Contrary to predictions, since the start of the war, nearly 20,000 new olim have arrived in Israel. I predict that in the year following the war, 100,000 Jews from the diaspora will begin the Aliyah process.

The Oct. 7 massacre was meticulously planned and funded by antisemitic states and organizations, which managed to hide behind various names and labels, including "human rights organizations." Today, everyone openly acknowledges what we already knew: these are organizations that have promoted terror agendas for years and paved the way for sowing conflict against Jews in Israel and the diaspora.

As the attack began, antisemitic tentacles spread across the globe, flooding the media with lies, incitement, and fact distortion.

Simultaneously, protests erupted where signs calling for the destruction of Israel were raised without hindrance. Jewish students worldwide have since faced brutal, physical, and verbal attacks. Masks have been removed from the faces of leaders and states globally. The executioner has become the victim, and the victim – the murderer. We witness a 600% increase in antisemitic harassment and even the murder of Jews. And the world? Silent.

During one of our most challenging times, nations that have emblazoned "Never Again" on their banners turn their backs on the Jewish people. Countries that have experienced terror (and may yet experience it again, sadly) harshly criticize us, threaten sanctions, and ignore the absurdity of their stance. These are countries where antisemitism is soaring, who have fallen asleep on watch or have hidden their hatred of Jews while portraying themselves as promoters of "human rights, freedom, and justice for all." It seems that murder, rape, abuse of women and children, and kidnapping people from their homes do not justify, in their eyes, our right to respond as a sovereign state.

The path to establishing the State of Israel was paved, first and foremost, to return to the land from which we were forcibly expelled, to hold onto it, and to build

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When talking about Israel's Declaration of Independence, we usually focus on its resounding opening sentences: "The Land of Israel was the birthplace of the Jewish people. Here their spiritual, religious and political identity was shaped. Here they first attained to statehood, created cultural values of national and universal significance and gave to the world the eternal Book of Books."

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Or we concentrate on one of the following paragraphs that talks about the natural and historical right to the land, the call for peace with all the inhabitants of the land and the partnership in the fight against Nazi evil.

All these things are good and important. The Declaration of Independence is a work of precise thought. Every word was carefully weighed and examined by the leaders of the Jewish community on the eve of the establishment of the state.

But no less important is the last part of the scroll: the signatures of those in attendance.

Thirty-seven people were privileged to sign the founding document of the State of Israel. They were headed by David Ben-Gurion and among them were Golda Meir, Moshe Sharett, Rabbi Yehuda Leib HaCohen Fishman Maimon and many others. But every time I look at the signatures, I am struck by that of David Remez – a future MK and cabinet minister.

Why Remez? Because his signature is the most prominent of them all. Most of the signers used a pen brought especially for the event so that the signatures would be uniform in size and style. Remez brought his own thick pen with him and thus his signature stands out from all the others.

For me, the story of David Remez's signature is not just a historical anecdote. It sends an important message, especially today.

Recently, the Declaration of Independence has become a symbol of the divisive national controversy over judicial reform. Each side claims the Declaration for itself. One side says the document endorses their view of the correct balance between the different branches of government, and the other side claims the exact opposite.

Neither side is correct. The Declaration of Independence belongs to the entire Israeli public. Beside the 37 actual signatures on it, there are millions more invisible signatures. Everyone has signed the Declaration. Each of us with his own special pen, values, stories and hopes. Over the years, we learned to unite around the Declaration, adding more and more signatures. Today, the Declaration is the basis of Israeli identity for all.

The Declaration of Independence must not be read as if it supports only one side of the political map. Such an appropriation will erase many signatures from it. We must not erase; we must do the opposite. Every one of us should take out our special pen, resign the Declaration, find our unique place in the text and then take those pens and continue to write the great Israeli story together.

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Eighty-three-year-old Holocaust survivors Arnold and Bella Betkin, who were rescued by Israel from the bombed-out Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, have recently immigrated to the Jewish state. 

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The many Israelis who read about their rescue online, could not help but be moved by the fact that the couple had to flee for safety and become refugees for the second time in their lives. 

