As Israel hits the milestone of its 75th birthday, it is too easy to become demoralized. The disputes over the government's plans for legal reforms have become unprecedentedly intense. Strong differences of opinion have led to incidents of violence and prophecies of doom.

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President Isaac Herzog has even warned that the Jewish state is on the brink of civil war and noted that previous Jewish commonwealths did not pass eight decades. A recent event at the President's Residence highlighted that there have been 12 civil wars in Jewish history – a stark reminder of the impact of past infighting inside the Jewish community.

But for us proud religious Zionists, seeing such internal disputes inside the Jewish state need not be a cause of despair. Witnessing these troubled times should actually give us even more hope for the future of the State of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state. It should strengthen our emunah, our faith, rather than weaken it.

We believe that Israel is atchalta de'geula – just the beginning of the redemption that Jews around the world prayed for three times a day since the exile in 70 CE, not the end. Israel is a work in progress, not a finished product. Its name means "struggling with God," and that struggle continues.

Israelis are fighting over how to be a Jewish state and a democratic one. Those concepts that usually worked beautifully together over the past seven-and-a-half decades are currently being re-evaluated, and the finished product when the struggle is over will end up being stronger and even more cohesive.

Zionist visionary Theodor Herzl envisioned the Jews becoming a normal nation with a state of its own. This vision of normalcy as an ideal was included in Israel's Declaration of Independence.

"This is the natural right of the Jewish people to be masters of their own fate, like all other nations, in their own sovereign state," says the document signed by representatives of all sectors of the nascent Jewish state.

Like all other states, Israel faces its share of respectful disagreement. This is part and parcel of being the normal country that Herzl envisioned.

This ability that the people of Israel have to argue among themselves is itself a democratic principle that needs to be celebrated, not feared.

The many disputes that surfaced since Israel was founded – over its borders, its religious status quo and accepting reparations from Germany for the Holocaust – make it all the more impressive that the Jewish state has lasted so long.

Even declaring a State of Israel involved many internal fights, as has the question about how to mark the day since then. Whether or not we make a blessing in our Hallel prayer, we religious Zionists thank God for the modern miracle of Israel, shortcomings and all. In that prayer, we praise God for His perfection, but we recall that while He is exalted high in the heavens, He gave the earth to the imperfect children of men.

We are left to deal with those imperfections with our own free will.

George Orwell wrote that "freedom is the right to tell people what they do not want to hear." Both sides in Israel can express that right that truly makes us free. In that regard, Yom Ha'atzmaut is a celebration of freedom. In 1881, nearly seven decades before Yom Ha'atzmaut, the Sefat Emet predicted that there would one day be a new freedom festival parallel to Passover, just like Chanukah was a late celebration of Sukkot and that Purim followed up on the acceptance of the Torah on Shavuot.

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Following the miracles of Chanukah and Purim, the internal divides continued. The Hasmoneans illegitimately held on to power. Mordechai only had the support of a majority of his people. After Yom Ha'atzmaut, the disputes continue as well. But they continue with an important reminder: the menorah that is the official emblem of the State of Israel.

When the menorah was first crafted for the Mishkan, it had to be built out of one piece of solid gold. Since then, it has been a reminder of the need for Jewish unity. The menorah stands opposite the Knesset as a reminder to the politicians that no matter how much they fight, we must remain one people.

It is my hope that after the current disputes are resolved, we will see the return of the unity that is so desperately needed for Israel's next 75 years.

Reprinted with permission from JNS.org.

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Little did we know at the time that US President Donald Trump, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan were putting the finishing touches on an agreement formalizing the bond between Israel and the United Arab Emirates.

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This agreement is a match made in heaven, wedding the technology of Israel with the economic powerhouse of the UAE.

Only those who have spent time in both countries, as I have, can appreciate how magnificent an opportunity this agreement is – not only for Israel and the UAE, but also for making the entire world a better place. Both countries are at the forefront of success in a changing global world.

Dubai has a skyline that rivals Manhattan and has become a very important financial center. It is a place of tolerance, not just relative to the rest of the Arab world. Its population is vibrant and diverse. It has become a home to American universities and a hub for key airlines.

Israel's innovation has impressed the world and become a model, especially for other small countries. Its accomplishments have come despite having few natural resources and a turbulent political system.

After peace agreements with Egypt and then Jordan failed to result in increased ties between Israel and other Arab countries, this deal opens up the Arab and Muslim world to Israel through Dubai and enables mutually beneficial commerce and trade. The crown prince deserves much praise for his courage in making the deal.

This agreement creates opportunities for cooperation in agriculture, tourism and technology, which is needed more than ever during the international health and economic crises caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. It would be very symbolic if the lifting of the animosity between these two countries will lead to the breakthrough the world has been waiting for and praying for.

As expected with any accomplishment of Trump and Netanyahu, critics on both the left and right have been quick to downplay and dismiss this historic agreement.

Palestinian Authority head Mahmoud Abbas said he viewed the deal as an affront to the Palestinian people. His criticism is proof of the agreement's necessity and potential success.

None of the concessions Israel made for decades has led to reciprocity by the Palestinians. Rather than make the concessions necessary to help their own people, Abbas and other Palestinian leaders stalled for time, resorted to violence and incitement, and missed countless opportunities to progress.

This agreement should be a wake-up call to the Palestinians that no one is waiting for them to overcome their stubbornness anymore. Whether they like it or not, those days are now officially over. Their ability to hold Israel hostage has been lost forever.

Perhaps seeing a leading Arab country pursue the agreement with Israel that they should have made decades ago will finally be what brings the Palestinians back to the negotiating table.

