- Michael Balaban
Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia President and CEO

As we close 2025, I want to pause — on behalf of the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia — to reflect, to thank you, and to look ahead with hope and resolve.

This year has tested our hearts, our resilience, and our sense of security. Yet it has also revealed something enduring: the unwavering strength of this community and our unbreakable bond with the people and land of Israel.

The U.S.-Israel relationship remains one of the most consequential partnerships in modern history, grounded in shared democratic values, mutual security interests and deep ties between our peoples. At a time of global instability and renewed debate about that alliance, one truth has remained clear throughout 2025: a strong, secure Israel is essential not only to the Jewish people, but to the stability of the region and to the democratic values that bind free societies together.

This year, that alliance has been tested — not only by external threats, but also by internal debate on both sides. In the United States, criticism of Israel continues across the political spectrum, reflecting fear, frustration and moral concern amid ongoing conflict. In Israel, citizens are openly debating whether some recent U.S. policy decisions in the Middle East serve Israel’s long-term security. These parallel conversations reflect both the complexity of this moment and the democratic character of both societies.

Israel continues to face sustained threats on multiple fronts. Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran and other hostile actors do not merely challenge Israeli policy; they challenge Israel’s right to exist. No nation in the world would be expected to tolerate such threats without defending its people. Israel’s right to self-defense is not a political stance. It is a moral and legal obligation.

Here at home, the impact has been deeply personal. So many of you have family in Israel, loved ones serving in the IDF and friends living under daily threat. And increasingly, fear has followed us closer to home — when parents pause before letting a child wear a Jewish star on campus, when students quietly ask where they can feel safe simply being who they are.

And yet — at the very same time — Jewish life in Greater Philadelphia has continued to shine with warmth and connection. We have seen it at Shabbat tables filled with family and friends, in young people volunteering across our city, in neighbors caring for one another in moments of both joy and grief. This is the life Israel helps make possible. And this is the life your support helps protect.

For many of us, Israel is not only a nation on a map or a strategic ally. It is a source of peoplehood, identity, refuge and continuity in a world where Jewish safety has never been guaranteed. That personal connection shapes not only how we understand this moment — but how we remain committed to building the future.

The United States remains a critical partner in this work — not as an overseer, but as an ally. That partnership strengthens Israel, and supports the global fight against terror and extremism. 

We are also seeing how these global tensions are affecting Jewish life here in the United States. Recently, Israeli President Isaac Herzog spoke publicly about the growing visibility and boldness of anti-Israel hostility in American civic spaces. At the same time, leaders at Yeshiva University have shared that more Jewish students are transferring there in search of physical safety, emotional security and learning environments where their Jewish identity and their connection to Israel are not questioned or threatened.

When global conflict fuels fear on college campuses, when rhetoric about Israel leads to intimidation of Jewish students and when the legitimacy of the world’s only Jewish state becomes a proxy for hostility toward Jewish people, the need for clear, principled pro-Israel advocacy in American civic life becomes not optional — but essential.

Being pro-Israel does not mean being anti-peace. It does not mean ignoring suffering. It means affirming that the Jewish state has the right and the obligation to defend its citizens, secure its future and pursue peace from a position of strength. It means rejecting terror as a political tool and refusing to allow hatred toward Israel to become hatred toward Jews.

As we now turn toward 2026, we do so with special meaning. Next year marks the 125th anniversary of the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia — a milestone that reminds us how many generations before us answered the call in moments of uncertainty, challenge and transformation. They built institutions, saved lives, strengthened communities and ensured that Jewish life here and in Israel would endure. We are the beneficiaries of their courage. And now, we are the stewards of what comes next.

My hope for the year ahead is grounded not in naïveté, but in the very real strength I see in this community every single day — in your generosity, your leadership, your willingness to show up, and your refusal to turn away when the work is hard. If the last 125 years have taught us anything, it is this: the Jewish people endure not because we are untouched by hardship, but because we face it together.

Thank you for walking this difficult road with us in 2025. Thank you for your partnership, your trust and your unwavering commitment to the global Jewish community and to Jewish life here at home. As we step into our next century and beyond, may we do so with vision, strength, unity and hope.

With deep gratitude and determination,

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