Contrary to how things stood after World War II, the Jewish people are strong now, so much so that there were Ukrainians who called the emergency line of the Jewish Agency to try their luck, even though they have no connection to the Jewish people. 

It should not be taken for granted that Arnold and Bella were rescued from hell: no one fought for them during the Holocaust, because there was no sovereign and democratic Jewish state with enough global power and reach to help every Jew in trouble. 

In cooperation with the government and state institutions, the Jewish Agency led Israel's largest rescue and immigration operation since the 1990s. 

So far this year, almost 55,000 people have immigrated to Israel under the Law of Return, compared to the 33,247 immigrants to the Jewish state in 2019. 

The driving factor for this is the geopolitical crisis caused by the Ukraine war, but regardless, it is up to Israel to assist them in their time of need and welcome them as best as possible. 

Israel excels at encouraging aliyah but could do better when it comes to integrating new immigrants. A diligent and smart politician could double the number of olim to 100,000 a year. 

Unfortunately, many Russian and Ukrainian Jews decided to move to other countries in Europe, instead of immigrating to Israel.

I am not willing to accept the "whoever doesn't want to come, let them be" reasoning. We must become the best option and provide those Jewish refugees – and any potential immigrant for that matter – with an opportunity for a livelihood and living conditions that will allow them to live in Israel with dignity. 

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Unfortunately, about 10,000 Ukrainian Jews decided in the past year to immigrate to Germany and join the Jewish communities there, according to the Jerusalem Post. And less than 15,000 Ukrainian Jews have moved to Israel since the outbreak of the war. 

How can it be that Germany, with whom we have such a complex history, is a more desired option for Ukrainian Jews than Israel? 

As coalition negotiations focus on the roles of defense and finance minister, I urge you, Knesset members and party leaders, to seek the aliyah portfolio and demand an increased budget to transform this field. 

You have a historic opportunity to bring an extraordinary number of immigrants to Israel, and walk in the footsteps of Ze'ev Jabotinsky, who said, "I love my people and the Land of Israel: this is my credo, this is the work of my life, and I no longer need anything in the world."

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"In every generation, one is obligated to view himself as though he came out of Egypt." Just one week ago, we sat around the Seder table, fathers and sons, families and children with the goal of seeing ourselves as if we ourselves left Egypt. Seventy-seven years after the Holocaust, which decimated no less than one-third of our people, this sentence has taken on new meaning.

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Every single Jew is obligated to see themself as if they survived as if they were "there" and struggled for the continuation of our existence. In our generation, we remember and commemorate while continuing to fulfill the eternal promise: "Never again."

On the eve of World War II, Jewish leaders around the world warned of the volcano about to erupt. The repeated calls to take responsibility for the fate of the Jews, however, fell on deaf ears. Those knocking at the gates were seen as pessimistic and delusional. With the weakening of the local leadership during the Holocaust, the antisemitic octopus' tentacles penetrated the Jewish community, crushed their humanity, and prevented them from having any hope. The scale of the horror drove people out of their minds. The Jews pleadingly raised their eyes, looking for someone to lead them, protect them, and offer them hope. The incompetence of the countries we depended on to prevent the worst from happening left the Jewish people abandoned to their fate.

For over two months now, millions of people, including many members of the Jewish people, have become refugees on European soil. Yet the world is silent.

We are a nation well-versed in suffering. A people that, despite all the difficulty, have seen our own leaders emerge to guide and accompany us on our journeys and through hardship. Out of the depths of the darkness, huge changes took place during the Holocaust, the likes of which impacted the fate of every Jew. Local leadership groups were established, armed, and fought just to defend the honor of our downtrodden people. Others provided spiritual hope through attempts to maintain our humanity through mutual responsibility and a shared fate.

Throughout all its years of existence, including in the darkest days of the Holocaust, the Zionist movement served as an inspiration to many leaders and played an important leadership role.

Our existential dependence on other nations' benevolence receded with the establishment of the Jewish state in Israel. Local organizations, unarmed and undefended, were replaced by a strong and moral military. On the eve of Holocaust Remembrance Day, we take an oath in the name of all those who were and are no longer: We are here to talk about what happened and to continue to defend every Jew, no matter where they may be.

