Autumn in New England is unattainable to disregard. The leaves blaze with colour, signaling each magnificence and transition, a reminder that point doesn’t stand nonetheless. This 12 months, because the area enters a brand new season, Israel can also be shifting ahead, confronting challenges whereas pursuing new alternatives.
In my first 12 months representing Israel in New England, I’ve come to see the breadth of this area — from the golden dome of the Massachusetts State Home to the slender streets of Beacon Hill, from the roar of Fenway Park to the quiet grandeur of the Boston Public Library, and from the rugged mountains of northern New Hampshire to the sandy shores of southern Connecticut. However greater than the locations, it’s the individuals I’ve met who’ve outlined this 12 months.
In each state — Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont — I’ve been struck by conversations marked by openness and curiosity. There’s additionally a satisfaction right here that runs deep: satisfaction in New England’s function because the birthplace of America, and within the revolutionary spirit that also shapes this area. That spirit is just not solely present in historical past books; it’s alive within the lecture rooms, analysis labs, and startups the place daring concepts proceed to push the boundaries of medication, science, and expertise.
In some ways, New England jogs my memory of house. Israel too lives within the pressure between previous and future. We’re a land of prophets and poets, but additionally of entrepreneurs and inventors. Each Israel and New England show that custom and innovation can coexist and thrive aspect by aspect — and that we’re stronger for it.
Over the previous 12 months, the bonds between Israel and New England have grown stronger. Along with Gov. Maura Healey, we celebrated the opening of Israel’s Sheba Medical Heart’s first U.S. “tender touchdown pad” in Massachusetts, strengthening Boston’s world function within the life sciences. Universities expanded partnerships. Commerce and funding flourished. Even soccer introduced us nearer, with Israeli gamers donning the purple, white, and blue of the New England Revolution. These milestones are greater than symbolic — they symbolize lives improved, data shared, and futures constructed collectively.
However this 12 months was additionally marked by hardship. Israel continues to struggle Hamas in Gaza. Our targets stay clear: to carry the hostages house, to make sure October 7 isn’t repeated, and to stop Hamas from terrorizing each Israelis and Gazans. Hamas’s refusal to launch the hostages or to desert its marketing campaign of destruction ensures that civilians — each Israeli and Gazan — proceed to endure.
This battle is just not restricted to Gaza. It’s a part of a wider regional problem during which Iran and its proxies — from Hezbollah in Lebanon to the Houthis in Yemen — proceed to destabilize the Center East. Iran’s technique is to encompass Israel with armed teams that disrupt not solely our safety, but additionally world transport lanes and power markets. The menace we face is subsequently not solely to Israel, however to the broader imaginative and prescient of a extra secure and interconnected area.
Even on this troublesome second, alternatives for cooperation persist. The Abraham Accords confirmed that new partnerships in commerce, expertise, and safety are potential. Israel continues to work with regional companions to construct a future primarily based on integration fairly than isolation. These efforts are fragile however important. They remind us that resisting extremism is inseparable from constructing pathways towards safety and prosperity.
America, and New England particularly, play a vital function on this imaginative and prescient. Shared analysis, funding, and innovation bind our societies collectively. However so too does a shared understanding of what’s at stake: that cooperation is crucial to assembly the challenges of our time. On this sense, the bridges constructed between Israel and New England are usually not solely bilateral achievements — they’re a part of a world effort to withstand extremism and strengthen the foundations of our free and democratic societies.
The Jewish Excessive Holidays arrive at a second that calls for resilience and readability. For Israel, they’re a reminder to confront hardship whereas holding quick to the pursuit of safety, prosperity, and cooperation.
As Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New 12 months, begins, I want the individuals of New England power, well being, and prosperity. Might the hostages return swiftly to their households. And should we proceed to stroll collectively — strengthening ties between Israel, New England, and the broader world.
Shana Tova.
Benjamin Sharoni is the Consul Basic of Israel to New England.
