Israel In English: IFCJ: HAPPY BIRTHDAY ISRAEL

Monday, April 15, 2013

IFCJ: HAPPY BIRTHDAY ISRAEL

Dear Friend of Israel,

I love hearing people of my parents’ generation recall the establishment of the state of Israel on May 14, 1948. And when I read passages such as Amos 9:14-15 – "'I will bring my people Israel back from exile. They will rebuild the ruined cities and live in them. They will plant vineyards and drink their wine; they will make gardens and eat their fruit. I will plant Israel in their own land, never again to be uprooted from the land I have given them'" – I can’t help but think of the thriving land of Israel I am blessed to call home today.

We celebrate that land on Yom Ha'atzmaut, Israel Independence Day, which falls on April 16 this year. On this day, we remember the words penned by the Jewish leaders who gathered in Tel Aviv to announce the birth of the Jewish state. Israel, they declared, "will be open to the immigration of Jews from all countries of their dispersion; will promote the development of the country for the benefit of all its inhabitants; will be based on the precepts of liberty, justice, and peace taught by the Hebrew prophets." Further, it would "extend our hand to all neighboring states and their peoples … and appeal to them to establish bonds of cooperation and mutual help with the sovereign Jewish people."

Many of these words have come to fruition. While Israel is a Jewish state, it is a nation where freedom of religion is written into law and respected in practice. It is a democratic, multi-ethnic state where differences are addressed through an orderly – though sometimes rambunctious political process. It is a state whose founding citizens – echoing the words of the prophet Amos quoted above, and following the call of David Ben-Gurion, Israel's first Prime Minister, to "make the desert bloom” – transformed barren desert into productive farmland. It is a state that since its founding has been seeking peace and cooperation with its neighbors.

Sadly, that dream has not yet been achieved. What a tragedy it is that so many of Israel's Arab and Muslim neighbors have never accepted her offer of "establishing bonds of cooperation and mutual help." Most of those neighbors still do not even recognize Israel's existence; the Jewish state currently has full diplomatic relations only with Jordan and Egypt, and since the rise of an Islamist regime in Egypt, those relations are tenuous. Despite her efforts at peace, Israel has repeatedly had to fight to secure the independence she so boldly asserted in 1948.

It is appropriate, then, that one day prior to Israel Independence Day Israel observes Yom Ha’Zikaron, Israel Memorial Day. On this solemn day, Israel remembers the soldiers killed during her many wars, and all Israelis who have died in the ongoing and seemingly never-ending terrorist campaign against the Israeli people. More than most nations, Israel knows all too well the truth of the old adage that "freedom is not free."

Thus, next week, as we rejoice at Israel's birth, let us also remember that Israel's independence has been bought at a high price – a price paid in Jewish blood. Let us work for a future that sees Israel accepted by all as a full member of the community of nations. And let us pray for the day when God will bless His people with the precious gift of shalom, peace,