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Every club has something that sets its members apart. Political parties, groups, sports organizations, and even gyms have membership cards, symbols, or unique flags to designate who does and does not belong. Even the "International Morality Club" has an entry card. It can be found at student conferences at universities around the world, in various online forums, at every protest, and in every speech by an Israeli ambassador or public figure. The entry card I am referring to is, of course, Israel hatred.

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The "International Morality Club" has a wide variety of symbols and slogans, including mentions of the "apartheid state," calls to boycott Israel, and claims that the IDF massacres children, among others. By waving the club's flag, you gain entry into the club. Rejection of the flag will result in your being declared a despicable fascist.

Radical, unfettered, and irrational Israel hatred is the antisemitism of our time. When the despicable Jews dared to establish their own state that could protect them, it quickly became the target of a deep-rooted hatred that has been around for thousands of years. Young people in the US and Europe are fed this hatred from the propaganda spread by so-called "human rights" organizations. The way they see it, Israel is to blame for all the evil in the world. It controls the global economy and engineers pandemics, among other accusations.

When the world marks International Holocaust Remembrance Day on Thursday, we will come together with the purveyors of truth and seekers of historical justice from around the world. Fighting for a common cause, we struggle against every manifestation of antisemitism, whether it be the modern antisemitism seen in online incitement or the classic antisemitism seen in the desecration of graves; the antisemitism that promotes hatred in universities and the antisemitism that leads to synagogue shootings; the antisemitism promoted by politicians, as well as the antisemitism that results in deadly terrorist attacks, including here in Israel. This is a day when our cries are heard across the world: Antisemitism is antisemitism is antisemitism. It doesn't matter what shape it takes on or under what pretenses it tries to hide.

I believe the most effective way to fight antisemitism today is to incorporate a sense of Jewish pride while kicking the antisemites out of the club. We must do everything we can to drive these people out of our camp through the imposition of heavy penalties and sanctions.

To this end, I am acting to enlist world leaders to officially adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's working definition of antisemitism. By adopting this definition, governments around the world will be able to take significant steps against displays of antisemitism. These efforts are bearing fruit, and many countries are joining the effort. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrisson recently wrote me to inform me he had publicly declared his intentions of adopting the IHRA definition. "We must act together with determination and reject every word and action that include manifestations of antisemitism toward individuals, communities, or religious sites." If the world were to do the same, the number of antisemites would dwindle until they were left to huddle in the only place they deserve: outside the club.

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I am familiar with the feeling when an airplane takes off, making your heart skip a beat. During my work at national institutions, I have often traveled to thriving Jewish communities worldwide bringing the warmest of regards from brethren back in Israel.

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This time, I travel again, but with a heavy heart. I am setting out to visit a community in Kiev, Ukraine, that used to thrive, but was wiped off the face of the earth. I will visit the Babi Yar site, the mass grave of a Jewish community that 80 years ago Nazi murders gathered and killed in a ravine – 10,000 men, women, and children slaughtered in just two days.

I thought to myself what I should bring on my trip. Usually, I take a small suitcase, clothes, my tefillin and a book to read. This time, I thought, I will also bring along a photo album with pictures of Israel in honor of those Jews who lost their lives never having made it to the Promised Land.

It will include photos of Jerusalem, our capital, one of the most ancient cities in the world. Perhaps, it will be two photographs, one from the Western Wall – wrapped in the silence of worshipers – and the other from the Machane Yehuda Market – full of cheerful shoppers. Another picture will show Tel Aviv's skyline with its towers and skyscrapers. I will whisper to them, "Would you believe that the Jewish state is a hub of technology and innovation?" I will also add photographs of orchards, green fields and of Israel's bustling streets, so they can see what we managed to create despite everything.

I will also show them pictures of IDF soldiers, commanders and fighters who protect Israel, so they should be proud of our sons and daughters and be assured that we remember the lesson of Babi Yar: to stand up to our enemies and uncompromisingly fight antisemitism, which spreads more and more darkness in the world each year. To make sure this darkness does turn into another Babi Yair, we must get rid of it now and call on the entire world to take immediate action against Jew-hatred as well.

