Celebrating Yom HaAtzmaut Amid Ongoing Global and Local Challenges

By Rabbi Daniel Sayani

Yom HaAtzmaut feels different this year.

It still brings music, flags, Hallel, and gratitude. It still marks one of the great miracles of Jewish history. The Jewish people returned to sovereignty in their ancient homeland after exile, persecution, and dispersion. That fact should never feel ordinary. It should still take our breath away.

At the same time, many Jews are celebrating with fuller hearts and heavier minds. Israel’s recent ceasefire reality has not brought total calm to the region. Tensions remain. News cycles still move quickly. American politics also keep shifting. Yet none of that should weaken our clarity. Israel is not just a headline. Israel is a living home for the Jewish people.

For those of us in New York, Yom HaAtzmaut is never only about a country far away. It is also about who we are here. New York is home to one of the largest Jewish communities in the world outside Israel. According to the 2023 Jewish Community Study of New York, the eight county New York area includes about 736,000 Jewish households and roughly 1.372 million Jewish adults and children. The same study found that Brooklyn is home to about 462,000 Jews and Queens to about 150,000. Those numbers matter. They remind us that Jewish life in New York is not a side story. It is one of the main chapters of Jewish history right now.

That matters in Queens. It matters in Brooklyn. It matters in every synagogue, school, kosher market, and Shabbat table where people ask what Jewish pride should look like in 2026.

My answer is simple. Jewish pride should look calm, confident, rooted, and joyful.

Too often, people assume that pride must sound loud and defensive. I disagree. Real pride does not panic. Real pride builds. It teaches children to sing Israeli songs. It puts an extra chair at the table for a new family in the neighborhood. It gives tzedakah with intention. It learns Tanach, Jewish history, and modern Hebrew not because we are under pressure, but because these things are ours.

That is one of the gifts of Yom HaAtzmaut. It reminds us that Jewish survival is not the end of the story. Jewish flourishing is the story.

New York Jews understand this deeply. The same city that hosts rallies, protests, and difficult political forums also hosts some of the strongest Jewish institutions anywhere in the world. We see tension in public life. We also see resilience in private and communal life. We see schools full of students, batei midrash full of learning, and families who keep choosing Jewish life with love and seriousness.

Current research supports that hopeful picture. The Jewish Community Study of New York reports that nearly two thirds of Jewish adults in New York are somewhat or very attached to Israel. A later 2025 follow up study found that 64 percent of Jewish adults in New York remain somewhat or very attached to Israel, and 49 percent say their attachment has become stronger since October 7. That same follow up study also found increased participation in Jewish behaviors and communal life. In other words, pressure did not erase Jewish identity. In many cases, it strengthened it.

This is why I believe the Diaspora has an important role that is often misunderstood.

Some people speak as if strong Diaspora life competes with support for Israel. I think the opposite is true. A vibrant Jewish community in New York strengthens Israel. And a strong Israel strengthens Jewish confidence in New York. These are not rival projects. They are partners.

You can see that partnership in public life. Events such as Israel Day on Fifth continue to give New York Jews a visible and positive way to celebrate Israel together. At the same time, local headlines remind us that Jewish life in New York still unfolds in a tense civic environment. Reuters recently reported on arrests tied to a New York City protest over U.S. arms sales to Israel. That contrast tells the story well. Jewish pride today must be both public and thoughtful. It must be warm, but also steady.

So what should support look like in practice?

First, support Israel with knowledge. Learn beyond slogans. Read seriously. Listen carefully. Teach your children what the State of Israel means in Jewish history, Jewish law, and Jewish memory.

Second, support Israel with presence. Show up at community events. Celebrate Yom HaAtzmaut publicly and warmly. Attend gatherings that bring Jews together with dignity and hope. Public celebration matters because it turns abstract support into visible communal pride.

Third, support Israel by strengthening Jewish life here at home. Join a synagogue. Support Jewish schools. Build friendships across neighborhoods and backgrounds. A Jew in Forest Hills and a Jew in Flatbush may live differently, but both help carry the same people forward.

Fourth, speak with wisdom. Not every argument needs your voice. Not every provocation deserves your energy. In tense times, Kiddush Hashem often comes through steadiness, decency, and discipline.

I would add one more point. Yom HaAtzmaut should not only make us thankful for what Israel gives the Jewish people. It should also make us ask what the Jewish people owe Israel in return. We owe Israel more than applause. We owe seriousness. We owe learning. We owe prayer. We owe responsible leadership in our own communities.

That is why Yom HaAtzmaut remains a day of joy.

Not naive joy. Not careless joy. Jewish joy.

The kind of joy that remembers history. The kind that thanks Hashem. The kind that looks at the State of Israel and says: this is a miracle, this is a responsibility, and this is a blessing.

From Queens to Brooklyn, from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv, may this Yom HaAtzmaut lift our spirits and sharpen our purpose. May it deepen our love for Israel. May it strengthen Jewish life in New York. And may we carry our pride with grace, faith, and confidence into the year ahead.