June 2 is Jerusalem Day, commemorating the liberation of the Holy City during the Six Day War in 1967. That year, Israel faced a terrible choice. She could wait for an invasion from the massed forces of multiple Arab countries that had declared their intention of destroying her, or make a pre-emptive strike in self-defense. She chose to strike. The resulting battles led to stunning victories over her enemies, and the reunification of Jerusalem under Israeli rule.

Since 1948, when Jordan responded to Israel’s declaration of independence by invading the West Bank and East Jerusalem, Jerusalem had been divided. Jews had been denied access to many religious sites, including the Western Wall, the holiest site in all Judaism. When Israeli troops came into East Jerusalem during 1967, they were reclaiming the city that had been their spiritual capital since biblical times.

The story of Jerusalem’s reunification is best told by those who experienced it. Today, I want to let one of those people speak. Yoske “Balagan” Schwartz, who came to Israel with his parents in 1932, was a member of an elite paratrooper unit in 1967. In last year’s Jerusalem Post he gave his account of that fateful time.

When his commanding officer said to him, “You the veterans will get a special prize… You will get to free the Western Wall,” Yoske’s place in one of the pivotal events in 20th century history was assured. But the “special prize” came at a high cost – a cost paid in Israeli blood. As Yoske puts it, “The Jordanian soldiers knew the place well, and were some of the best fighters I’d ever seen… [They] fought to the death. We fought for hours, and many died.”

When the Jordanian troops were finally beaten back, Yoske and his friends found themselves in an ironic situation. They were Jews, having to ask local residents for directions to the holiest place of their faith! “I remember that we were trying to get to the Western Wall and we didn’t know where it was,” he says. “With difficulty we found it, we didn’t know the place, we had to ask Arabs, ‘Where is the place that Jews used to cry to many years ago?’ One Arab said he would show us.”

Approaching the Western Wall (known in Hebrew as the Kotel) a fellow soldier asked, “Yoske, do you know what it cost us to get this back?” It is then that the impact of the battle began to sink in. Many of the men who fought bravely alongside Yoske had been killed. But Yoske would have little time to mourn or rest. Already his commanders were gathering him and his men to take them to northern Israel, where fighting was still raging with the Syrians. But before they left, Yoske and some of his friends found a moment to pray. It is a moment forever emblazoned in his memory.

“Forty years have passed and I still haven’t forgotten it,” he says. “I remember suddenly tens of thousands of Jews – young, old, men and women, were all running to the Western Wall, crying and hugging us and calling us heroes. We didn’t feel like heroes, but we cried and prayed with them… On the one hand, so many of my friends had been killed. But on the other hand, sitting in front of the Western Wall, I felt Jerusalem. I always say that I had once thought, ‘Who are these people with streimels and payot [the fur hat and side curls worn by many Orthodox Jewish men]? I’m not like them, I’m a new Israeli man.’ But when I got to the Kotel I understood that I was just a Jew. It was an amazing feeling.”

It is because of the bravery of men like Yoske that people of all faiths may visit and worship freely in an undivided Jerusalem — a Jerusalem that is free precisely because it is under Israeli rule and governed by the democratic principles of religious freedom and personal liberty. The psalmist said, “If I forget you O Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its skill.” As we do every year at this time, let us resolve never to forget this ancient, holy city, sacred to Jews, Christians, and Muslims alike — the capital of Jewish life and culture for over 3,000 years. And let us continue to pray for the peace of Jerusalem.

With prayers for shalom, peace,

Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein
President – International Fellowship of Christians and Jews

ISRAEL PRIME MINISTER SAYS IT IS “DELUSIONAL” TO BELIEVE IN “GREATER ISRAEL”

It is delusional, in the current situation, to cling to a vision of ‘Greater Israel,’ according to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert who spoke to the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on Monday, shedding light on his reasoning for discussing the giveaway of the Golan Heights and West Bank.

“Today we face the choice between Greater Israel and a Jewish nation – the two are mutually exclusive. They only exist together in the minds of deluded fantasists who misconstrue reality,” he said.

The prime minister said secrecy was of the utmost importance surrounding talks such as ceding control of 91 percent of the West Bank to the Palestinians and giving the Golan Heights to Syria.

“I initiated this move in February 2007, with a record of four predecessors who went to Damascus and committed to painful concessions, and let no one put me to the test on proving those commitments – they are all accounted for.”

“I was one of those who thought the two-state solution was wrong, but that was a mistake,” he said regarding the Palestinians. “Most today understand that the choice is between two states for two peoples or one state in which all have an equal right to vote.”