When I stand at the ceremony to mark the 80th anniversary of the massacre – as a member of Israel's official delegation – I will hold the photo album of Israel in my hand. I will stand there firmly, with one eye crying over the lives that came to an end and another laughing because 80 years later we are not coming to Babi Yar as mourners alone.

We are coming to remember and stress that the journey of the Jewish people did not end, not even at Babi Yar. As Jewish partisans across Europe sang during World War II, "Our marching steps ring out: 'We are here!'"

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101 years ago, on April 26, 1920, an international conference ended in the town of San Remo on the Italian Riviera that made historic decisions, which had a tremendous impact on the establishment of a Jewish state in the Land of Israel. Last year, we had plans to produce a big event in San Remo to mark the centenary of the conference, but we had to cancel it because of the pandemic.

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It's important to me to do historical justice to the San Remo Conference. The "Mandate for Palestine" document approved in San Remo and adopted by the League of Nations is the founding document of the State of Israel. This was the historic event in which the nations of the world restored to the Jewish people the right to their sovereignty over the western Land of Israel in its entirety. Unfortunately, the San Remo Conference is less well known than the historic events of the Balfour Declaration and the UN vote on November 29, 1947, whose legal value is small compared to the San Remo conference's resolutions. In 1920, the leaders of the Allies who won World War I (Britain, France, Italy, Greece, and Japan) gathered in San Remo to discuss how to divide the territories of the former Ottoman Empire. They decided not to annex territories, but to establish a new system of government called a "mandate", as a tool to control underdeveloped countries until they developed an independent governing capacity.

The states agreed to divide between themselves the mandates for control over India, Syria, Iraq, as well as Palestine. France was given a mandate to control Syria and Lebanon, and Britain was given a mandate over Iraq and Palestine. The mandate for Palestine includes the Land of Israel on both banks of the Jordan and the Golan Heights. The San Remo Conference decided that the administration of the Land of Israel would be temporarily entrusted to the British Mandate, in order to establish a national home for the Jewish people in due course. But the British violated the mandate given to them in 1946, when they gave King Abdullah 77 percent of the land allotted to Jews at the San Remo Conference.

We did conquer

The World Zionist Organization, which I currently chair, was involved in the San Remo Conference. Dr. Chaim Weizmann, head of the World Zionist Organization, influenced the San Remo Conference to ratify the Balfour Declaration on the exclusive national rights of the Jewish people to the Land of Israel. The preamble to the conference resolutions and Article 2 state that "recognition has thereby been given to the historical connexion of the Jewish people with Palestine and to the grounds for reconstituting their national home in that country ... and also for safeguarding the civil and religious rights of all the inhabitants of Palestine, irrespective of race and religion."

Two years later, in July 1922, the League of Nations unanimously approved the "Mandate for Palestine" document from the decisions of the San Remo Conference. Thus, the document became part of international law, and is valid to this day.

The League of Nations was disbanded after World War II, and was replaced by the United Nations on the basis of the United Nations Charter. Article 80 of the UN Charter forbids changing decisions concerning areas over which the League of Nations imposed a mandate, except with the consent of all parties. Therefore, the UN vote on November 29, 1947 on the partition of the Land of Israel was done in violation of Article 80. Thus, Security Council resolutions 242 and 338 were passed without authority, because the UN Charter has the validity of an international contract, which is also part of international law. The Oslo Accords, which granted the Palestinian Authority sovereignty over about 90 percent of Judea, Samaria and Gaza territories, were also in violation of international law.

The relevant meaning today is that international law supports Jewish settlement also in the Golan Heights and in Judea and Samaria. We cannot be accused of illegally "conquering" Judea and Samaria during the Six-Day War, because according to international law these territories are part of the national home of the Jews. This legal argument also suits our defense for the International Court of Justice's indictments in The Hague, and is also a triumphant response to the BDS movement and our enemies trying to sever the legal connection between Jews and their historical homeland.

A legitimate political entity

The resolutions of the San Remo Conference were made 101 years ago, and are valid and relevant to this day. This important chapter in our history has been forgotten. Sometimes I wonder if political elements in Israel have deliberately forgotten it, because it deals with the Greater Land of Israel and both banks of the Jordan River.

