Israel at 77: Cause For Alarm — And Optimism

'History is watching us. Previous and future generations await our actions. And now we know: it is our turn.'

Dear Reader,

The State of Israel announced with pride on Independence Day this week that its population has reached 10 million for the first time. But this is a moment of ongoing national trauma and deep uncertainty.

Ari Shavit, one of Israel’s leading journalists and the author of several books, including the award-winning My Promised Land: The Triumph and Tragedy of Israel, notes below that as a moment of truth nears, the society has shown remarkable resilience even as the state faces both external and internal existential threats.

Can Zionism meet its greatest challenge?

Gary

‘The Moment Of Truth Is Nigh’

Ari Shavit

‘No other nation threatened by a circle of darkness has created such a vibrant existence of light.’

There is cause for concern.

As it marks its 77th year, the State of Israel faces an external threat that can certainly be deemed as existential.

Despite the triumphant perception that took hold in the fall of 2024, Israel did not truly defeat Iran. Its Shia regime did lose many important regional assets, but it remains a regional power. And while this hostile ballistic imperium cannot presently vanquish the Jewish state, its arsenal of missiles could wreak havoc in an hour of confrontation.

Moreover, this nuclear threshold power could well achieve a final breakthrough, having amassed a huge amount of enriched uranium that could produce at least six atomic bombs. Israel’s 25-year herculean effort to thwart Iran has bought precious time, but did not attain its ultimate goal.

This means that the moment of truth is nigh. The critical hour is less than a year away. As Washington and Tehran negotiate, we face two bad choices: an inadequate deal that will pave the way to future Iranian nuclearization — or an Israeli military strike. Bomb or bombing.

There is cause for alarm. As it marks its 77th year, the State of Israel faces an internal threat that can certainly be deemed as existential. The Jewish people is a unique people of astounding strength and singular wisdom. But it is also a people that brought upon itself the destruction of the first and second Temples. The Jewish people failed to unite even in the Warsaw Ghetto as it faced the ultimate evil of Nazism. We are imperiled by a dangerous propensity toward divisiveness and self-destruction.

In 1948, we were able to overcome this proclivity, and in the next 20 years, we built our nation. But in the 21st century, our defenses weakened. In the years of Benjamin Netanyahu’s rule, we were torn apart by two clashing obsessions: only-Netanyahu, anyone-but-Netanyahu. This is how we came to the annus horribilis of 2023, during which we almost committed collective suicide. And this is how we came to the annus horribilis of 2025, during which we returned to the mayhem of October 6th, even after the catastrophe of October 7th. Once again, we proved that we are our own worst enemies. Once again, we have descended into a deep crisis of cataclysmic proportions.

There is cause for pride. As it celebrates its 77th year, Israel is a man-made miracle. No other people in the world was able to rise from the ashes to create such a phenomenal paragon of life. No other nation threatened by a circle of darkness has created such a vibrant existence of light.

When my grandmother’s father arrived in the Port of Jaffa in 1891, he could not have imagined that the Third Temple would be a prosperous home to some 10 million individuals, 7 million of them Jews. And when my grandfather’s father arrived in the Port of Jaffa in 1897, he could not have imagined that the Jewish state that would be founded here would become an international scientific, technological powerhouse. In the face of seemingly insurmountable obstacles, we did the impossible. Our resilience, determination, innovation and exceptional talent have triumphed over evil enemies and hostile circumstances. In an incredible manner, we were able to fulfill the prophets’ prophecy — and Herzl’s vision. Against all odds, we gave a homeless people a home.

There is cause for optimism. As it celebrates its 77th year, the State of Israel stands at a crossroad. On the one hand, it is confronting both external and internal threats — teetering on a dangerous precipice. But on the other hand, the convulsive trauma of October 7th awakened hitherto dormant powers — and brought us back to Zionism.

Today we know that our national mission is no less great that the mission thrust upon the shoulders of our great-grandparents, grandparents, mothers and fathers. History is watching us. Previous and future generations await our actions. And we now know: it is our turn. It is up to us. In each and every decade of the Zionist century, the walls seemed to close in on us — and yet we found a way to break through. This we can — and shall — do again.

Let our 78th year be one of renewal, revival and hope.

Ari Shavit is a leading Israeli journalist and author.