Knesset Member Limor Livnat said that the only thing delusional was a prime minister at the end of his political career who can receive envelops of cash and hold talks on the return of the Golan Heights, referring to an ongoing investigation that Olmert took bribes.

Parliamentarian Effie Eitam said the committee would not fall for Olmert’s “cunning” words: “His slickness will be of no help to him, we all remember how he brought Hamas to Gaza and Hizballah to Lebanon and now he is plotting to bring Iran to the Golan Heights. He must be stopped, in the political arena and perhaps the criminal one.”

(EDITOR’S NOTE: PM Olmert mentioned specifically that Jewish and Christian Zionists are “delusional” in believing that God meant in the Bible for the Jews to have the land which He promised them! It is Olmert who is very “delusional” – imagine a Jewish Prime Minister of Israel publicly rebuking those who believe the everlasting covenant and eternal promises of the LORD GOD of Israel listed in the Bible Mr. Olmert pledged to believe!!!! May God urge all who love the State of Israel and the LORD GOD of Israel to pray earnestly that Mr. Olmert be removed from office and that a Prime Minister who believes in the Bible’s eternal covenant with the Jewish people be voted into office as Prime Minister.)

IRANIAN CONFERENCE TO FOCUS ON “ISRAEL’S END”
by Ezra HaLevi

An Iranian university is holding an international conference on the liquidation of the Jewish state, according to Iran’s state run news service.

“Iranian Justice Seeking University Students Movement and University Students Mobilization Basij will jointly sponsor International Conference on Israel’s End on May 26th, 2008,” the government-run IRNA News Agency reported.

“The timing of the conference is adjusted to coincide with the sad 60th anniversary of Palestine’s occupation by the Zionists,” organizers told IRNA.

The organizers said guests of the conference will include “intellectuals and university professors from Egypt, Venezuela, Morocco, Lebanon, Indonesia, THE UNITED STATES, Pakistan, Argentina, India, Iraq, Syria, Chile, Saudi Arabia, Algeria, France, Tunisia, and a number of other countries.”

The conference literature states that the conference will deal with supporting the various PA Arab terrorist organizations and issues surrounding the “upcoming downfall” of Israel.

OLMER ANNOUNCES TOUGH CONCESSIONS AHEAD IN TALKS WITH SYRIA
by Hana Levi Julian

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Wednesday night that more tough concessions may be in store for the Israeli public, this time due to negotiations with Syria, which are due to begin within the next two weeks.

Olmert said Wednesday night in a speech at an education event in Tel Aviv that the resumption of negotiations with Damascus after an eight-year hiatus was “exciting, but more importantly, it is a national duty which we must exploit to the fullest.”

He observed that the northern border is currently the major potential flashpoint for a future conflict, and said, “It is always better to talk, than shoot!”

Olmert said his predecessors in the Prime Minister’s Office were “willing to make far-reaching concessions to achieve peace with Syria.” Although he acknowledged there were no guarantees, he said, “I have reached the conclusion that the chance in this case is greater than the risk and with this hope we have set forth on our way.”

He added that the talks could lead to “concessions which will not be simple” but did not elaborate further.

Mayors of communities in the Golan Heights held an emergency meeting following the announcement. The head of the Golan Regional Council, Eli Malka, commented, “We will not let a Prime Minister who is motivated by foreign considerations to hand over a stretch of land to the Axis of Evil and endanger our very existence.”

Officials confirmed earlier in the day that Israel and Syria will begin indirect talks brokered by Turkey in two weeks.

The Prime Minister’s Office issued a statement saying the two sides declared their intention “to conduct the talks without prejudice and with openness… to conduct the dialogue in a serious and continuous manner with the aim of reaching a comprehensive peace.”

Almost immediately, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem claimed that Israel had agreed to withdraw from the Golan Heights, back to the June 4th,1967 border.

Shortly afterwards, officials in Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s office denied the claim, saying “Syria knows exactly what Israel demands of it, and Israel knows what Syria expects it to do.”

Meanwhile, National Union/National Religious Party Knesset Member Eliyahu Gabbai announced that he is rushing a bill that will require a two-thirds majority in the Knesset before any Israeli leader could hand over any part of the Golan Heights. The bill had already been signed by 57 Knesset Members by late afternoon.

Likud lawmakers accused Olmert of carrying out “a cynical and transparent stunt in order to deflect attention from his personal problems.” In a statement released to the media, Likud said the Prime Minister “has no moral and public mandate to hand over the Golan and bring the Syrians back to the Sea of Galilee.”