I am honored to sit today in the chair and position of Chaim Weizmann at the time, chairman of the World Zionist Organization. I am determined to continue his path, including on the San Remo Conference. I am working to ensure the history of the San Remo conference is properly included in the national school curriculum so that everyone will know that the existence of the state is based on international law. I vow to ensure it is added into the Israeli ethos in rallies and youth movements, as I did when I was the director-general of the Beitar movement.

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I intend to act to launch a global information campaign on our legal situation. In the first stage, I am working to bring this legal information to the attention of all politicians and officials of the Ministry of Justice and employees of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In the next stages of the campaign, we will also bring the information to everyone involved in the International Court of Justice in The Hague, and then all over the world.

I regret that many in Israel do not recognize the enormous significance of the San Remo Conference. It is written in the Torah that before the entry of the children of Israel into the land of Canaan, Moses tells them: "You have now become the people ." with "[on] this day, you have become a legitimate political entity."

Yaakov Hagoel is the chairman of the Executive of the World Zionist Organization.

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The hegemony that characterizes each group, its background and its culture, influence the leader's power and ability to lead, especially when it's a matter of leading toward a new, unknown reality.

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From the group under their leadership will rise tongue-clickers and doubters who prefer the existing "comfort" or situation, even though they are aware of the hardship it entails, to starting out on a new path. Throughout the course of history, the Jewish people have dealt with situations of slavery, forced separation, and struggle. Moses was given his leadership role against his will and expressed enormous concern about leading the Hebrew nation to a new reality. Compared to other leaders, Moses doesn't meet the basic criteria for a classic leader. He doubts his own ability to accept the important role. He was raised in Pharaoh's household, in a culture not his own. He became a leader in a place that was close to his enslaved brethren, a kind of "Diaspora," but not with them. He finds himself assimilating into Pharaoh's household, at a time when his Jewish brothers were being crushed by hard labor. He discovers where he belongs historically and culturally when he sees an Egyptian man beating a Jew. From that point on, Moses' approach changes, and the way to the Promised Land is paved.

Some three millennia after Moses' death, a Jewish lawyer from the Diaspora became aware of the constant discrimination toward and suffering of his Jewish brothers. His name? Binyamin Zeev [Theodor] Herzl. When Herzl shows up to cover the Dreyfus trial and hears the crowd calling, "Jew! Traitor! Death to the Jews!" in a ceremony of public humiliation, his life takes a historic turn. From that day on and until his death, Herzl devotes his life to the rebirth of the Jewish people, united and gathered in a Jewish state. Herzl takes on the role because there is no other choice. His internal feelings steer him to respond, just like the Jewish people's first leader, Moses, did when he saw the Egyptian beating the Jews. Herzl takes on the mission. He holds countless meetings with world leaders to find a solution for the Jewish people, who were subjected to hatred, persecution, pogroms, and anti-Semitism.

One of the biggest challenges Herzl faced in his life was to get the Jews to believe in him. For thousands of years, the Jewish people had grown accustomed to living in the Diaspora, in closed and persecuted communities. Herzl encountered trouble when he tried to spark hope about the need to break a path to the longed-for independence. Doubters who were used to living in exile-raised difficulties. The sense of comfort, despite the difficulty, was preferable to many communities than starting out on a new path whose end was unknown. Herzl overcame the difficulties. He managed – for the first time in Jewish history since the destruction of the Second Temple – representatives of Jewish communities from all over the world. He sparked their hopes and inspired them to dream of the Promised Land.

 When the sons of Israel leave Egypt, they wander in the desert for 40 years. They are confronted with hunger and thirst, with leadership crises and fear. They ask Moses to go back to Egypt, to slavery: "Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness" [Exodus 14:12]. In Herzl's time, the idea of establishing the Jewish state "wandered" and encountered numberless challenges. At age 44, Herzl died, leaving behind him a people who now had hope of returning to Zion, but a long road ahead of them.

