As the United States marks the 250th anniversary of its Declaration of Independence, this is not merely an American milestone. It is a historic moment that invites a renewed examination of the ideas that shaped the most influential republic of the modern era, and of their place in a world now experiencing profound geopolitical upheaval.

From Israel’s perspective, this is also a moment of gratitude. Gratitude to a nation that gave the Jewish people the greatest space of liberty, equality and security they had ever known in exile, and that has stood by Israel through many of its defining moments since the establishment of the Jewish state. Above all, however, it is gratitude for an alliance founded on shared values rather than interests alone.

Biblical roots of the American experiment

As early as 1620 and 1630, when the Mayflower and the Arabella sailed from England to the New World, the Puritan settlers saw themselves as a people leaving “modern Egypt,” crossing the “modern Red Sea” and arriving in the “Promised Land.” Mayflower leader William Bradford was likened to Moses, while Arabella leader John Winthrop was compared to Joshua. In their eyes, America was the “New Israel.”

One hundred fifty years later, when the Founding Fathers declared independence, exactly 250 years ago on July 4, 1776, they chose not to ground the legitimacy of their new nation in power, blood or ethnic origin, but in a shared system of values. The Declaration of Independence proclaimed:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

It is no coincidence that the word “Creator” appears here. Rights are not granted by a king, a parliament or a state. They derive from a higher authority. Later in the Declaration, another explicit appeal is made to “the protection of divine Providence,” as the signers pledge to one another “our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.” Throughout the document, God is referenced four times.

This is essential to understanding America. Contrary to the prevailing myth of our time, the United States was born out of a culture profoundly shaped by the Bible and the Judeo-Christian tradition, and that influence did not remain buried in history. It is woven into the American landscape to this very day. I have just returned from a cross-country road trip, during which I was struck by how present this heritage remains. Thousands of American cities, counties, mountains and communities bear biblical names. There are 18 communities named Jerusalem, dozens named Salem, the ancient name of Jerusalem, and many more named Shiloh, Bethel, Hebron, Goshen and Jericho.

This heritage is not presented as an archaeological relic, but as an integral part of the American national story. It is reflected in museums, universities, libraries and public buildings. To this day, Yale University bears the Hebrew words “Urim VeThummim” on its seal. Columbia University displays on its emblem the verse from Psalms: “In Thy light shall we see light.” The seal of Princeton University combines the Old Testament alongside the New Testament, while Brandeis University bears the Hebrew word Emet (“Truth”). Generations of American university presidents and intellectuals studied Hebrew, taught Hebrew and regarded the Bible as a central source for understanding humanity and society. An interesting detail worth noting is that Professor George Bush, a distant relative of President George H.W. Bush, served as the first professor of Hebrew at New York University (1831–1846), published books on the Bible and Hebrew grammar, and called for the restoration of Jewish sovereignty in “Biblical Zion.”

America’s national symbols tell the same story. On the Great Seal of the United States, 13 stars, representing the original 13 colonies, are arranged above the eagle’s head in the shape of a Star of David. The Liberty Bell in Philadelphia, one of America’s most recognizable symbols, bears the verse from Leviticus: “Proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof.” And in the chamber of the Supreme Court of the United States, the image of Moses and the Ten Commandments is carved into the walls. For the Founding Fathers, the idea of liberty was not born in Paris or London. To a significant extent, it was drawn from the Bible.

An alliance that preceded the State of Israel

The connection between the United States and the Jewish people and the Bible was never merely a political alliance, and it long preceded the founding of the State of Israel. In 1891, more than 400 American leaders signed the Blackstone Petition, which called for the establishment of a Jewish state in the Land of Israel. And in 1922, both houses of Congress adopted a resolution supporting the establishment of a national home for the Jewish people in Palestine.

Decades later, in 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King, one of the leaders of the civil rights struggle (1955–1968), drew his call “Let my people go” from the Bible, from which he often quoted the books of Psalms, Isaiah, Jeremiah and Amos. In his famous “I Have a Dream” speech, the central allegory was based on chapter 40 of Isaiah: “I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

This shared connection of values continues to be expressed to this day, on both sides of the political map. In 2022, President Joe Biden said that “the roots of the Jewish people reach back to biblical times, and that is a blessing, because the connection between the people of Israel and the American people is deep and rooted, generation after generation, as deep as the bones.”

And just a month ago, as part of the celebrations of 250 years of independence, President Donald Trump called on American Jews to observe a “National Sabbath,” a symbolic gesture expressing recognition of the Jewish heritage’s contribution to American society. In doing so, he echoed the historic letter of President George Washington to the Jewish community in Newport, Rhode Island, in 1790, in which he recognized Jews as an inseparable part of the American nation. But more than that, for the first time in the history of the Jewish people, the president of the most powerful nation on earth is not content merely with the possibility that Jews may live as citizens with equal rights; he encourages them to freely express their Jewishness.

Not just interests

Some believe that the closeness between Israel and the United States stems solely from geopolitical considerations. There is no doubt that shared interests matter, but they do not explain the depth of the relationship. The deeper reason is that Israel and America are perceived, by their friends and enemies alike, as representing a similar idea: human liberty, moral responsibility and the belief that man is created in the image of God.

It is no coincidence that regimes and movements that hate the Jewish nation also tend to hate America. And with almost the same consistency with which hatred of Jews has served as a moral test for societies, hatred of America has also become a moral test of nations, regimes and individuals. Despite all its flaws, America alone stands between democracy and the rise of tyranny around the world, and so it is no surprise that among tyrannical regimes and their defenders, America and Israel are so often identified as one and the same enemy.

This is not only because the United States stands alone behind Israel; the United States has also given generously to various Arab states, and at several critical moments even supported Arab regimes (such as Nasser’s Egypt in 1956) against Israel itself. This hostility stems largely from the fact that America and Israel continue to strive toward a moral ideal higher than themselves: the belief that liberty is not only a right but also a moral responsibility granted by God, and that a nation’s strength is measured not only by its power but also by its values. This is also why the two non-Muslim countries that have suffered the most casualties from Islamic suicide bombings are the United States and Israel.

An alliance that must never be taken for granted

For precisely these reasons, neither Israelis nor Americans can afford to take their alliance for granted. The special relationship between Israel and the United States is founded on far more than defense agreements, military assistance or intelligence cooperation. Above all, it rests on cultural, moral and spiritual foundations that have been built over more than four centuries, from the voyages of the Mayflower and the Arabella to the New World, through Independence Hall in Philadelphia, and into today’s Oval Office.

This is why the relationship between the United States and Israel has endured crises, changes of administration, and political disagreements for nearly eight decades. It is also why it has the strength to withstand the challenges of the future.

As America marks a quarter millennium of independence, and Israel continues to fight for its security and its right to exist, we should remember that the alliance between Jerusalem and Washington did not begin in 1967, nor even in 1948. Its roots run far deeper.

They are anchored in an ancient book given in the wilderness of Sinai thousands of years ago, a book that found a home at the very heart of the American story. That is why this alliance is greater than any administration, deeper than any disagreement, and longer-lasting than any political cycle. As long as both nations remain faithful to those values, they will not only secure their own futures, but also strengthen the very foundations of the free world.

Happy Independence Day, America. And thank you.