During the 20th century, the Jewish Agency for Israel, working through collective action, shaped the future of world Jewry and Israel. Together, the Jewish Agency was instrumental in establishing the State of Israel and in building the country's human and physical infrastructure. The Jewish Agency helped found 900 rural communities, kibbutzim, moshavim and built through the Israel Education Fund 1400 capital projects including community centers, nursery schools, culture and sports facilities, and institutions of higher learning. We brought close to 3.5 million Jews to live in Israel and helped them integrate, paying special attention to the poor and vulnerable. We reached out to Jews whenever and wherever they were in danger or distress. We brought hundreds of thousands of youngsters to Israel for a quality educational experience. For over 75 years, the Jewish Agency, as the global Jewish partnership with Israel at its heart, has been the meeting ground for world Jewry, the place where Jews from around the world meet to discuss and agree on global priorities and the organization that makes those priorities come alive. Millions of lives have been impacted by the work of this global Jewish partnership. The story we created together has been the modern history of Israel and the Jewish People.

As we enter the 21st century, our work is not yet over and the needs of the Jewish people and Israel remain vast. We must continue to work together to address the many global challenges facing World Jewry and Israel. These challenges are enormous and existential. Only by working together as a global Jewish partnership can we build on the past and shape our future by continuing to bring Jews to Israel, ensure the future of our next generation, strengthen Israel and assure Israel's Jewish and democratic nature.