One thousand days have passed since the cursed day of October 7th. One thousand days in which the profound rupture and deep pain have not eased in our hearts, both in the State of Israel and across the entire Jewish world.
The terrorists who invaded the kibbutzim and moshavim along the Gaza border sought to erase the lives of individuals and families, to undermine the very legitimacy of Jewish life in this place, and to strike at the core idea of building up the Land of Israel.
Israel Prize laureate Naomi Shemer wrote words that became an indelible cultural treasure and an Israeli prayer: "Please do not uproot what has been planted, do not forget the hope, bring me back and I shall return to the good land." Faced with that cruel attempt to uproot us, the most fitting and definitive Zionist answer is to deepen our roots, expand our communities, and build the future — especially in the Western Negev.
Precisely at the moment when our enemies sought to undermine our future here, thousands of Jews chose to bind their destinies to the State of Israel and build their futures within it. Even during the war, we at The Jewish Agency, together with the Ministry of Aliyah and Integration, continued to bring Olim (immigrants to Israel), support affected communities, and strengthen the bond between Israel and world Jewry.
The historical equation we are now establishing is simple and powerful: in the face of one thousand days of pain, resilience, and determination, we are laying the foundations for one thousand new homes in the Western Negev region. This is part of a broader story of rebuilding the land and continuing the Zionist enterprise.
At this crossroads, where social resilience meets physical fortification and revival, sits the national project to expand the communities in the Western Negev region. This is not a real estate project or a routine construction plan. Rather, it is a national mission that returns us to the core of the Zionist vision. When David Ben-Gurion spoke of making the Negev bloom, he envisioned moments when the pioneering spirit would continue to drive Israeli society forward. The Western Negev region is the place where this vision takes tangible form.
National resilience is built through growing communities, reopening kindergartens, filling schools, and residents who choose to bind their futures to this place for many years to come. The future of the Western Negev region will be determined by the new families who choose to build their homes there.
This values-driven vision requires determined action, efficiency, and a deep commitment on the ground. Through close cooperation between The Jewish Agency and government ministries, alongside the Tekuma Directorate, the regional councils, the Kibbutz Movement, and community leaders, this plan is already taking shape. With the groundbreaking at Kibbutz Ein HaShlosha, followed by many other communities, a new chapter in the region's future is beginning. Our subsidiary housing company Amigour will lead the planning and construction in full coordination with the communities to ensure that in short order, new families, children, and thriving communities will join the new neighborhoods.
The true engine of this enterprise is the mutual responsibility of an entire nation. World Jewry is not standing on the sidelines watching the process of revival; it is a partner to it. This project is getting underway with the support of Jewish communities around the world, including Keren Hayesod, the Jewish Federations of North America, and the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Foundation. Throughout the months of war, and even more so in these days of rebuilding and renewal, this partnership manifests itself in support, commitment, and standing alongside the communities and families choosing to rebuild their homes.
Hundreds of Jewish community leaders from all over the world are arriving in Israel, even during the most of complex days. Our sisters and brothers from The Jewish Agency's Board of Governors, who were here last week, went out to Kibbutz Ein HaShlosha to take an active part in laying the cornerstone. Their presence on the ground, in a place that endured such devastation, is living proof that the partnership between Israel and world Jewry is a deep covenant of shared responsibility.
Nearly one thousand days after that cursed Shabbat, the pain remains. As does the longing. And yet, precisely out of this reality, we choose to build. House by house. Community by community.
Naomi Shemer wrote, "For the honey and for the sting, for the bitter and the sweet." This is perhaps the essence of the entire Israeli story: knowing how to hold the pain and the hope together, the memory and the building, the heartbreak and the growth.
Nearly one thousand days after they sought to uproot us from our land, we are laying the foundations for one thousand new homes in the Western Negev. Root by root, house by house, we are ensuring that the story of the Jewish people in their land continues to be written for generations to come.
Yehuda Setton is CEO and Director General of The Jewish Agency for Israel.