Every Israeli remembers exactly where they were on the morning of October 7 – the day our familiar sense of security suddenly collapsed.
In fact, it seems that every Jew around the world remembers where they were and how they felt upon first hearing the reports of the horrors that unfolded in southern Israel and across the country.
Moreover, the waves of antisemitism and denial of the massacre that surfaced afterward served as a collective alarm bell for every Jew in Israel and throughout the Diaspora. It became clear to us all: The threat is not just local, but one we share as a people.
Since its founding, the Zionist Congress has served as the active arm of the Jewish people, aiming to connect its various parts and promote national goals.
Before the establishment of the State of Israel, its vision was the creation of a national home for the Jewish people. After the state’s establishment, its goal shifted to facilitating mass immigration, settling the land, and strengthening the state as a stable anchor for any Jew in distress.
Redefining the goals of Zionism
Now, we must redefine Zionism’s goals to meet the current challenges facing the Jewish people across time and space.
Over the years, two distinct Jewish cultures have evolved, that of the Jewish people in Israel and that of the Jewish people in the Diaspora.
While many communities around the world have developed a pluralistic Judaism – blending tradition with integration into local societies – a secular Israeli culture has emerged in Israel, at times detached from the concept of Jewish peoplehood as a value. At the same time, Orthodox Judaism in Israel has remained conservative and insular. Thus, parallel identities have developed, but not always integrated, despite a shared collective memory.
Israeli communities abroad often do not assimilate into the local Jewish communities – a phenomenon that further deepens the divide. This rift, increasingly evident in recent years, demands courageous engagement with the issue of Jewish unity.
At the heart of the Diaspora’s challenges lies the question of communal relevance. Is the Jewish community able to remain attractive, meaningful, and welcoming? Does it promote Jewish values and support personal and social growth? The ideal of community, once taken for granted, has eroded in the face of challenges, such as individualism, apathy, and at times even detachment from Jewish values. All of these weaken the sense of belonging and the connection to the Jewish people and to Israel.
Despite the events of October 7, Israel at 77 years old remains a strong country – economically, militarily, and technologically. Its hi-tech innovation breaks boundaries, with 40% of entrepreneurs engaged in impact sectors such as water, energy, medicine, agriculture, transportation, climate, and more. Israel, once established as a refuge, has today evolved into a global hub of innovation.
Now that the existence of the State of Israel is no longer in question, we must ask again: What is Zionism in the 21st century? How is it relevant to our lives?
The pogrom of October 7 shook our world in Israel, but the waves of hatred and antisemitism are being felt even more strongly by our brothers and sisters in the Diaspora – those who always stand with us in times of trouble. Once again, Jews around the world mobilized, raising hundreds of millions of dollars to help rebuild the state. More importantly, they renewed the covenant between us.
This moment of trial is also an opportunity to reshape the concept of Zionism, not merely as a political dream fulfilled, but as a relevant vision for our times: a Zionism that unites the Jewish people, strengthens communities, promotes ideas that inspire the next generation, and begins to realize the destiny of the Jewish people to lead in offering solutions to the world’s challenges.
This new Zionism sees Israel not as the final destination, but as the central tool for realizing the vision of a covenant for all of the Jewish people. The State of Israel can – and must – harness its innovation and creativity to advance both universal and Jewish values: starting with mutual responsibility and support, leading a global Jewish dialogue, and working together to address our people’s challenges — and beyond, to repairing the world.
In this framework, we must connect global Jewry to Israeli initiatives in the fields of impact and society, and connect Israeli Jewry to the activities of Jewish communities abroad. Let’s position Israel as the center of Jewish culture, inspiration, and spiritual resilience. To strengthen the people, community challenges – from antisemitism to Jewish education and care for the aging population – must be addressed, as well as strengthen the sense of belonging between the people and their land.
In 2025, the vision of classical Zionism has already been realized. A state for the Jewish people lives and thrives. Now is the time to transform Israel from a mere vessel of survival for the Jewish people into one of vision and action on their behalf. We must adopt a new, profound, and responsible approach: Israel as a means of serving all segments of the Jewish people, strengthening the bonds of brotherhood within Israel, and between Israel and the Diaspora, promoting values and actions for the collective betterment of the world.
The responsibility is ours. And it is ours now.
Dr. Jonathan Menuhin is CEO of the Israeli Innovation Institute. David Yaari is vice chairman of KKL-JNF and chairman of Kol Israel – The General Zionists.
