Isaac Herzog

That so many stayed for the obligatory let-your-hair-down activity, so often a cringe-inducing, sparsely attended affair at gatherings like these, was an encouraging sign.

JFNA established the Israel Small Business Loan Fund in the months following October 7, 2023, as part of its Israel Emergency Campaign, which ultimately raised more than $900m.

Israel does not need you to make everyone agree. It needs you to help ensure that Israelis can continue to live, compete, and govern together even when they do not.

At a farewell reception for outgoing ZFA president Jeremy Leibler, Herzog praised his leadership, while former ambassador Amir Maimon recalled tensions with Canberra and rising antisemitism.

Three major broadcasters missed Likud by five to seven seats. The disagreement among pollsters was there to report all along, and newsrooms, ours included, failed to make it the story.

"We must do everything, certainly after yesterday, to avoid another round of elections," Israel's president said. "Therefore, I expect everyone who comes here to arrive with an open mind."

With Likud emerging as the largest party but Gadi Eisenkot's opposition bloc ahead in the initial exit polls, the president faces a difficult decision over who should be given the first opportunity.

The list includes Maj.-Gen. Emmanuel Bayingana of Rwanda, Christophe Parisot of France, Arad Benko of Austria, Stella Ronner Grubacic of the Netherlands, and Evelyn Korantemaa Ofosu-Amable of Ghana.

Supporting a change in government does not justify dismissing millions of traditional, religious, or conservative Israelis as primitive, dangerous, or morally inferior.

With neither bloc likely to win a majority, could Trump broker a Netanyahu-Eisenkot deal built around confronting Iran?