The story of the IAC community is the story of Americans, Israelis and Jews - those who carry Israel in their hearts.
Faced with a challenging and volatile reality, this community has demonstrated resilience, creative thinking and immense caring.
Once the world stopped and darkened, we acted with full force and extended our sponsorship to thousands of families.
We kept our commitment without stopping even for a moment - we held more than 650 activities in one year and initiated more than 90 partnerships with various organizations.
We formed a strong and active community, which felt a deep connection to Israel and that faced all the obstacles and challenges it faced.
We did not wait for better news - we created the news.
Let me take you back to one of those moments. When the last operation in Gaza began to unfold, it was clear that we must do something. The IAC's management team met with 20 regional managers to discuss how long it would take to recruit people in an organized, safe and secure manner - taking into account two significant aspects: We are in the midst of a global epidemic, which we did not know much about, which we have taken . And alongside it, a physical threat in the streets resulting from the rise of anti-Semitism and the growing anti-Israel tendency.
We were not received with much enthusiasm when we tried to reach out and invite others to join us in our efforts, but the moments when they began launching missiles at Israel, the cities of the center and Tel Aviv, marked the turning point.
We took a seven-minute break to call our family members in Israel, who wanted to take shelter in those minutes.
When I returned from the break, one look in the eyes of my staff members was enough to decide: No questions - we will be ready for action in the field within 36 hours.
Because this is not a story about a country, a country or a politics.
This is a unique personal matter.
These are our families, who are under fire.
We led rallies from coast to coast, together with many partners who joined us, and on Independence Day, which took place shortly afterwards, we made sure that gates across the US illuminated public buildings in blue light - a sign of appreciation that many feel for the deep connection between Israel and America.
We do this because we care about their future in our home - in America, and the connection, commitment and unconditional love they feel for our homeland - Israel.
We understand that the two are bound together.
In fact, we did not choose Israel - she chose us.
Israel is part of who we are, part of our DNA. It flows in our blood, no matter where we live.
This is our spirit.
And our spirit is not concerned with describing the present and talking about how the future might look.
Our spirit is to wake up every day, to be grateful that we are able to act and achieve things, to work hard, to shape the present, to be part of writing the next chapter in Jewish-American history and to create a better future - for our children and for the two homes we love so much, here In America and Israel.
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