Dear Friends,

As we approach the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the State of Israel, we anticipate the festivities that are planned in Israel as well as those scheduled in most Jewish communities around the world.

May I suggest, however, that a significant way of celebration for each one of us is to take a few moments and contemplate what it means to you and your Jewish community to have the State of Israel as part of our collective Jewish life.

Only a few weeks ago, the 65th anniversary of the Warsaw ghetto uprising was marked in Poland. That revolt against the Nazis, while doomed to failure, became a watershed event that lit the imaginations of subsequent generations of Jewish youth. Historical analysis aside, it was the spirit of that struggle that lived on in what would become the battle for Israel’s independence.

As President Shimon Peres said on the site of the Warsaw ghetto, “They lost the fight, but from the point of view of history, there has never been such a victory.”

That night the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra performed before the presidents of Israel and Poland at Warsaw’s National Opera House.

From those ashes the Jewish people went on to build cities from sand, revitalize its ancient language, establish commerce and industry, engage in the social experiment of kibbutz life, and reach international recognition for its cultural renaissance in music, art, film, theater, and its academic achievements in innumerable fields.

While we are all critical of this or that aspect of life in Israel—and no one more than those who live in the country—we should never lose sight of the great accomplishments of the last 60 years, accomplishments made possible by the tenacious partnership of Jews all over the world.

While Israel still has much ground to cover in catching up to some older democracies in terms of aspects of good governance, transparency, and less bureaucracy, the underlying difference is that we are no longer powerless to forge our own destiny. We are now free to make our own mistakes—and, hopefully, to correct them when need be.

This is worth celebrating.

Yom Haatzmaut Sameach!
Happy Independence Day,

Leah Aharonov
President, ICJW