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon welcomed the news from the Middle East. In a statement issued at the UN headquarters in New York, Ban said that he “praises President [Bashar] Assad and Prime Minister Olmert for taking this important step, and thanks Turkish Prime Minister [Recep Tayyip] Erdogan for his efforts.”

The Legal Forum for the Land of Israel demanded that the Prime Minister cease all diplomatic contact with Syria regarding the Golan Heights while the investigation against him in the matter of illegal cash payments continues.

In an urgent letter to Attorney-General Menachem Mazuz, the Forum’s legal adviser, attorney Yitzchak Bam, claimed that the timing of the announcement was “no coincidence at all” and asked Mazuz to direct Olmert to stop the negotiations.

“There is a deep concern that the purported advance in the diplomatic talks was intended to divert the public’s attention from the Prime Minister’s new criminal entanglement,” Bam wrote. He contended that the Prime Minister was caught in a conflict of interest, “between his public responsibility as Prime Minister and his personal interest to fill the public agenda with matters that will push the corruption and investigations to the sidelines.”

National Union/National Religious Party Knesset Member Zevulun Orlev told Arutz Sheva that “without a doubt” negotiations with Syria “are causing Israel grave damage, because in order to save his skin [Olmert] is prepared to make far-reaching diplomatic concessions.”

Orlev predicted that a “diplomatic breakthrough” would soon be announced on the Judea and Samaria front as well, for the same reason. The practical step which should be taken now, he added, is to send Turkey a clear message that the current negotiations are being conducted with a “political lame duck.”

A very alarming decision on the part of current Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has taken place – secret talks with Syria over the strategic area called “The GOLAN.”

SYRIA AND ISRAEL ANNOUNCE: “WE’RE TALKING UNOFFICIALLY!”
by Hillel Fendel (Israel National News)

Israel and Syria issued similar announcements almost simultaneously around noon today (Wednesday), declaring the opening of unofficial talks between them.

Israel and Syria have never had diplomatic relations, and have been in a state of war ever since 1948. In 1967, Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria, which had used the area for years to pound Israeli towns below with deadly rockets. These attacks killed 140 Israelis, wounded many more, and inflicted heavy property damage.

Since 1967, Syria has always demanded the full return of the Golan as a precondition for peace.

The Syrian declaration today that it has begun unofficial talks with Israel under Turkish auspices, with “the goal of reaching full peace in accordance with the principles reached at the Madrid Conference [in the mid-1980’s],” is seen as an indication that Israel has, in fact, agreed to withdraw to the pre-1967 border.

This jibes with Olmert’s lack of denial, last month, of Turkish reports that he had agreed to give over the entire Golan to Syria.

Such a withdrawal would mean that Israel would lose not only the strategic depth and water sources of the Golan, but would not even control the northeast perimeter of the Kinneret Sea (Sea of Galilee).

“The Nation is With the Golan” – by 4-1
The War and Peace Index of last month – a survey of 600 Israeli adults conducted by the B. I. Cohen Institute of Tel Aviv University – found that a whopping 75% of Israelis oppose an Israeli withdrawal from all of the Golan Heights for a full peace treaty with Syria, whereas only 19% favor this.

Governmental talk of giving away the Golan in 1996 and 1999-2000 was repressed by widespread popular national campaigns against it. In the mid-90’s, thousands of banners and a million stickers reading “HaAm Im HaGolan” (The Nation is With the Golan) graced porches, billboards and cars throughout the country. In January 2000, some 300,000 people took part in one of the largest demonstrations in Israeli history, calling on then-Prime Minister Ehud Barak not to withdraw the IDF from the Golan Heights.

It is known that United States is not enthusiastic about bringing terrorism-backing Syria into the circle of accepted nations. U.S. President George Bush visited Israel last week, and Prime Minister Olmert is set to pay a return visit two weeks from now. it is assumed that the topic of Syria is a signficant issue on their joint agenda.

Israeli negotiators Yoram Turbovitz and Shalom Turjeman have been meeting in Turkey with senior Syrian officials for the past three days.

The political establishment attacked Olmert for the timing of the announcement, as he is currently under intense political investigation for possible major financial crimes. Even Deputy Prime Minister Eli Yishai (Shas) said, “Syria is still the seat of the axis of evil, and I’m not certain that it’s a good idea to give Israel’s northern front over to the axis of evil… Olmert himself said in the past that as long as Syria continues to hold its same positions, we shouldn’t talk with them – so what has changed now?”

Likud MKs, predictably, were much harsher. Together with the National Union and Israel Our Home, they demanded an immediate Knesset session on the matter, even as early as today.

