Rosh Hashana, which is celebrated across the globe by secular and religious Jews alike, marks the beginning of the High Holidays. For thousands of years, this period has been a time not only of festivities and family, but of self-reflection and repentance during which each person looks back at their shortcomings from the past year and sets goals for self-improvement in the upcoming one.  

During the High Holidays, while Jewish people sit with family and friends eating apples dipped in honey to symbolize the wish for a sweet year ahead, or when rabbis around the world lead their congregations in prayer on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, we reflect on the past and pray for a better tomorrow on an individual level, on the community level, and even on the global scale. 

The two-day Rosh Hashana holiday marks 5784 years since creation. As we commemorate the dawn of the Earth, it is only natural to collectively look back at the year we have shared and the year we aspire to. 

Many troubling developments affected humanity during 5783: natural disasters and growing climate challenges, Iran's funding of international terrorism alongside its nuclear pursuits, rising intolerance of others, disturbing disputes within nations, and ongoing wars between countries.

It is at this time, at the beginning of the new year, that we naturally look inward to evaluate our actions, but it is also incumbent upon us to look outward to see how we can make a difference. 

Together we should commit to continue and expand initiatives that make the world a better and more stable place, such as the Abraham Accords. This Middle Eastern framework, the three-year anniversary of which falls this week, illustrates the value of putting aside differences and choosing instead to engage in cooperation, acceptance, and mutual growth. These principles can guide us forward in the upcoming year, both on a personal level and far beyond. And it is Israel’s hope that others will follow as we encourage our neighbors in the region to join us on the path to a more stable Middle East that will provide prosperity and opportunity to all our children. 

As the biggest global stage dedicated to addressing the climate crisis - COP28 (the Conference of Parties to the Convention on Climate Change) - nears, we have an opportunity to lead with collaboration, proving yet again that together we are stronger. In a similar vein, Israel hopes to further promote initiatives like Mashav, its 65-year-old international development cooperation program, which brings Israeli expertise to those in need and helps ensure that we are growing stronger collectively. 

As Rosh Hashana begins, we encourage you to join us in looking inward to evaluate our actions and forward to set goals for personal, spiritual, and communal growth.  These High Holidays, let us take advantage of this time of reflection and commit to a year of renewal and improvement. 

Wishing everyone "Shana Tova" - a happy and healthy new year.