children to make matzah.
Today’s blood libel focuses on Zionism itself. Israeli leaders and soldiers – the very defenders of Jewish sovereignty – are falsely accused of deliberately killing Palestinian children. These defenders of the Jewish state face not only condemnation in public opinion but also malicious charges in the International Court of “Justice,” where they stand accused of murder, genocide, and severe human rights violations.
We are once again called upon to display enormous courage and conviction in defense of Jewish values – to stand up, often alone, and fight for Jewish destiny.
Every Jew must defend Israel's right to exist
We all now stand on the frontlines in the battle for Israel’s legitimacy. Every Jew is called to defend our values and uphold the moral right to a Jewish state. In Israel, many risk their lives as soldiers defending the country’s physical existence, just as countless brave soldiers and civilians did on October 7 and have continued to do every day since.
Others fight through legal channels, challenging false accusations in international courts.
Many wage the battle of public opinion, using pens, keyboards, and cameras as their weapons, often standing alone against prejudice and misinformation. On college campuses, courageous students confront the growing tide of antisemitism that disguises itself as anti-Zionism. Wherever we are, however isolated we may feel, each of us bears the responsibility to stand up for Zionism and the Jewish state’s right to exist.
This mission demands boldness and courage from each of us. Being Jewish has always required the strength to uphold our values against fierce opposition. Today, we need this courage more than ever to withstand the storms of hostility directed at our most fundamental beliefs and to preserve our heritage for generations to come.
THIS ANNIVERSARY is poignantly marked by the Hebrew word “oz” (strength), the numerical value of which is 77. Never has the theme of strength through bravery and courage been more appropriate to reflect our national spirit.
The worldwide nature of our current threat means that this courage and need for strength is by no means limited to Israel’s borders. While the heroism and sacrifice of our dear soldiers are best seen by their positions on the frontlines, this is truly a global battlefield.
For this reason, more than ever before in Israel’s modern national history, every Jew the world over is a stakeholder in our forward destiny. In that capacity, every Jew also has the ability to directly impact that national future.
In these very days, polls are closing for the elections to the World Zionist Congress, an opportunity for Diaspora Jewry to show it is an active part of the Zionist movement. This is truly the chance to allow one’s voice to be heard in a process that has very real, practical, ideological, and financial impacts on Israel’s future and the ability of global Jewry to stand strong in the face of so many developing threats and challenges.
For those who have already voted, please ensure that your passion is shared with every possible Jew who can similarly cast their vote.
Finally, I appeal to every Jew who understands and internalizes the truth that there is no daylight between Judaism and Zionism, between being on the frontlines of embracing Jewish tradition and the battle frontlines against our enemies – to come out in support of this critical ideal.
If this is a value that speaks to you, if you appreciate that the value of military service and commitment to the defense of the land and its people is a supreme Jewish value, then I invite you to support slate 5, the slate that best places Judaism and Zionism together and where I have the privilege of representing these values on the World Zionist Executive.
We all know that post-October 7, it has been this community, the religious-Zionist community, that has tragically paid the heaviest communal price in putting this holy mission into practice. Not only have hundreds fallen, but there have been many thousands of others wounded, alongside so many families who have counted hundreds of days apart as their loved ones serve.
Speaking as a father of a son who fell on October 7 and remains in captivity in Gaza and a second son who was wounded on that day – both in heroic battle on the army base of Nachal Oz – I know these sacrifices all too well. Yet, I take pride in being able to describe our community’s service as a “painful privilege.”
Certainly, our pain needs little explanation. But indeed, the privilege lies in knowing that we are not only witnesses to but proactive partners in a generation of true oz, true strength, of standing up for the very best of what Israel and the Jewish world are all about.
I call upon all to join me in sharing this vision, and together, we can work toward a better, safer, and stronger Israeli and Jewish tomorrow.
The writer, a rabbi, is the executive chairman of World Mizrachi and father of IDF Captain Daniel Perez, of blessed memory.