In our people's record of traveling toward a better future, the qualities of these two leaders should be compared. Both Moses and Herzl start their lives as part of the people – close to it, but not with it, not inside it. Their identities take a sharp turn when they see their people's suffering. As leaders, they are both confronted with doubts about their abilities and they both take on enormous missions. One met with Pharaoh and his ministers, while the other met with sultans and heads of state. They envisioned their people's liberation, as well as the long road to the Promised Land and the problems that would await them along the way.

Each in his own way wound up standing there, on the edge, so close to their goal. They nearly touched the door to the Promised Land and there, their journeys ended.

Moses and Herzl, each in his own generation and in his own way, devoted their lives to the Jewish people and leading them to the Land of Israel. They might not have been allowed to enter the Promised Land, but they left behind them legacies that produced generations of leaders, generations of dream-fulfillers, and gave us the eternal torch so we could live our lives in the Land of Israel. Two leaders, two different times, and one dream that came true: the Land of Israel.

What are we asked to do? We, the bearers of the torch, have an obligation to go on and fulfill the Zionist idea while strengthening the links between the Jewish people, Jewish tradition, and the Land of Israel. 

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Like all other nations, the Jewish nation and its diaspora are exposed to the deadly virus. We have witnessed countless cases where the disease has harmed Jewish communities. Our people's long history has taught us the importance of unity, faith and mutual assistance between people in general, and between Jews in particular.

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Our daily routine is filled with mutual responsibility. The World Zionist Organization serves as the body that represents the Jewish people and acts as a bridge between the various Jewish communities around the world and Israel, and vice versa. It is the organization that constantly has in its sights the importance of maintaining the bond between the diaspora and the State of Israel.

It is not a medical solution for the propagating disease, but rather its focus is finding ways – wherever possible – to maintain the routine, Jewish life, the study of Hebrew, the bond with Israel and the Jewish-Zionist identity. In these difficult days when the world has ground to a halt and the virus has totally transformed our lives, we have the moral and historical duty to stand side by side.

Moreover, in addition to dealing with the health and financial impact of the disease, our brothers and sisters in the Jewish communities around the world also have to deal with the cynical and ugly use of the disease by anti-Semitic organizations who fan the flames of hatred and put the blame for the spread of coronavirus around the world on the Jews – who else?

Across the world through the internet and the media, private individuals, organizations and politicians are finding the opportunities to spread harsh statements, incitement, and finger-pointing at the Jewish people. The era we are living through, which no doubt will go down in the history books as one of the most critical for the human race, is sending us back to the darkest of times. To the bleak times of pogroms, drumhead court-martials, and massacres of our people.

But it is precisely at this time that we can bring together the heads of Jewish communities around the world and put together an operational plan for an uncompromising battle against anti-Semitism. We must use all means at our disposal and proudly raise our heads in these difficult days.

The World Zionist Organization strengthens the hand of the diaspora Jewish community at this time. It is an expression of the shared destiny of our people, and we will act as a fortified wall against anti-Semitism in all its forms.

The current uncertainty is likely to reinforce the sense of mutual responsibility in our people, and highlight the Jewish and Zionist values in continuing our shared destiny. The crisis may also help us get over disputes within our people – for example between some parts of the American Jewish community and the State of Israel – if we learn to listen, to converse and to come together in unity.

The nation of Israel with its history of persecution, and exile, is a strong nation. The milestones paved by the nation of Israel, that long path that was built over thousands of years and led to remarkable progress in civilization, will also pave the way for the unyielding unity of the nation at this time.

"They helped every one of his neighbors; and every one said to his brother, Be of good courage," it says in the Book of Isaiah. The nation of Israel is stronger than ever today. With hope and unity before our eyes, we will continue to raise our heads proudly and face the coronavirus pandemic, as well as the pandemic of bigotry and anti-Semitism.

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Ze'ev Jabotinsky, one of the most maligned leaders in Zionist history is today a major factor in public discourse. His writings have influenced a wide range of contemporary political leaders from Right to Left.

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The man who was derided as the "fascist from Odessa" and who used to be a political punching bag in the elite circles within the Zionist movement and Israeli society is now, 79 years after his passing, seen in a new light. Today, his teachings, poems, and writings are cherished by a new generation.

