I remember America’s bicentennial birthday on July 4, 1976. It was a year of over-the-top red, white, and blue clothes and banners, flag-themed foods and ice cream, and everyone was feeling patriotic. The bicentennial came after Nixon’s resignation and Ford’s failed attempt to win his own term. The hope was that Watergate was behind us and Carter’s administration, like the celebration of our nation’s promises and aspirations, would lead us to our best days yet.

Independence Day 1976 came and went. Eventually, the nation’s problems increased as an oil embargo gripped the economy, gas prices rose with fuel shortages, and inflation soared. Overseas, the Middle East roiled, and in 1979, the Iranian Revolution began with American hostages held at the American embassy for 444 days, until just after Ronald Reagan was inaugurated and they were set free.

At that pivotal moment, Americans celebrated the hostages’ release and returned to our nation’s concerns. But it was the same pivotal moment when the Ayatollah Khomeini took hold of Iran, and began his ascent to be the leading exporter of terrorism to control the region and destroy Israel. Every attempt at permanent peace with Israel’s border neighbors was thwarted. President of Egypt Anwar Sadat, who made peace with Prime Minister of Israel Menachem Begin, and with whom he won the Nobel Peace Prize, was assassinated. Meanwhile, Yassir Arafat, who led the PLO, kept his promise never to make peace with Israel and the Jews. He used terror and guerilla warfare as his chief tools against them while generations of young Palestinians were reared on his brand of Jew-hatred. Despite Israel’s most generous offers of land for peace, no peace could be reached with Arafat’s and Khomeini’s henchmen and their descendants.

America’s recent bold decision to bomb Iran’s nuclear facilities in cooperation with Israel and regional interests is directly connected to the same pivotal moment. Since 1979, this day has been avoided and feared, but eventually it became inevitable. Iran’s nuclear capabilities were a dire threat to every effort that Israel and its Arab neighbors were aiming to achieve. The JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) delayed Iran’s nuclear ambitions, but it could never eliminate the risk of their military objectives. Though Arab countries are less public about their support for Israel, it’s no secret that many Arab countries signed the Abraham Accords to enjoy economic and other advantages in relationship with Israel, instead of in opposition to Israel.

To some, Israel appears to be war-hungry. It’s not true. Israel would do anything to spend less on war and to spend more on its people, technology, medicine, and human well-being. Any Israeli will tell you that life is a gift that they choose every day (Deuteronomy 30), and death is the end of that precious gift. Only the memory of a life well-lived can soften the blow, but Jews choose life and Jews honor the life of others who choose life, too.

In 2025, we’re just one year away from America’s 250th birthday. Fifty years ago, we didn’t ask with whom would we celebrate, because we celebrated with everyone who joined us in our home, our backyard, and our neighborhoods. How we celebrated was big, bold, and colorful. Next year, we need to prepare ourselves to be sure that we’re celebrating in big, bold, and colorful ways, too, but with whom will we be celebrating? I truly hope that it’s with everyone who calls America home—citizens, of course, and also the stranger, the vulnerable, the immigrant, and the hopeful newcomer, who want nothing more than to enjoy the dream that my grandparents came to know and that your great-grandparents risked their lives to give to you.

The lessons of the past can teach us something we need to know. First, we can’t let fear of the stranger grip us without first understanding their human story that begins with hopes and dreams. We fear what we don’t understand, so let’s commit to listening and learning for the sake of understanding our fellow human beings. Second, evil is found in fanaticism. There’s nothing that reasonable people can’t do together. Winner-takes-all is a losing proposition that defies possibilities for peace. Give something to those who are in need, too. Third, Israel and America stand together because we believe in democratic norms that can guide us to freedom, liberty, and happiness for the least of us, too.

Before next July 4, 2026, our task is to advocate for, vote for, and urge our nation’s leaders to believe in America’s enduring strengths found in the will of the people. We are a proud and strong nation that derives its strength from what was bequeathed to us. More than red, white, and blue, it’s what those colors and that flag represent to generations of us who understand what’s at stake. It has always taken the heart and soul of the American people to secure the best of us for the sake of generations that will follow us.

L’Shalom,