Never in modern Jewish history have power and vulnerability existed side by side so starkly.

Over the past year, Israel has demonstrated military, intelligence and technological capabilities that few nations on earth can match. We have intercepted massive missile barrages, struck deep inside Iran, dismantled much of Hezbollah’s military leadership, and inflicted significant damage on Hamas. For the first time in two thousand years, the Jewish people are no longer powerless. We possess the ability to defend ourselves, to deter our enemies and, when necessary, to take the battle to those who seek our destruction.

Yet if there is one emotion that lingers across Israel today, it is not triumph.

The return of many hostages has brought moments of profound joy, but it has not erased the trauma of October 7. The wounds remain visible in bereaved families, survivors, reservists and communities rebuilding their lives. Military victories have restored confidence, but they have not removed uncertainty. Hamas has been weakened but not eliminated. Hezbollah has suffered devastating blows, yet remains armed. Iran’s military capabilities have been damaged, but its ideological commitment to Israel’s destruction has not disappeared. Many Israelis quietly wonder whether we have resolved these threats—or merely delayed their next chapter.

At the same time, another reality has become impossible to ignore. Israel’s alliance with the United States remains one of its greatest strategic assets, and American support has been indispensable. Yet Israel is particularly vulnerable to the profound changes now taking place within American politics and within the Jewish Diaspora itself. Support for Israel can no longer be assumed to pass automatically from one generation to the next. Younger Jews are often more distant, more critical, and less instinctively connected to Israel than their parents and grandparents. At the same time, Israel has too often taken Diaspora support for granted, while many Diaspora communities feel increasingly unheard, misunderstood or alienated.

This relationship requires repair. Israel and the Diaspora are not separate stories. The strength of Israel has long sustained Jewish confidence abroad, while the strength, advocacy and engagement of Diaspora Jewry have reinforced Israel’s security and legitimacy. If that bond weakens, both become more vulnerable. Friends are invaluable and alliances are essential, but neither diplomatic support nor Jewish solidarity can survive indefinitely without trust, mutual respect and a renewed sense of shared destiny.

That emotional tension makes this year’s reading of Parshat Va’etchanan, immediately following Tisha........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)