Likud MK Gilad Erdan said the Prime Minister “is prepared to sell everything” in order to protect himself from police investigation. MK Yisrael Katz stated there is a clear majority in the Knesset against surrendering the Golan Heights, and MK Limor Livnat said Olmert has no “moral mandate” to conduct such talks with Syria.

“There are no limits to [Olmert’s] cynicism,” charged Likud faction chairman MK Gideon Saar. “He is playing around with the security of the country by agreeing to indirect talks with Syria.”

On the political left, Meretz MK Zahava Gal’on said she supports talks with Syria, but agrees that Olmert does not have the mandate to do it. Labor MK Shelly Yechimovitch expressed similar sentiments. Labor’s Eitan Cabel said talks with Syria must be held no matter who the Prime Minister is.

MK Nissan Slomiansky (National Religious Party ) asserted that the Prime Minister’s statement proves that the criminal probe is reaching a critical stage.

PRESIDENT BUSH ADDRESSES MEMBERS OF THE KNESSET
Thursday, May 15, 2008

The Knesset, Jerusalem

THE PRESIDENT: President Peres and Mr. Prime Minister, Madam Speaker, thank you very much for hosting this special session. President Beinish, Leader of the Opposition Netanyahu, Ministers, members of the Knesset, distinguished guests: Shalom. Laura and I are thrilled to be back in Israel. We have been deeply moved by the celebrations of the past two days. And this afternoon, I am honored to stand before one of the world’s great democratic assemblies and convey the wishes of the American people with these words: Yom Ha’atzmaut Sameach.

It is a rare privilege for the American President to speak to the Knesset. Although the Prime Minister told me there is something even rarer — to have just one person in this chamber speaking at a time. My only regret is that one of Israel’s greatest leaders is not here to share this moment. He is a warrior for the ages, a man of peace, a friend. The prayers of the American people are with Ariel Sharon.

We gather to mark a momentous occasion. Sixty years ago in Tel Aviv, David Ben-Gurion proclaimed Israel’s independence, founded on the “natural right of the Jewish people to be masters of their own fate.” What followed was more than the establishment of a new country. It was the redemption of an ancient promise given to Abraham and Moses and David — a homeland for the chosen people – Eretz Yisrael.

Eleven minutes later, on the orders of President Harry Truman, the United States was proud to be the first nation to recognize Israel’s independence. And on this landmark anniversary, America is proud to be Israel’s closest ally and best friend in the world.

The alliance between our governments is unbreakable, yet the source of our friendship runs deeper than any treaty. It is grounded in the shared spirit of our people, the bonds of the Book, the ties of the soul. When William Bradford stepped off the Mayflower in 1620, he quoted the words of Jeremiah: “Come let us declare in Zion the word of God.” The founders of my country saw a new promised land and bestowed upon their towns names like Bethlehem and New Canaan. And in time, many Americans became passionate advocates for a Jewish state.

Centuries of suffering and sacrifice would pass before the dream was fulfilled. The Jewish people endured the agony of the pogroms, the tragedy of the Great War, and the horror of the Holocaust — what Elie Wiesel called “the kingdom of the night.” Soulless men took away lives and broke apart families. Yet they could not take away the spirit of the Jewish people, and they could not break the promise of God. When news of Israel’s freedom finally arrived, Golda Meir, a fearless woman raised in Wisconsin, could summon only tears. She later said: “For two thousand years we have waited for our deliverance. Now that it is here it is so great and wonderful that it surpasses human words.”

The joy of independence was tempered by the outbreak of battle, a struggle that has continued for six decades. Yet in spite of the violence, in defiance of the threats, Israel has built a thriving democracy in the heart of the Holy Land. You have welcomed immigrants from the four corners of the Earth. You have forged a free and modern society based on the love of liberty, a passion for justice, and a respect for human dignity. You have worked tirelessly for peace. You have fought valiantly for freedom.

My country’s admiration for Israel does not end there. When Americans look at Israel, we see a pioneer spirit that worked an agricultural miracle and now leads a high-tech revolution. We see world-class universities and a global leader in business and innovation and the arts. We see a resource more valuable than oil or gold: the talent and determination of a free people who refuse to let any obstacle stand in the way of their destiny.

I have been fortunate to see the character of Israel up close. I have touched the Western Wall, seen the sun reflected in the Sea of Galilee, I have prayed at Yad Vashem. And earlier today, I visited Masada, an inspiring monument to courage and sacrifice. At this historic site, Israeli soldiers swear an oath: “Masada shall never fall again.” Citizens of Israel: Masada shall never fall again, and America will be at your side.

