Rabbi Zalman Lipskar, Rabbi and Spiritual Leader of the Shul of Bal Harbour, opened the program at the Jerusalem Post Miami Summit, invoking the memory of his father and teacher, Rabbi Sholom Lipskar, of blessed memory, who first envisioned a partnership with the Jerusalem Post and the creation of an annual conference in Miami.
“He believed that Israel must never be experienced by world Jewry as ‘over there,’” said his son. “Israel is not a distant cause. It’s not an occasional headline. It’s a shared destiny. He believed that where Jews live with freedom, opportunity, and influence, there is an obligation not to watch Jewish history unfold from a distance, but to help shape it. But there was something even deeper that guided his vision. My father believed deeply and unapologetically that Jews must live with pride, not as victims of history, but as its active shapers and paradigm shifters. He maintained that we must teach our youth to be proud of their Judaism and their heritage.
Lipskar said this concept originated with the Lubavitcher Rebbe. “Jewish identity is not fragile, not defensive, not apologetic. We do not define ourselves by what has been done to us, but what we are called to do, as he expressed in spirit and in action. The Jewish people are not victims of history. We are its partners, and Israel does not ask the Jewish people for sympathy. It asks for responsibility. That conviction is the reason that this conference exists.”
He noted that the conference coincided with the yahrzeit of Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi, known as the Alter Rebbe, who founded the Chabad-Lubavitch movement and was one of the most influential Jewish thinkers of the modern era. “The Alter Rebbe lived with a burning, uncompromising love for the land of Israel,” he said. “He taught that love for Israel must burn and be anchored in Torah and mitzvot. Fire without structure destroys. Fire guided by purpose illuminates. That balance, passionate devotion, grounded in values, became the foundation of Chabad’s worldview, and it shaped my father’s approach to Jewish leadership.”
Lipskar said that Israel’s struggle today is no longer limited to the battlefield or the diplomatic chambers. “It is increasingly the battle for hearts and minds of the world. Across campuses, across social media, and across digital spaces where young people form their worldview, truth is being challenged by propaganda, distortion, and lies. History is being rewritten. Moral clarity is being blurred. And Israel is being judged not by facts, but by narratives. If we lose the battle for truth, we risk losing a generation. We must defend truth at all costs. We must insist on facts over fiction. We must speak with confidence and never with apology. And we must fight for the hearts and minds of the next generation. Because truth, when spoken clearly and courageously, has all the power.
“This conference tells the world that Israel is not alone. It says that the Jewish people will not surrender to propaganda. and it says that leadership means showing up, not only in moments of crisis, but consistently, thoughtfully, and courageously.”
We must teach our youth to be proud of their Judaism and their heritage.