28 | DECEMBER 28 • 2023 
J
N

OUR COMMUNITY

O

n May 14, 2023, Israel and Jews 
throughout the world celebrated 
the 75th anniversary of the day 
David Ben-Gurion declared the modern 
state of Israel in the wake of the UK 
leaving British Mandate Palestine. It was 
a rocky start. Surrounding Arab nations 
immediately attacked Israel, but the 
newly formed country prevailed against 
overwhelming odds.
Since then, the tiny but mighty nation 
grew from a population of about 600,000 
in 1948 to nearly 10 million today. Over 
the decades, the country has integrated 
people of widely diverse backgrounds. The 
country’s population is 73.5% Jewish, 20% 
Arab-Israeli, with the remainder percentage 
being Christian, Druze and others.
The “Startup Nation” grew from a feeble, 
fledgling, tiny nation into one of the world’s 
foremost digital and technological centers, 
a nation that punches well above its weight 
in per capita income and tech development. 
And that remarkable accomplishment was 
celebrated throughout the world this year 
— including here in Metro Detroit and 
at the Detroit Jewish News, whose exhibit 
“Israel@75” has traveled throughout the 
community. 
Detroiters hosted Israeli artists, 
musicians and speakers, multitudes of 
celebrations were organized by synagogues 
and the Jewish Federation of Detroit, 
which kept Israel in the spotlight all year, 
including taking more than 100 people to 
Israel for the Motor City Mission. 
However, throughout its 75-year history, 
Israel has often had to defend its right to 
exist. Wars were fought in 1956, 1967, 1973, 
the first Lebanon War in 1982, the second 

in 2006, and several intifadas since 1987 
— and always lurking in the background is 
the constant threat of terrorism against its 
citizens and the Jewish people around the 
world who consider it their homeland.
That threat exploded into reality on 
Oct. 7, when Hamas launched a heinous 
and barbaric terrorist attack, killing 1,200 
people — the most Jews killed in one 
day since the Holocaust — men, women, 
children and babies. Hamas terrorists 
used body cams and phones to film the 
carnage. About 240 Israelis and Americans, 
Germans, Thai, British and other foreign 
citizens were taken hostage, including 
children. To date, only about 100 have been 
released. 
In the wake of Oct. 7, there was shock, 
rage and mourning around the world. 
Israel vowed to root out Hamas once and 
for all and launched an attack on Hamas 
in Gaza that continues to this day. Because 
of Hamas’ cowardly strategy of using their 
own people as human shields, the cost in 
loss of life and sheer human misery has 
been incalculable and the world’s sympathy 
begins to waiver.
More than 130 IDF soldiers have died to 
date and thousands have been wounded. 
Families are mourning their lost loved ones 
and those still in the hands of terrorists 
in Gaza while Hamas continues to launch 
rockets into Israel every day.
Yet, Israel stands united. 
After a year in which many thousands 
of Israelis took to the streets to protest 
proposed judicial reforms, as of Oct. 
8, those divisions were left in the past. 
Reservists who had protested proposed 
judicial reforms returned to duty (360,000 

reservists were called up by the IDF). Over 
2,000 Haredi men volunteered to join the 
IDF. Israeli city-dwellers volunteer on 
farms and kibbutzim, families open their 
arms and homes to those displaced by the 
war, and the country mobilizes to fill in for 
the reservists now defending the homeland 
against the evil of Hamas.
The American Jewish community rose 
to the occasion as well, including Metro 
Detroit, which has long supported Israel. 
The community rallied, holding vigils 
and other events, and raising close to $30 
million locally. (American Jews raised 
$1 billion in the first month after the 
war, according to Ruderman Program 
researchers.)
Detroiters have gone to Israel as 
volunteers to fill the gap in services left 
when reservists were called to the IDF. 
Their stories have been chronicled in the 
pages of the Detroit Jewish News these last 
few months, and new stories continue to 
come in: stories of volunteers, fundraisers, 
memorials — to say nothing of the prayers, 
services and memorials held throughout 
the community.
And always with the words: Am Yisrael 
Chai.
We stand united with our beloved Israel 
and the remarkable people who took a 
barren desert and turned it into a thriving, 
modern country, who have faced existential 
threats time and time again and have 
prevailed, who continue to fight for their 
right to exist — and who do so as one 
nation, undivided.
The JN salutes the strength and resolve of 
the Israeli people — our newsmakers of the 
year. 

The Newsmakers of the Year: 
The People of Israel

JACKIE HEADAPOHL EDITORIAL DIRECTOR

From celebrations in the spring of 2023 to days of 
darkness in the fall and winter — Am Yisrael Chai.