Few are the leaders who managed to make their mark years after their death. Jabotinsky was systematically delegitimized in his day. This criticism followed him and his students years after his death.

Jabotinsky dedicated his life and energy for the sake of correcting the historical injustice of the Jewish people's exile from their homeland. He was concerned about the blurring of Jewish identity and tried in every way to instill within the youth a spark of the idea of a return to Zion.

Jabotinsky believed in the ability of the youth to produce that same well-oiled machine which would lead to the establishment of a Jewish state. He founded the Betar movement on this principle.

He saw the need for a productive defense force for both Diaspora Jewry and Jews in the land of Israel. He founded local defense units that provided protection and security for the Jewish people.

As part of the national awakening of Diaspora Jewry, Jabotinsky emphasized the importance of the use of Hebrew, an ancient language that arose from the dust. He saw the establishment of a Jewish state in the territory of the British Mandate as a natural and undisputed right of the Jewish people to return to their homeland.

Prior to the Nazi party's rise in Germany and before the height of anti-Semitism in Europe, Jabotinsky foresaw what was to come. He exhorted the Jews of Europe, "Eliminate the Diaspora or the Diaspora will eliminate you." He referred to the areas in which Jews lived as if a volcano was about to erupt. Jabotinsky called for the immigration of hundreds of thousands of Jews from Poland as part of the evacuation campaign.

And the Jews? Mainstream Jewish political groups and journalists of that era launched a fierce attack on the very idea. They said his program for mass immigration would fan the flames of antisemitism. They lashed out at the very idea. They feared even the name of the program – "evacuation" – voluntary mass migration to the land of Israel. What would the gentiles say?

Escalating warnings about Europe's future and the call for immigration mostly fell upon deaf ears. The idea to unite and fight the British occupier was seen as extremist in the eyes of his opponents as were his ideas about nation-building.

Most Jewish community leaders and Zionist politicians of the time denigrated Jabotinsky and drummed into the public consciousness that his views were dangerous. A large share of Diaspora Jewry doubted his warnings and preferred to bury their heads in the sand.

After years of defending his views, Jabotinsky revealed his difficulty in advancing the evacuation program. In one of his lectures on the subject, Jabotinsky thanked the audience in his opening remarks with the following words:

"I thank you for receiving me in such warm welcome precisely at this time when a campaign against me is being waged."

He responded to one of the challenges against his evacuation campaign with:

"There is just one question I would like to ask my critics. Gentlemen, where is your logic? How do you think that we, the fighters for Jewish rights in the Land of Israel, how can you even think that we would give up the rights of the Jews in the exile."

When Prime Minister Menachem Begin ordered the attack on the Iraqi nuclear reactor in 1981, he was accused of endangering the lives of Israeli soldiers for the sake of gaining political power in the elections. Other Israeli leaders from Jabotinsky's camp have suffered countless false accusations of taking political measures inconsistent with the national interests of the Jewish state.

Today, 71 years since the establishment of the State of Israel, we must look at ourselves in the mirror and ask the same question that Jabotinsky asked – where is our logic? Are we to imagine that a leader who is legitimately elected by the majority will act contrary to the interests of the nation? There is no leader, Right or Left, who does not see in his eyes and his mind the importance of doing what is good for the people of Israel and the State of Israel.

As part of the exemplary society envisioned by Theodor Herzl, we must know how to argue but also how to respect. We can debate and ask pointed questions but we must use logic while respecting the decision of the voters.

As a society, we must take pride in our democracy, one that grants citizens the right to vote and the ability to either replace or re-elect its leaders.

Jabotinsky's leadership qualities combined with Hadar and humility inspired his followers who believed in his cause and were tired of the criticism.

Some 79 years since his passing, we have learned the value of leadership that Jabotinsky advocated. As leaders of the Zionist world and the State of Israel, as citizens, and as opinion-makers, we must find within us the way to know how to judge a leader but also to trust a leader, to demonstrate against him but also to let him lead.

Jabotinsky will be remembered for many generations as one who knew how to stand up to for his ideology and beliefs and as one who was able to clarify his views in the face of constant criticism.                          

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