IF WE LOSE THE ISRAELI SPIRIT

IF WE LOSE THE ISRAELI SPIRIT

There is something I have been thinking about for a long time, and perhaps Sukkot is exactly the right moment to say it.

Our society is becoming increasingly egocentric.

Me. My organization. My platform. My followers. My success. My recognition. My interests.

And unfortunately, I see this happening in the pro Israel world as well.

That hurts me to say, because for me supporting Israel has never been about building a personal brand or collecting applause. For twelve years, I have advocated for Israel almost nonstop. I have written, researched, created content, challenged misinformation, lost accounts, been restricted and banned on different platforms, dealt with enormous amounts of hatred and continued anyway.

Not because someone paid me to do it.

Not because it made my life easier.

But because I believe Israel is worth standing up for.

And during those years I have learned something uncomfortable.

We talk constantly about unity, but we are not always very good at practicing it.

One pro Israel organization after another is created. Another initiative. Another group. Another platform. Another logo. Another person wanting to build something of their own.

There is nothing inherently wrong with new initiatives. We need ideas, energy and people willing to stand up. But sometimes I genuinely wonder why we keep creating another organization instead of asking how we can strengthen the organizations and initiatives that already exist.

Instead of joining forces, we divide our energy into a million fragments.

Everyone wants to fight for Israel, but too often everyone wants to do it from their own little island.

Then try asking for help.

Try asking someone with a large audience to share something that does not directly benefit their own platform. Try asking people to introduce you to someone who might help. Try asking for cooperation rather than applause.

Suddenly the famous unity becomes much more difficult to find.

Of course there are wonderful exceptions. I have met extraordinary people through my work for Israel, people who help without asking what is in it for them, people who share, connect, encourage and support simply because they understand that the mission is bigger than any one of us.

But I also see something else.

Individual attention is disappearing.

Even something as simple as wishing someone a meaningful holiday increasingly seems to require the other person to initiate it first. We wait for the message before sending one. We wait for someone to ask how we are before asking how they are. We calculate attention instead of simply giving it.

That may sound insignificant.

I do not think it is.

Because Israel was never built by people saying, “What is in this for me?”

Israel was built through responsibility, sacrifice, community, courage and the understanding that sometimes another person needs you.

The Israeli spirit I fell in love with is precisely that feeling.

Someone needs help, you help.

Someone falls, you reach out.

Someone is alone, you invite them.

Someone needs food, you feed them.

Someone needs protection, you stand beside them.

You argue, you disagree, you shout, you drive each other completely crazy, and five minutes later you are there for each other when it matters.

That spirit is more valuable than any campaign.

And we should never take it for granted.

Because enemies from outside are not the only danger a society faces. A society can also weaken from within when people stop seeing each other, when community becomes competition, when organizations protect their own territory instead of cooperating, and when personal ambition becomes more important than the common purpose.

Supporting Israel should never become a competition about who has the biggest audience, who gets the most attention, who receives the invitation, who gets the photograph, or whose organization gets the credit.

If the purpose is truly Israel, then the question should be much simpler.

What can we accomplish together that we cannot accomplish alone?

We need more cooperation.

We need more generosity.

We need more people willing to open doors for others instead of guarding them.

We need organizations willing to share knowledge, contacts, resources and audiences when doing so strengthens the common cause.

And perhaps most importantly, we need to remember the human being standing beside us.

Send the message first.

Make the phone call.

Ask someone how they are and actually listen to the answer.

Wish someone a beautiful holiday without waiting for them to wish you one first.

Help another organization succeed even when your own name will not appear anywhere.

Share someone else’s work because it deserves to be seen.

Celebrate another person’s success without wondering whether it diminishes yours.

None of this makes us weaker.

It makes us stronger.

Sukkot itself reminds us how temporary and fragile our structures can be. We leave the security of permanent walls and remember that strength is not found only in buildings, institutions or possessions.

Strength is also found in community.

Israel needs military strength. Israel needs economic strength. Israel needs diplomatic strength. Israel needs people around the world prepared to defend it against lies and hatred.

But Israel also needs something that cannot be manufactured, purchased or legislated.

It needs its spirit.

And that spirit depends on people.

On responsibility.

On solidarity.

On caring.

On remembering that sometimes it really is not about me.

It is about us.

So this Sukkot, perhaps we should all look beyond our own organizations, platforms, ambitions and little bubbles and remember what we are actually standing for.

Let us unite more.

Let us compete less.

Let us care more.

Let us help without immediately asking what we receive in return.

Let us love more.

Because Israel’s greatest strength has never been only the land, the technology, the army or the institutions.

It has always been its people.

And that Israeli spirit is something worth protecting.

חג סוכות שמח ????????

Chag Sukkot Sameach.

May this Sukkot remind us that we are stronger when we stand together.

Time To Stand Up For Israel