There are moments when you can feel the ground shifting beneath the Jewish world – not because history suddenly begins, but because it suddenly accelerates.
In the span of a few years, American Jews have watched old assumptions collapse: that antisemitism would remain confined to the fringes; that institutions would instinctively protect minorities; that Jewish peoplehood and connection to Israel could be treated as a private matter rather than a public fault line. Today, those assumptions are gone.
Instead, we find ourselves in an era of heightened vulnerability and heightened scrutiny, where Jewish identity is interrogated, Zionism is routinely distorted, and Israel is singled out for moral condemnation in ways that spill over into harassment and intimidation of Jews far beyond the Middle East.
This is not a passing storm. It is a test of communal resolve, civic courage, and our capacity to stay connected to one another when the world is trying to pull us apart.
From vulnerability to partnership
That is why conferences and conventions, once considered largely procedural, are taking on a different weight. They are now about reaffirming the bonds that make Jewish life resilient: across denominations, ideologies, generations, and geographies.
They are about rebuilding confidence in the basic truth that Jewish peoplehood is real, and that partnership between Israel and the Diaspora is not optional, but essential.
In that context, President Isaac Herzog’s recent appearance at the American Zionist Movement (AZM) Biennial National Assembly should be understood not as a courtesy call, but as a meaningful marker of shared destiny.
Herzog’s remarks affirmed the vital bond between Israel and the Diaspora. His participation recognizes the central role American Zionists play in strengthening Jewish peoplehood, deepening engagement with Israel, and building a shared future.
AZM convenes a broad coalition of 51 national Jewish Zionist organizations, rooted in the following proposition: Zionism has always contained many visions, but it is ultimately animated by one dream. That is why our biennial theme this year – “Zionism: Many Visions, One Dream,” inspired by Theodor Herzl’s dream and embracing the diversity and vitality of Zionism today – represented more than a slogan; it was a framework for unity, in a moment when unity is more necessary than ever.
HERZOG CAME to the biennial with the clarity this moment demands. He did not speak about Israel and world Jewry as distant cousins in a complicated family drama. He spoke as a partner speaking to partners, grounded in the recognition that the fate of Jews in Israel and the fate of Jews in America are increasingly intertwined.
His core principle was clear and direct: No Jew should be harassed anywhere in the world because of his or her faith. His call to action was equally blunt: “We have to fight together, with all the legal tools we have, to combat antisemitism and explain our case– that the only nation-state of the Jewish people is protecting the free world and is a beacon of tikkun olam to the entire world.”
Further, Herzog confronted one of the most poisonous accusations circulating today: the claim that Israel is committing genocide. He underscored that Israel, like any democracy, is bound by law; that its operational guidelines are rooted in international humanitarian law; that it investigates mistakes; and that it delivers humanitarian aid even amid war.
In a time when the word “genocide” is wielded not as a legal determination but as a cudgel, his insistence on reality was a reminder that moral language must not be allowed to become a weapon of distortion.
American Zionists understand what is at stake when Israel is cast as uniquely evil. The demonization does not remain “over there.” It travels into classrooms, workplaces, city councils, social media feeds, and Jewish neighborhoods.
It becomes the justification for intimidation: an excuse to target Jewish students, to marginalize Jewish civic participation, and to demand that Jews denounce their identity ties as a condition of acceptance. When Israel is delegitimized, American Jews are often delegitimized by association.
This is where the work of AZM becomes essential. In a polarized age, our obligation is not to manufacture uniformity. Zionism has never been a single ideology. It has always been a living debate – religious and secular, progressive and conservative, pragmatic and visionary. But debate is not the same as fragmentation. Disagreement is not the same as abandonment. The Jewish people can argue passionately while remaining bound to one another by responsibility.
That is the deeper significance of Herzog’s appearance at the biennial. It signaled that the relationship between Israel and the Diaspora must be treated as a strategic partnership, not a sentimental attachment. It emphasized that American Zionists are not spectators to Israel’s story, but participants in shaping a shared future: strengthening Jewish peoplehood, deepening engagement with Israel, and building durable bridges across communities that too often talk past one another.
The next chapter will not be written by nostalgia. It will be written by action: serious education that equips young people to speak with knowledge rather than slogans; civic engagement that defends pluralism and minority rights; and a renewed, confident Zionism that is unafraid to affirm the Jewish people’s right to self-determination while insisting that our values remain central to our mission.
Herzog powerfully reminded us who we are, and what we owe each other. Many visions. One dream. And a future that will only be secured – together.
Mark Levenson is the president, and Herbert Block is the executive director of the American Zionist Movement.