“For the forces of civilization to triumph, America and Israel must stand together. Because when we stand together, something very simple happens. We win. They lose. And my friends, I came to assure you today of one thing: we will win.”

“Our enemies are your enemies, our fight is your fight, and our victory will be your victory.”

-Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Speech to a Joint Session of Congress, July 24, 2024

Prime Minister Netanyahu’s inspiring words to Congress in July both summarized and foretold the remarkable courage and ongoing success of the IDF’s operations against Iran and its proxies Hezbollah and Hamas. His speech further strengthened the sacred bond between the State of Israel and the United States, a nation whose founders were inspired by the Hebrew Bible and Judeo-Christian values when they drafted and signed the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States. 

As we celebrate the Jewish New Year, commence the ten days of Teshuvah between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, and commemorate the first anniversary of October 7th, our family is reflecting on a year of action, advocacy, philanthropy, and resolute devotion to the relationship between the United States and our indispensable ally, Israel.

Early on the morning of October 7, 2023, my wife Sheryl and I woke to the terrible news in Israel and could not even begin to comprehend what was happening. After scouring American and Israeli news outlets, I spoke with our daughters and tried, unsuccessfully, to alleviate their anxiety and sorrow as they tried to make sense of the incomprehensible videos and news from Israel. Thereafter followed a series of calls with family and friends in the United States and WhatsApp messages with friends in Israel as we watched, in horror, as the scope of the atrocities came into focus.

The next day, our family pledged funds to two Israel Emergency Funds established by trusted organizations. After more than a decade of work supporting the U.S.-Israel relationship, we knew that these organizations had the proper contacts in Israel and we had confidence that the funds we contributed would go directly to help victims and their families in Israel. 

Our family also used this time to write a letter for future generations, memorializing our emotions and thoughts in the aftermath of October 7th as follows: “We very much hope that you and your children and grandchildren are not faced with another October 7th, but there will definitely be future threats to the Jewish people. When those threats arise, we hope that our family’s response to October 7th guides you as you decide how best to help secure the safety and future of the Jewish people.” A year letter, while I am grateful that we took the time to write this letter for future generations, I sincerely hope that the letter remains a family artifact and not a blueprint for how to respond to a future crisis.

The moral decay and rot in our cities and on our campuses began to rear its head right away. Two days after October 7th, our younger daughter shared with us a copy of her college president’s statement that simply did not meet the moment. 

With our daughter’s permission, I wrote an email to the college president, respectfully letting him know that the community needed him to do better, and to my surprise, the college deleted the original statement the next day. 

I was grateful, and on October 10th, I wrote the following to the college president and his team: 

“I was just made aware that the Statement you and your office released last evening is no longer accessible on your website. I hope to soon read a statement from you that recognizes the unspeakable pain that every Jew around the world is feeling at this moment; a statement that reaffirms [the college’s] core values in the face of the murderous rage that has been directed against Israel and all free nations. To that end, I share with you a 1904 poem from Hayim Nahman Bialik that was written about the 1903 Kishinev pogrom. When you get a quiet moment to reflect on Hamas’s terror attack and its aftermath, I am confident you will see, sadly, how quickly the Jewish community can be transported back 120 years to the terror of the pogroms of czarist Russia, as our shared history requires that we never forget.” 

Later that day, I spoke with the college president’s team to help them craft a statement that did meet the moment. 

Starting in 2013, our family has been active and proud supporters of the U.S.-Israel relationship. For example, in 2015, we supported the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies in its investigation of the funding of anti-Israel groups on campus. FDD’s report and Dr. Jonathan Schanzer’s testimony to Congress was groundbreaking in that it showed the link between campus anti-Israel activism and terror financing, including Hamas. 

Also in 2015, I delivered a speech in Philadelphia about anti-Israel bias on our campuses and I implored the leaders in the room to take action: “At the most personal level, we must be prepared to have difficult conversations with development officers from our alma maters about BDS [Boycott, Divest & Sanction] and campus funding for organizations such as Students for Justice in Palestine and Open Hillel. Put simply, we have to ask ourselves the uncomfortable question: Why do we keep contributing to institutions that permit, and in some cases embrace, anti-Israel propaganda under the guise of ‘academic freedom.’” Later that year, I called, wrote and personally visited Members of Congress and Senators to advocate that they oppose the Iran Nuclear Deal. In fact, it was this work that pushed me to run for office for the first time in 2017-18 and again in 2021-22. 

