I came to build a future. Now I’m voting for it.

Four years ago, I made aliyah from the United States, full of excitement and optimism about the life my family would build in Israel. We had one beautiful year. Then came October 7th.

Like so many families across Israel, ours was thrust into a new reality of rocket sirens, shuttered schools, and one round of fighting after another. I had recently sold my business and felt a responsibility to contribute in whatever way I could. I began volunteering with the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, eventually leading its International Influencer team for nearly two years.

I stood alongside hostage families at protests, witnessed the extraordinary determination of ordinary Israelis, and watched our country become increasingly divided over what it would take to bring home the hostages, both the living and those who had been murdered.

Through that work, I was also privy to situations that left me deeply troubled by the decisions being made at the highest levels of government. Too often, it appeared that political survival was influencing decisions that should have been guided first and foremost by the lives at stake. In moments of national crisis, the character and judgment of our leaders matter enormously.

Those experiences changed how I thought about leadership, but they also forced me to look more closely at the broader challenges facing the country we had chosen to call home.

I watched friends leave their careers and young children behind to spend months serving in the reserves, while others remained exempt from the same national obligations. At home, I listened as my daughter came back from school frustrated by how little she was learning, despite being surrounded by bright, curious children and dedicated teachers.

These may seem like separate issues, but to me they speak to the same fundamental question: Are we building a country in which responsibility is shared, excellence is expected, and our institutions are focused on the future rather than the political interests of the moment?

A country cannot indefinitely ask the same families to shoulder the burden of its defense while failing to provide its children with the education and opportunities they deserve.

This is why Naftali Bennett’s vision for Israel resonates with me.

His commitment to linking public funding of schools to a meaningful core curriculum, elevating the teaching profession, and creating a more equitable system of national service addresses some of the most consequential challenges facing Israel’s future.

These are not simply questions of budgets or policy. They are questions about what kind of society we want to build.

Every child, regardless of background, deserves the tools to participate in Israel’s future. Every family contributing to the country’s security deserves to know that its sacrifice is recognized. And every parent deserves confidence that our education system is preparing children for the extraordinary possibilities of tomorrow.

As a mother of two young daughters, these questions are deeply personal. I want them to grow up in a country that rewards curiosity, ambition, service and hard work. A country that takes education as seriously as national security, because ultimately, the two are inseparable.

But good ideas alone are not enough. The people entrusted with turning them into reality matter just as much.

That is another reason I find Bennett’s Beyachad party compelling.

Five of its top ten candidates are women. Several are accomplished Olim who chose to make Israel their home and have gone on to help shape its future. Together, the team brings experience across technology, government, education and public service.

Israel has never suffered from a shortage of talent, ingenuity or ambition. These qualities built the Start-Up Nation and helped turn a small country with limited natural resources into a global leader in technology and innovation.

What we need now is leadership capable of bringing that same spirit of excellence, accountability and problem-solving to the institutions that shape our everyday lives.

We need leaders who understand the sacrifices Israeli families have made, who recognize that our children are our greatest national resource, and who are prepared to make difficult decisions in the country’s long-term interests.

I didn’t leave the comforts and opportunities of America because I thought life in Israel would be easy. I came because I believed in what this country represents, what it has accomplished, and what it still has the potential to become.

Four years later, after everything my family and so many others have experienced, that belief remains as strong as ever. But I have a much deeper appreciation for how much responsible, capable leadership matters in determining whether we fulfill that potential.

We came here to build a future. Now we have an opportunity to choose leaders who can help us build it.

Let’s not miss it.