Community

This is the transcript of the speech Rabbi Dr. Bradley Shavit Artson gave at the 2026 AJU Gala on May 19, 2026.

Throughout Israel’s history, in moments of crisis and uncertainty, the Jewish Diaspora has stood alongside the country through Israel Bonds.

Restaurants, gift shops, hotels and car rental companies have all been hit hard by the ongoing war. The blow to the economy is evident almost everywhere you go.

During his roughly 30-minute speech, he warned that Israel had become a “prisoner of its own tools” and that the American-Israel relationship, although historically strong, was “at a crossroads.”

This $120 million investment is modeled after the American NIH, and it will accelerate the timeline from lab discovery to clinical treatment.

Israel Bonds, the organization that has mobilized diaspora investment in the State of Israel for 75 years, is building a community among a new generation of pro-Israel professionals in Los Angeles.

Through The Equalizer (Sha’ar Shivion), children from Jewish, Arab, Druze, Bedouin, religious and secular communities meet through soccer – not only to compete, but also to build friendships and break down barriers that often keep their communities apart.