Israel Bonds: Land, Legacy, Bonds
By Arthur Katz and Brad Young | Israel Bonds
This year during the High Holidays, new generations of parents and children filling the sanctuaries and classrooms of our synagogues:
• Never used a dial to make a phone call.
• Never typed on paper, just screens.
• Never sat in a car without a fastened seat belt.
• Never lived in a world without a state of Israel.
That last “never” means:
• There has always been an IDF.
• They have always been able to pray at the Kotel.
• They can eat falafel at the JCC.
One way to ensure that the nevers and alwayses continue is by investing in Israel Bonds during the High Holidays and throughout the year.
For 65 years the Israel Bonds organization has provided Israel’s supporters with a rewarding opportunity to strengthen Israel and participate in Israel’s economic achievements. Closing in on $40 billion in sales since 1951, Israel Bonds, like the sky above and the ground below, has always been there for Israel. When you invest, you too will be there, like Israel Bonds, standing with Israel and the Jewish people.
The 5777 High Holidays Campaign is an opportunity to send a message of support to the people of Israel and against BDS. Every Israel Bonds investment sends an unmistakable message to Israel’s enemies and to the world: We are determined, we are united, and we are strong.
Most of us learned about Israel Bonds from our parents and grandparents. Now it is our turn to act and teach the next generation.
A physical impulse drove the first generation of Israel Bonds investors — and the next and the next. It was a need they felt in their kishkes, born from countless generations of longing and hope.
Tears often smudged the just-written words “State of Israel” on the check as many were overcome with the reality and the meaning and the emotion of investing in the state of Israel. The long-dreamed miracle of a Jewish state, harbored for many generations, had come true in their lifetime.
The new generations will never have the same gut connection their grandparents felt. That’s a good thing. History created the longing and the yearning and the kishkes connection, but that era is gone, never to return.
It is up to us to create a different connection, a more joyful and meaningful “head and heart” connection, for our children and grandchildren. Israel Bonds can help us do it.
Embedded in every Israel Bond is mitzvah, Zionism and legacy:
• Mitzvah. It’s an opportunity and obligation to build, strengthen and support our homeland.
• Zionism. Israel is where we come from. It is a large contributor to our identity, our character and our strength as individuals and as a community.
• Legacy. Israel is our immortality, our connection to generations that came before and those that will follow.
These values are the bridge for current and future generations to connect to Israel. At the other end of the bridge is a nation:
• That drained the swamps and made the desert bloom and has taught the world for decades how to grow fruit, vegetables and grains with less water and greater yield.
• Whose innovative technology sector attracts billions of dollars in foreign investment, hosts development centers for the world’s leading high-tech companies and generates global demand for Israeli products.
• Is responsible for some part of a quarter of the medicines, treatments and technologies in use today (The Times of Israel, March).
Not just your grandparents’ Israel Bonds, we can be your Israel Bonds. The past few years, much effort has been directed to make investing, reinvesting and redeeming the bonds simpler and faster.
Gift bonds are good for any occasion ($36, $54, $72, $90, available only online at www.israelbonds.com). Other investment options begin at $100.
Israel Bonds are accessible to almost everyone. Current terms range from two to 10 years. All bonds are issued in book-entry form (no certificates to store, lose, forget about or sign to redeem), and redemption checks are mailed automatically at maturity. Instead of cash or a check, give an Israel Bond — a gift and a mitzvah.
Arthur Katz is the chairman of the Atlanta Israel Bonds Advisory Council. Brad Young is the executive director of Israel Bonds’ Southeast Region.
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