Eretz Israel is our unforgettable historic homeland...The Jews who will it shall achieve their State...And whatever we attempt there for our own benefit will redound mightily and beneficially to the good of all mankind.(Theodor Herzl, DerJudenstaat, 1896)
We offer peace and amity to all the neighbouring states and their peoples, and invite them to cooperate with the independent Jewish nation for the common good of all. The State of Israel is ready to contribute its full share to the peaceful progress and development of the Middle East.(From Proclamation of the State of Israel, 5 Iyar 5708; 14 May 1948) With a liberal democratic political system operating under the rule of law, a flourishing market economy producing technological innovation to the benefit of the wider world, and a population as educated and cultured as anywhere in Europe or North America, Israel is a normal Western country with a right to be treated as such in the community of nations.... For the global jihad, Israel may be the first objective. But it will not be the last.(Friends of Israel Initiative)
Showing posts with label Christian Zionism in the United States. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christian Zionism in the United States. Show all posts
In one of my recent Tuesday columns on Elder of Ziyon, I referred to the historical existence, and the contemporary erosion, of biblically-based philosemitism in Britain, concluding thus:
'It almost goes without saying that many a Bible reader must have identified with Israel against Pharoah and Haman, and would by extension identify with the Yishuv and with the State of Israel against their foes.
Once upon a time Scripture lessons were part and parcel of every British boy and girl’s state school education. Those days have gone, swept away by secularism and political correctness and the evident demands of a multicultural society. Also, since the twentieth-century regular church-going in England has been in decline, though not to such an extent among Catholics, whose numbers have been in recent years been bolstered by immigration from Poland.
The bottom line is that few British people are familiar with the Old Testament Scriptures any more, and, in Britain though not, it seems, in the United States, the scriptural fount of support for Jews and Israel’s cause has, regrettably, been fading.'
A survey conducted in the United States by LifeWay Research indicates that the situation in the United States does indeed remain healthier:
“No piece of literature has had more impact on American culture than the Bible,” said Scott McConnell, vice president of LifeWay Research. “No country is more intertwined with the ancient biblical narrative than Israel, and evangelical Americans see a contemporary connection with the nation.”
The survey found that:
"About 7 in 10 (69 percent) say the modern nation of Israel was formed as result of biblical prophecy. A similar number (70 percent) say God has a special relationship with the modern nation of Israel. And nearly three-fourths of evangelicals (73 percent) say events in Israel are part of the prophecies in the Book of Revelation."
General American respondents supporting Israel: reasons
However:
"While evangelicals remain convinced about a tie between Israel and God’s plans, Americans generally are less certain.
Less than half (46 percent) believe the formation of modern Israel is a fulfillment of biblical prophecy. More than a third (36 percent) disagree, while 17 percent aren’t sure.
Americans are split down the middle over whether Jews are God’s chosen people as referenced in the Bible, with just under half (46 percent) saying they agree. A similar number (44 percent) disagree, while 10 percent are not sure.
And some Americans think God was closer to ancient Israel than to the modern-day nation."
See more on the results of the research, complete with pie-charts (including one that illuminates the table I reproduce above), here
"Israel is far from the isolated and cast-off state it is made out to be. On the contrary, Israel is actually at the height of its global integration, increasingly enmeshed across diplomatic, economic and cultural fronts. Settlement construction may indeed spark outrage in European capitals and angst in the White House, but it has not stood in the way of Israel’s greater inclusion in the global economy and international institutions, as well as increased normalized diplomatic relations."
That's the upbeat message from Gabriel Scheinmann, who's a
visiting fellow at the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs in Washington, DC, in his recent, example-packed, worth-reading account here.
And to continue the theme of the isolation trend bucked, although Israel is demonised on so many campuses in the English-speaking world, it's delightful to see a student, and a non-Jewish student at that, organising a fightback. Here's an interview with 19-year-old Chloé Valdary, a Christian African-American sophomore at the University of New Orleans,concerning her ardent support of Israel:
And here(hat tip: readers Ian and Shirlee) is a heart-warming article focusing on the valiant Chloé, who has formed the group "Allies of Israel" since, as she so feelingly put it in her rousing speech,
”anti-Semitism is rising, ladies and gentlemen. Jew-hatred is spreading. That thing we said would never happen again is happening. In Europe, in Hungary, Britain, Spain anti-Semitism has increased. Last year there were 386 anti-Semitic acts in France alone. Up 45 per cent from the previous year. In the Middle East Mein Kampf is a bestseller, and Hitler is routinely praised...."
All praise and gratitude to Chloé (the name of a shepherdess in celebrated pastoral poetry, of course) and her flock as they counter the BDS movement and other manifestations of Israel-hatred on campus.
