Unity, Clarity, and Resolve in a Time of Trial

Last week, hundreds of Jewish leaders from across the United States gathered in Washington, D.C., for an Emergency Leadership Fly-In convened by the Conference of Presidents and the Jewish Federations of North America. We did not come for symbolism. We came to act.

Over the course of 36 hours, we met with congressional leaders, Cabinet officials, national security advisors, and top law enforcement authorities. We spoke not as partisans, but as a people united by purpose. And we delivered a message that was both urgent and unambiguous: Jewish security is non-negotiable. Support for the State of Israel is a moral imperative. Silence in the face of antisemitism—whether in Tehran, on campus, or in our own neighborhoods—is unacceptable.

We gathered at a moment of historic gravity. More than twenty months after the horrors of October 7th, fifty Israeli hostages remain in captivity. Their continued suffering is a stain on the world’s conscience. Their release must remain our demand.

We also met in the immediate aftermath of a harrowing war between Israel and the Islamic Republic of Iran. With Iran on the cusp of nuclear breakout, Israel acted decisively—striking deep into Iranian territory to degrade its nuclear infrastructure. Days later, the United States joined the effort, targeting the regime’s hardened enrichment facilities at Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan. The message was unmistakable: the free world will not permit a genocidal regime to go nuclear. A ceasefire is now in place. But the threat has not vanished. Iran’s ambitions remain intact, and its proxies—from Gaza to Lebanon to Yemen—though diminished, remain dangerous and determined. Deterrence must be rebuilt, not just restored.

And here at home, the danger is not abstract, either. Jewish Americans continue to face a wave of hostility without precedent in our lifetimes. Synagogues and schools are targeted. Community events are disrupted. Students are harassed. Antisemitism has metastasized in public life—with too many leaders responding not with moral clarity, but with excuse-making or silence. Now, in New York of all cities, the primary voters for mayor have chosen a candidate who refuses to condemn the antisemitic call to “Globalize the Intifada.”

That is why the Fly-In focused on the twin pillars of Jewish security: the sovereign defense of the State of Israel, and the civil protection of Jews in the United States. We delivered six urgent, coordinated demands:

• Guarantee the full protection of Jewish institutions across the United States.
• Confront campus antisemitism with the seriousness it demands.
• Ensure equal enforcement of civil rights laws for Jewish Americans.
• Reject attempts to isolate or delegitimize the State of Israel.
• Uphold the IHRA definition of antisemitism in federal and state policy.
• Affirm America’s enduring commitment to Israel’s security.

None of these are partisan demands. They are American principles. And they are Jewish obligations.

We do not raise our voices lightly. Nearly seventy years ago, in the aftermath of the Suez Crisis, the American Jewish community realized it needed to speak with one voice. The Conference of Presidents was born out of that moment. And in every generation since—through war and peace, persecution and renewal—we have carried that mission forward.

We carried it once again in Washington. Leaders from across the Jewish spectrum—religious and secular, left, right, and center, from national agencies to grassroots organizers—stood shoulder to shoulder. We came not merely to bear witness, but to lead. To insist that Jewish safety is not up for debate. To help shape a Jewish future worthy of our past and our promise.

The unity forged since October 7th, 2023, and displayed so powerfully during the March for Israel the following November, remains our greatest strength. It is not theoretical. It is operational.

We thank our partners at JFNA, the leaders of every participating organization, and the hundreds who came to Washington at personal cost and sacrifice. Your presence mattered. Your voices were heard.

The threats we face are real. But so is our unity. So is our determination. And so is our sacred mission: to secure the safety and dignity of all Jews—everywhere.

Am Yisrael Chai

The writer CEO of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations. Follow him @Daroff