The terror attack on Simchat Torah caught me on vacation in Rome. Before I could book an immediate flight back to Israel, my phone was flooded with dozens of texts and emails from American and Canadian friends and acquaintances expressing concern for my wellbeing and that of the citizens of Israel. Almost everyone asked how they could help.

World Jewry has demonstrated powerful and unprecedented support for Israel and Israelis over the last two weeks, we have drawn great strength and optimism from them. Thousands of Jews marching and gathering in support of Israel; celebrities speaking out on the news and social media; people donating funds and sending equipment to soldiers and the wounded, and more.

For example, as of October 18, the Jewish Federations of North America has already raised 388 million dollars to support Israel. The half billion-dollar goal of this campaign represents a 25% (!) increase in the annual donations to Israel from North American Jewry. These donations stand in sharp contrast to the decline in donations to Israel in recent years, and they come despite North American Jewry and Israel having grown apart in recent decades.

American Jews are taking additional steps to express support on the ground beyond identifying with Israelis and sending donations. One clear example is the Wexner Foundation’s decision to withdraw its support of Harvard University, which had served as an academic base for running the foundation’s prestigious leadership programs in Israel and North America for over 30 years. The foundation’s decision was a response to the failure of Harvard’s leadership to take a clear and unequivocal stand against the barbaric murders of innocent Israeli civilians by Hamas terrorists, or to condemn pro-Palestinian students who blame Israel for the massacre.

American Jewry’s support for Israel is not new. Even before the establishment of the State of Israel, Jewish American and Canadian organizations including Hadassah and the Joint Distribution Committee worked to save Jews, care for their health and wellbeing, and help them settle the land. The collective voice of North American Jewry also played a crucial role in ensuring the United States’ vote in the UN in favor of establishing the State of Israel.

Since then, North American Jewish organizations, institutions, and communities having been working to maintain a special relationship between their political administrations and the State of Israel, and to defend Israel in the international arena. Today, their support may also have crucial strategic impact on the outcomes of the war, for as it continues, international criticism will rise, and we will need help explaining and lobbying.

The President of the United States, Joe Biden, is leading a wave of unprecedent support on behalf of the world’s dominant Western powers. This is indeed an invaluable strategic asset for Israel. Biden identifies as a Zionist, and the United States House of Representatives joined him – in a near-unanimous vote – in granting 10 billion dollars of special aid to Israel. However, it is important to distinguish between the American government’s support, which is based on shared values and overlapping state and security interests, and American Jewry’s support of Israel, which is rooted in loyalty, belonging, a shared destiny, and an understanding that the State of Israel is essential to Jewish existence.

Even though North American Jewry and Israel do not always see eye to eye, we must recognize our overlapping circles of belonging and loyalty, and treat our people in the Diaspora as members of our family. It is true they are not physically here with us now, in this painful and horrifying reality, but they are with us in heart and in spirit. They are our natural partners, even if they sometimes find it difficult to understand or explain our decisions.

We, the Jewish people in Israel, must share what we are experiencing with world Jewry, listen to them, begin “counting” them, and recruit their support out of respect and appreciation for their partnership and loyalty. North American Jewry’s incredible support for Israel is not only a strategic asset, but is itself proof of the existence of “Am Yisrael,” the people of Israel. The Jewish people here in Israel must recognize the support of our brothers and sisters in the Diaspora and we must embrace and respect their loyal partnership.

Translation by Batya Cohen.

The Shalom Hartman Institute shared this message (in Hebrew) with the Israeli public on October 22.