For much of modern Jewish history, the bond between Israel and the Jewish Diaspora was defined by a monumental shared project: The founding of a new state. What truly held us together was the collective work of recreating a Jewish home. It was the thrill of the impossible – building cities where there was once sand, reviving an ancient tongue, and creating a strong sovereign defense for a people who had long been defenseless.

For decades, this project was a powerful bridge. It connected Jews in New York, Miami, Los Angeles, and Chicago to a small country thousands of miles away. It helped explain why Israel mattered not only to Israelis but also to Jews everywhere.

Today, we must face a new reality: A growing number of younger American Jews are coming of age further removed in time from Israel’s founding story, and further away from the inherent solidarity that shaped their parents’ and grandparents’ worlds. In parallel, the Israel that some of the younger generation see is sadly an Israel of war, division, political anger, hostile campuses, and a public discourse that reduces a complex geopolitical environment to banal slogans.

Some feel exhausted. Some feel distant. Some feel that the Israel they were raised to love has become harder to explain. This is not only a challenge for American Jewry. It is first and foremost a challenge for Israel.

We cannot expect the next generation to be bonded together by the echoes of the past. We must welcome them into the projects of the future.

In my recent remarks to American Jewish supporters in New York, I shared a lesson I learned from my mother. My parents were born in Mashhad, Iran, where Jews were forced to hide their identity and live as Muslim converts. They escaped to Israel in 1935, where they could finally live openly as Jews.

Throughout her life, my mother would ask me a simple but demanding question: “Your community is the most important thing. What have you done for it today?”. That question shaped my understanding of Jewish responsibility. It taught me that we Jews must look after one another.

But today, that question must also be asked on another level. What is Israel doing, at this moment of tectonic regional change and global uncertainty, to renew the strategic bond with the United States?

For decades, the US-Israel relationship was built around security, shared values, and a common understanding of the threats facing the democratic world. But now the future of this partnership must be anchored in mutual interests, shared vision, and the enduring friendship between our two peoples – Israel must show America not only why it needs support but also what it can contribute.

Israel brings technological creativity, battlefield-tested innovation, speed, resilience, and the ability to develop effective solutions under real pressure. These are not abstract strengths. They are national capabilities forged by necessity.

In a world shaped by artificial intelligence (AI), cyber threats, energy insecurity, defense technology, and life sciences, Israel can be not only America’s leading ally in the Middle East but one of its most vital partners in innovation.

The US, in turn, brings global vision, scale, infrastructure, capital, and world-leading research institutions. Together, these strengths can create something larger than either country can build alone: A technological partnership that strengthens Israel, strengthens America, and serves the democratic world.

This is the arena where the relationship with American Jewry finds new life. It is also where a deeper Jewish idea of Tikkun Olam - the responsibility to help repair the world – is a salient part of Israel’s modern mission.

When Israel is seen not as a country in need of defense but as one helping build a safer, more prosperous, and more innovative world, we will give the next generation a valid reason to engage. That engagement is rooted in shared purpose and excellence, not only in inherited memory. It shows that Israel is not merely a strategic ally but also a meaningful contributor to the future of the United States and the broader democratic world

This is why we are building MIND Israel’s Geo-Tech Center: To place technology at the heart of Israel’s national security and diplomacy, and to help create the next language of the US-Israel alliance. We are doing that through a dedicated technology Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the two countries, with a mutual governmental investment of at least $10 billion to sustain the technological superiority of the US and to position Israel as an indispensable strategic partner. We officially launched this MoU last week in DC, with the backing of senior officials from both governments.

The next bridge between Israel and American Jewry cannot be built only on memory. It must also be built on pride, purpose, and a joint vision of the future. Israel and American Jewry need each other close. But this closeness must be earned, renewed, and given meaning.

Now is the time to build that meaning together.

The author is the Chairman of MIND Israel. He is a leading Israeli businessman and philanthropist, who heads several major organizations, including Noy Fund and the Friends Association of four hospitals in Israel.