Israel at 78 — I must start with a declaration. I make no apology for loving this country.

On Shabbat, I read an interview with a widow. Her husband was 44, a schoolteacher, a father of five. When Hamas attacked on October 7th, he did not hesitate. He went to defend others. He did not come home. His story, like my son’s story and like thousands of others, is not the story of a warmonger. It is the story of someone who believed that some things are worth defending, even at unbearable cost.

Israel is not a perfect country. Corruption exists. Extremism exists. Deep political and social tensions exist, within the Jewish majority and beyond it. These realities demand honesty and accountability – especially from those of us who live here and care about this society’s future.

What I reject is not criticism, but asymmetry. A standard applied........

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