But whenever they do come back, they will find that while they were stalling, the paradigm changed. This agreement with UAE is the first of what will become the new trend: Instead of land for peace, from now on, Israel will be trading peace for peace.

Israel will no longer relinquish land and evacuate Jews from their homes in return for calm, only to receive rockets, terror tunnels, and suicide bombers in return. The Palestinians will have to overcome their internal divides, their corruption, and their misplaced priorities – or they will be rightly forgotten.

With all due respect to the Palestinians, the UAE is more important for Israel's future. The Gross Domestic Product of the UAE is $414.2 billion – more than 28 times the GDP of the Palestinian Authority. Its ability to affect the PA cannot be overstated.

This agreement can lead to peace deals with other Muslim countries, including Bahrain and Qatar, and eventually Saudi Arabia.

This was the goal of Trump's peace plan from day one, and skeptics who doubted that he could bring about peace in the Middle East are invited to eat their hat. U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman, Trump advisers Jared Kushner and Avi Berkowitz, and Friedman's chief of staff Aryeh Lightstone all deserve praise for their extraordinary accomplishment.

Despite incorrect reports to the contrary, they will continue to work towards applying sovereignty in Judea and Samaria, which has become easier, not harder, now that the proper environment for implementation has been created. Israeli politicians to the right of Netanyahu are absolutely wrong to downplay the achievements for Israel in this agreement due to their concerns about the suspension of sovereignty. As a practical matter, that suspension does not affect the situation on the ground.

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While applying sovereignty would realistically require Trump's re-election, this agreement between Israel and the UAE will remain for posterity, no matter who resides in the White House after Jan. 20.

For the past three-and-a-half years, the road to Washington has passed through Jerusalem, and the Arab world knows that has made the entire world safer. The UAE deal is a crowning achievement for Trump in his first term. Some American Jews may not love the president, but this is the time to express gratitude for everything he has done for Israel.

Reprinted with permission from JNS.org.

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One is that such decisions must be made by Israel's democratically elected government alone and that American Jews who do not live in the Jewish state must keep their opinions about internal Israeli politics to themselves. The other is that the Palestinians never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity.

It may be controversial to say this, but at this fateful juncture for Israel's future, both of those adages that have withstood the test of time do not currently apply.

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As someone who has advocated for Israel for decades and prayed for the Jewish state three times a day since its establishment, I cannot be silent, and neither should other Jewish leaders who understand the importance of the present moment in history.

I was privileged to be present in the White House when US President Donald Trump unveiled his Middle East peace plan, which is appropriately called both "Peace to Prosperity" and the "deal of the century." Hearing the details of the plan first-hand, I was extremely impressed by the hard work and in-depth research that went into it.

This plan would safeguard Israel's future and ensure its existence amid the security threats to the Jewish state that will never end. Maintaining Israeli security – which was a challenge in previous plans proposed by previous American administrations – would no longer be an issue, because the IDF would maintain security control and protect both Israel and the entrances to where the Palestinians would continue to live.

As soon as the plan's maps are ready, the plan allows Israel to immediately start applying Israeli law to the lands where the Jews of Judea and Samaria live now and where our forefathers and mothers lived before.

There are Palestinian and European leaders and Democratic Party presidential candidates in the US who have criticized the plan, as was expected. It is not their opposition that could prevent the plan from getting carried out.

Amazingly, the plan is in danger of being held up and perhaps never even being implemented at all not because of any of them, but because of the voters in Israel's upcoming fateful election on March 2.

Israelis must be told that this plan must be implemented immediately to ensure Israel's long-term future, and it needs an experienced leader who has built a fruitful relationship with Trump. This is not the time for a dangerous change in Israeli leadership.

Israel needs the best leader possible at this critical moment, and no one has more experience than Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. After President Trump's peace deal is implemented, there will be less need to have a monumental prime minister like him in place, and it will then be safer to take risks of electing a new leader.

This is not the time to initiate unnecessary negotiations with the Palestinians or wait for the support of the international community that would never come. This is the time to draw the maps of Israel's borders and start implementing the plan the moment the maps are ready, regardless of Israeli politics.

Waiting for a government to be formed in Israel to implement the plan would be a huge mistake because there could be a fourth or even a fifth Israeli election. President Trump waited patiently during the first two Israeli elections, but there is no guarantee that he will win a second term in office, so there is no time to waste.

The Netanyahu-Trump era must be maximized to the fullest because we don't know who the next prime minister will be, who the next US president will be, or what will be the makeup of the next Congress. Listening to how uneducated some of the Democratic presidential candidates are on Israel reinforces the urgency of the moment at hand.

Religious Zionists in America have a particular responsibility to ensure that the plan gets implemented because it would not have happened without us.

Religious Zionists have thankfully overcome – or at least balanced out – the left-wing who can return to positions of influence in the future, both in the US and in Israel when Netanyahu is no longer in power. While religious Zionists will always be the backbone among Israel's supporters in the US, it is questionable whether self-proclaimed progressive American Jews and their children can be counted on to support Israel two decades from now.

The plan is currently bilateral between the US and Israel, though American leaders have said they hope that the Palestinians will join it in the future. That gives Americans and Israelis equal footing in ensuring that it gets shepherded toward implementation as soon as possible.

Not only can American Jewish leaders speak, but we also have an obligation to make our voices heard by Israelis as they go to vote. We must tell Israelis that waiting too long could result in Israel missing the ultimate opportunity – the opportunity of the century.

Missing this opportunity would be a tragedy that would be added to the long list of too many tragedies the Jewish people have endured throughout our history.

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