From Israeli Ambassador Ron Dermer's Commencement Address to Yeshiva University this week (the video is here):
In so many ways, you are the most blessed generation of Jews in over 2,000 years. I know that’s hard to accept because we Jews tend to see the glass as 1/16th empty. But it is true.
You are blessed to live in a country like the United States. … The blessing of America for the Jews can be summed up in less than a word, less than a sentence, less than a letter. It’s a hyphen. The hyphen between Jewish and American. The hyphen that allows you to be both fully American and true to your faith. … But your generation is doubly blessed. For you live at a time when you are a witness to the miracle called Israel. Jewish sovereignty has been restored. Exiles have returned. Jerusalem has been reunited, never to be divided again. Collectively, Israel has provided the Jewish people with a voice, with a refuge and most importantly, with the power to defend themselves.Individually, Israel has made things possible that would have been unimaginable to your ancestors. If you want to pray at the Kotel, you only need to board a plane. If you want to spend a year studying in Israel, you only need to convince your parents to foot the bill. …… [I]n the years ahead, always remember that your grandparents and their grandparents going back over 20 centuries would have given anything to trade their problems with yours. 100 generations of Jews dreamed of living at a time when there would be a sovereign Jewish state. You have the privilege of living that dream.But with that privilege comes an awesome responsibility to secure that dream for generations to come. And that responsibility falls on each and every one of you. Because I am not the only Ambassador here today. You are all Ambassadors. For the rest of your lives, you will be Ambassadors of Yeshiva University and the values it stands for — the values of the Jewish people.Read or watch it all. Shabbat Shalom.