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By Ron Werner
There is a danger in allowing our love for the land and people of Israel to be expressed only through worry.
For too long, much of the conversation about Israel has understandably focused on the “oy vey”: war, terrorism, antisemitism, political divisions, and the latest crisis dominating our newsfeeds.
These challenges are real. Yet, if we only see our world through a prism of crisis, we lose the ability to explain what Zionism has achieved and how we’ve made the world a better place.
Rosh Hashanah offers us an opportunity to change the conversation.
This season asks us to reflect on the year behind us while imagining what the year ahead might become. So perhaps we should also reflect on an extraordinary question: What have we accomplished as Zionists?
Look at Israel.
In little more than a century, the Jewish people transformed an ancient dream into a modern, thriving nation. At Jewish National Fund-USA, our donors have helped plant more than 260 million trees, built more than 250 reservoirs and dams, and brought Jewish people around the world home to their ancestral land.
Today, we are helping write the next chapter.
Across Israel’s North and South, Jewish National Fund-USA is investing in communities, healthcare, employment, education, agriculture, tourism, housing sites, and infrastructure. Our philosophy is simple: don’t merely build a project; create a circle of impact that gives families the opportunity and confidence to build their futures there, while inspiring new ones to join.
Perhaps one of the most inspiring expressions of Zionism is what happens when Israeli ingenuity travels beyond Israel’s borders.
Through the Kasser Joint Institute for Food, Water, and Energy Security, Jewish National Fund-USA, the University of Arizona, and Israel’s Arava Regional Councils are applying expertise developed in some of the world’s harshest environments to global challenges. In Kenya, agrivoltaics—using the same land for agriculture and solar-energy production—is being deployed alongside irrigation and other technologies to help communities strengthen food, water, and energy security.
That, too, is Zionism.
Zionism isn’t simply about defending Israel when it is attacked. It is about building a society that contributes to humanity.
And that is why each of us must become a voice for Israel.
Not an angry voice. Not a defensive voice. A proud voice.
We should speak about Israel’s challenges. However, we should also speak about the farmers, scientists, entrepreneurs, doctors, teachers, volunteers, and pioneers making their communities—and our world—better.
Let’s tell the story of the non-Jewish sophomore from the University of Texas who traveled to Israel as part of our Caravan for Democracy program. This initiative educates college students of all faiths about the realities on the ground. Many of these students have since become proud allies of Jewish and Zionist students on campus, joining hundreds of program alumni committed to fostering understanding and support.
Let’s also celebrate the experiences of the Jewish high school student who just returned from a life-changing semester abroad at our Muss High School in Israel. Like most kids at Muss, they attend public school, yet unlike before their experience in Israel, they now openly talk about Israel with pride and enthusiasm.
If all our children hear from us about Israel is what we fear, how can we expect them to understand what we love?
This Rosh Hashanah, let us resolve to see beyond the “oy vey.”
Let us tell the whole story of Israel: not merely a country surviving against extraordinary odds, but a people building, creating, healing, innovating, and giving back.
The shofar is, after all, an instrument meant to be heard.
This year, so should we.
Ron Werner is Jewish National Fund-USA’s VP, Campaign
