As the United States approaches its 250th anniversary on July 4, 2026, perhaps the most important question is not whether America has been great, but what has made it a good society?

As an Israeli looking at America from afar, I have long admired its remarkable experiment. No nation is perfect, and America’s history is certainly no exception. Yet few countries have done more to shape the modern world or to offer hope to millions seeking freedom, opportunity and a new beginning.

Today, however, America faces profound challenges. Political polarization has deepened. Trust in institutions has declined. Identity politics increasingly competes with a shared national story. Antisemitism has re-emerged in places where it should never be tolerated, and hostility towards Israel has, in some circles, become a marker of social or political identity.

Against that backdrop, I want to share the story of a remarkable American.

The Billionaire Who Wanted No Monument

This is the story of Julius Rosenwald, which deserves to be retold as an example of how one man can make a difference.

The Jewish president of Sears, Roebuck & Co. quietly helped fund more than 5,000 schools for African American children across the segregated South. Working alongside Booker T. Washington, his philanthropy transformed educational opportunity for generations. By the 1930s, around one-third of Black children in the South had attended a Rosenwald School.

He gave away the equivalent of more than a billion dollars in today’s money.

He refused to have buildings named after him.

He believed wealth had value only if it created opportunity for others.

Yet today, relatively few Americans know his name.

His story made me ask a broader question.

What kind of people build a good society?

It also reminded me of something else.

America’s Jewish community has never been large. Throughout most of the nation’s history, Jews have represented only a small percentage of the population. Yet their contribution to American society has been extraordinary.

From the American Revolution to the Civil Rights Movement; from science and medicine to law, education, philanthropy, business and the arts, Jewish Americans have consistently helped shape the nation.

This is not a story of privilege or power.

It is a story of contribution.

It reflects a tradition that places enormous emphasis on education, justice, responsibility, repairing........

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