After the 2022 election, I had stepped away from this policy work and politics as I decided to re-focus on business. On October 7th, that all changed. In the weeks and months that followed I engaged with the think tanks, advocacy groups and political action committees that I have worked with for over a decade. I also have volunteered for and raised funds for President Donald Trump and Senator J.D. Vance, Pennsylvania Treasurer Stacy Garrity, Dave McCormick, Dave Sunday, State Representative Ryan Mackenzie, Rob Bresnahan and many others. Each of these candidates supports the U.S.-Israel relationship and has the guts and moral clarity to shine a light on and start to repair the moral rot on our college campuses and in our cities.

Specifically with respect to combating antisemitism, I have supported candidates who have held Congressional hearings with students and college presidents, and I have worked with candidates to propose legislation to ban face coverings at protests and to strip federal funding of colleges and universities that incubate and nurture antisemitism. With respect to the U.S.-Israel relationship, I am supporting candidates who unapologetically support Israel and her democratically elected government, who understand that Iran is the root of the seven-front war being waged against Israel, and who embrace President Trump’s doctrine of peace through strength. 

This summer, I traveled to Israel to hug friends, support local businesses, and bear witness. On June 24th, I visited the Gaza envelope, including the Nova Festival Victims Memorial, the burnt car wall, Kibbutz Alumim, and Netivot. I drove Route 232 and the intersections that were the site of many critical battles on October 7th, and I also drove the farm roads near the border that became infamous from the videos that the terrorists posted that day. 

From the top of the Anzac Memorial in the Be’eri Forest, I was able to survey the Gaza Strip and could hear Israeli aircraft and artillery engaged in battle with Hamas and PIJ terrorists. While visiting the sites was indeed solemn and chilling, I found my meetings with Israelis who had already moved back to the Gaza envelope to be unexpectedly inspiring. In particular, their courage, their resolve and their dedication to Zionism was deeply moving. 

Everywhere I went, and every meal I shared with friends, included something extraordinary. At some point in every visit or meal, an Israeli friend (or two) would quiet the group and share their immense gratitude to me and my fellow Americans for visiting Israel at this time. Our Israeli friends often discussed how they felt abandoned by much of the world and expressed gratitude for our support and friendship. 

October 7th was the single worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust. Unlike the Nazis who sought to hide their atrocities, the Iran-backed barbarians that murdered innocent civilians on October 7th gleefully broadcast their atrocities for the entire world to see. In the hours and days after the horror, we witnessed students, faculty and ordinary citizens in cities and on campuses throughout the West celebrate the depravity and begin to terrorize their Jewish neighbors, colleagues and fellow students. 

In response, many good people of all faiths have woken up and have stood up in support of America, Israel and Western Civilization. Indeed, Israel and her brave soldiers are on the front lines fighting to preserve the Judeo-Christian values that underpin the American experiment and all that we hold dear. As Prime Minister Netanyahu declared in July in his speech to the Joint Session of Congress, Israel’s victory is America’s victory. 

Looking forward, I hope and pray that one year from now, Israel is enjoying renewed security and prosperity, that the Abraham Accords have expanded to become the Abraham Alliance, including Saudi Arabia, and that President George Washington’s stirring message in his 1789 letter to the Hebrew Congregations of Savannah, Georgia, is made manifest: “May the same wonder-working Deity, who long since delivered the Hebrews from their Egyptian oppressors, planted them in a promised land — whose providential agency has lately been conspicuous in establishing these United States as an independent nation — still continue to water them with the dews of heaven and make the inhabitants of every denomination participate in the temporal and spiritual blessings of that people whose God is [HaShem].”

Jeff Bartos is a Republican strategist and former U.S. Senate candidate from Pennsylvania. He tweets at @jeff_bartos