Today, June 19th, I turned 40. I had planned to celebrate with family and friends at a rooftop bar in Tel Aviv, but like so many others, I canceled. In Israel, celebration and crisis always coexist. One moment you’re planning a party, the next, you’re checking for nearby shelters, calling your parents, preparing for reserves, and digging out a transistor radio. That’s what it means to be Israeli and Jewish today: to pivot from joy to survival while holding onto hope.
This past week, we’ve all lost sleep and peace of mind. We’ve run to shelters, heard deafening blasts, and mourned lives lost and homes destroyed. Yet our hardship pales in comparison to the bravery of our soldiers. We are living through one of our generation’s defining moments: Israel has chosen to confront Iran’s nuclear program and remove the existential threat it poses to our people.
The State of Israel has been a stunning success in securing Jewish survival. But with nearly half the world’s Jews concentrated here, that survival is fragile. Peace is always the goal. But absent peace, sometimes war is the path that protects the future.
What gives me strength now is the belief that this pain and suffering can lead to a better Middle East, one where Jews are not perceived as strangers but partners. Where Muslims and Jews live in peace, investing not in missiles, but in medicine, science, and beauty. Israel continues to shoulder the weight of confronting the region’s extremists, but we are not alone. We are not just fighting the Islamic Republic, but fighting for those who want to see the Middle East Abraham Accords vision come to life, against those who want to keep our homes in an endless proxy war. And even during this immense crisis, we must never lose sight of our moral imperative: the immediate release of the 53 hostages still held in Gaza.
In times of pain, holding on to a broader vision, one rooted in hope, not just for ourselves, but for many, helps me endure. As we enter Shabbat, let’s each ask: What role can I play, large or small, in bringing that future closer?
Stay safe, stay together, and stay strong.
Shabbat Shalom.
Barak Sella is an educator, community organizer, writer, researcher, and one of the leading Israeli experts on US-Israel relations and World Jewry. Since October 7th, Barak has emerged as a leading voice against antisemitism and extremism on American college campuses, particularly during his time at the Harvard Kennedy School.
