I love the Nation, Israel . . .

 I love the Nation Israel ….. I love her for two reasons: (1) because God loves her; and because it is in her history I learn a great deal about God. The history of the Jewish people and their nation is both rich and tragic. Its ancient history is provided in great detail in the Old Testament. Parts of it are inspiring; yet, other parts are heart-breaking. I have been a student of her history for 40 years, and I try to keep up-to-date on events affecting her on the world stage. I pray for peace in Israel.

Both the Bible and the Torah declare that God gave the land to the three Patriarchs of the Jewish people: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It testifies to the marvelous things God did in and through the Jewish people. It records the mighty things He did in delivering them to the Promised Land; the land that was to be occupied and passed down generation-by-generation.  Yet, because of the rebellion of the people, the land has been primarily controlled over history by many other nations. Some of the world powers over history which have controlled the land after the Diaspora have been: Persia (modern day Iraq), Greece, the Roman Empire, Syria, Turkey, and a host of other empire-building kingdoms. It remained under Turkish control until the end of the First World War.

Soon after World War II, the British began to experience difficulties in the region, and hundreds of thousands of Jewish Holocaust survivors and refugees wanted to leave Europe and go to the sacred place where the Jewish people had always yearned to live.  On November 29, 1947, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution which called for . . . an independent Arab State, an independent Jewish State, and the City of Jerusalem.  The City of Jerusalem was placed under an International Trustee System. On May 14, 1948, the State of Israel was reborn.

Yet, the following day, the armies of four Arab countries had launched the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. That was just the beginning; there has been stress, struggles, trauma, war, and tension since that time. Her enemies have remained the same; yet, have changed names and faces over time. I suppose there will always be tension in the region. The Bible seems to predict that.

Israel operates under a parliamentary system as a democratic republic, wherein a member of parliament supported by a parliamentary majority becomes the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister today is Benjamin Netanyahu.  As the Prime Minister, Mr. Netanyahu is the head of government and of the Cabinet.

Last week, Mr. Netanyahu’s party narrowly won the most seats in the parliamentary election. Many are suggesting the narrow election has weakened Netanyahu. I don’t think so.

I like Benjamin Netanyahu. I think he is a great leader for the Nation. He has terrific credentials; perhaps the best credentials of any individual leading any nation in the world today:

He is the first Prime Minister to have been born in the State of Israel since its founding;

He served with distinction in the Israel Defense Forces;

He was injured (gunshot) in battle defending his nation;

He led a Commando Assault team of Special Forces over a number of years and through many battles;

He was honorably discharged as a Captain;

He served as Israel’s Ambassador to the U. N. (1984 to 88); and

He is currently serving his third term as Prime Minister (the first to do this since the founder David Ben-Gurion)

One thing I really like about Mr. Netanyahu is that one never has to wonder about his position. It is always clear that he is absolutely committed to Israel and her safety. He can find the ugliness to do battle for his small nation, and makes no secret about that.  He certainly is no run-of-the-mill politician . . . he is far more concerned with standing for his nation than he is for what, today, is being called statesmanship.  He is like a modern-day David in his total commitment to Israel and her safety.

 It troubles me that today our Nation seems to be wavering in its pledge to stand along-side Israel. That has been a commitment of the USA since Israel’s re-birth.

 Personally, I still believe God’s pledge to Abraham . . . “I will bless those who bless you, and I will deal with those who plot against you.”

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