Christians United for Israel: Happy Birthday, Israel

Though 60 years later, in a very real sense, Israel is still fighting her War of Independence.

By DAVID BROG
Brog-224-88new (photo credit: )
Brog-224-88new
(photo credit: )
Sixty years ago, the world witnessed a modern miracle. The Jewish people declared their independence in their ancient homeland. After two millennia of exile, the Jewish people had come home. As we know, this miracle was not immaculate. Israel's birth was accompanied by the most horrible of birth pangs. Five Arab armies tried to crush Israel before her Declaration of Independence could be translated into the reality of independence. A rag-tag army including Holocaust survivors fresh off the boats from Europe fought back and won. But thousands of young defenders fell in the process. In a very real sense, Israel is still fighting her War of Independence. All of Israel's wars have been merely battles in Israel's larger struggle to exist as a Jewish state in the Middle East. The effort to destroy Israel which motivated those Arab armies back in 1948 still motivates Israel's fiercest enemies today. Iran, Hamas and Hezbollah don't just want to "liberate" the West Bank. They are quite clear that they share the Arab's 1948 dream of destroying Israel once and for all. After Israel's first Prime Minister, David Ben Gurion, declared Israel's independence sixty years ago, he saw Israelis dancing in the streets of Tel Aviv but could not join them. He knew, he later said, that these revelers would soon be going to war. Sixty years later, that same dread was no doubt on the minds of Israeli parents throughout the country as they watched their sons dancing and setting off fireworks. Celebrate today, yes. But tomorrow, or at some point down the road, you will probably be going off to war. Israelis dream of peace. They thirst for it like a desert wanderer thirsts for water. And the fact is that Israelis are in a desert, both physically and existentially. In Israel's neighborhood, there is very little water and very little acceptance. And like men in a desert, that pool of water that Israelis pull themselves towards sometimes turns out to be a mirage. Sometimes our leaders in Washington see these mirages from afar, and they push the Israelis forward with all of the enthusiasm of someone very new to the desert and its tricks. At this important juncture, let all of us in CUFI celebrate the miracle of Israel's birth. And let us pledge to help Israel finally win her War of Independence. Let us stand ready to ensure that our government does not pressure Israel into making concessions that she does not wish to make. And, most of all, let us pray that one day the promise of peace glistening on the horizon will not be a mirage, but will be waters deep and sweet that can quench the greatest of thirsts. For more of Brog's Blog, please visit www.cufi.org Previous entries: The truth about John Hagee Words are more powerful than weapons National Incompetence Estimate Full steam ahead A setback on Iran Annapolis Arrives A Year to go? No picnics in Gaza Constant Vigilance The fate of the Sunday People