This anniversary is a time to reflect on the past. It’s also an opportunity to look to the future. As we go forward, our alliance will be guided by clear principles — shared convictions rooted in moral clarity and unswayed by popularity polls or the shifting opinions of international elites.

We believe in the matchless value of every man, woman, and child. So we insist that the people of Israel have the right to a decent, normal, and peaceful life, just like the citizens of every other nation.

We believe that democracy is the only way to ensure human rights. So we consider it a source of shame that the United Nations routinely passes more human rights resolutions against the freest democracy in the Middle East than any other nation in the world.

We believe that religious liberty is fundamental to a civilized society. So we condemn anti-Semitism in all forms — whether by those who openly question Israel’s right to exist, or by others who quietly excuse them.

We believe that free people should strive and sacrifice for peace. So we applaud the courageous choices Israeli’s leaders have made. We also believe that nations have a right to defend themselves and that no nation should ever be forced to negotiate with killers pledged to its destruction.

We believe that targeting innocent lives to achieve political objectives is always and everywhere wrong. So we stand together against terror and extremism, and we will never let down our guard or lose our resolve.

The fight against terror and extremism is the defining challenge of our time. It is more than a clash of arms. It is a clash of visions, a great ideological struggle. On the one side are those who defend the ideals of justice and dignity with the power of reason and truth. On the other side are those who pursue a narrow vision of cruelty and control by committing murder, inciting fear, and spreading lies.

This struggle is waged with the technology of the 21st century, but at its core it is an ancient battle between good and evil. The killers claim the mantle of Islam, but they are not religious men. No one who prays to the God of Abraham could strap a suicide vest to an innocent child, or blow up guiltless guests at a Passover Seder, or fly planes into office buildings filled with unsuspecting workers. In truth, the men who carry out these savage acts serve no higher goal than their own desire for power. They accept no God before themselves. And they reserve a special hatred for the most ardent defenders of liberty, including Americans and Israelis.

And that is why the founding charter of Hamas calls for the “elimination” of Israel. And that is why the followers of Hezbollah chant “Death to Israel, Death to America!” That is why Osama bin Laden teaches that “the killing of Jews and Americans is one of the biggest duties.” And that is why the President of Iran dreams of returning the Middle East to the Middle Ages and calls for Israel to be wiped off the map.

There are good and decent people who cannot fathom the darkness in these men and try to explain away their words. It’s natural, but it is deadly wrong. As witnesses to evil in the past, we carry a solemn responsibility to take these words seriously. Jews and Americans have seen the consequences of disregarding the words of leaders who espouse hatred. And that is a mistake the world must not repeat in the 21st century.

Some seem to believe that we should negotiate with the terrorists and radicals, as if some ingenious argument will persuade them they have been wrong all along. We have heard this foolish delusion before. As Nazi tanks crossed into Poland in 1939, an American senator declared: “Lord, if I could only have talked to Hitler, all this might have been avoided.” We have an obligation to call this what it is — the false comfort of appeasement, which has been repeatedly discredited by history.

Some people suggest if the United States would just break ties with Israel, all our problems in the Middle East would go away. This is a tired argument that buys into the propaganda of the enemies of peace, and America utterly rejects it. Israel’s population may be just over 7 million. But when you confront terror and evil, you are 307 million strong, because the United States of America stands with you.

America stands with you in breaking up terrorist networks and denying the extremists sanctuary. America stands with you in firmly opposing Iran’s nuclear weapons ambitions. Permitting the world’s leading sponsor of terror to possess the world’s deadliest weapons would be an unforgivable betrayal for future generations. For the sake of peace, the world must not allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon.

Ultimately, to prevail in this struggle, we must offer an alternative to the ideology of the extremists by extending our vision of justice and tolerance and freedom and hope. These values are the self-evident right of all people, of all religions, in all the world because they are a gift from the Almighty God. Securing these rights is also the surest way to secure peace. Leaders who are accountable to their people will not pursue endless confrontation and bloodshed. Young people with a place in their society and a voice in their future are less likely to search for meaning in radicalism. Societies where citizens can express their conscience and worship their God will not export violence, they will be partners in peace.

The fundamental insight, that freedom yields peace, is the great lesson of the 20th century. Now our task is to apply it to the 21st. Nowhere is this work more urgent than here in the Middle East. We must stand with the reformers working to break the old patterns of tyranny and despair. We must give voice to millions of ordinary people who dream of a better life in a free society. We must confront the moral relativism that views all forms of government as equally acceptable and thereby consigns whole societies to slavery. Above all, we must have faith in our values and ourselves and confidently pursue the expansion of liberty as the path to a peaceful future.

That future will be a dramatic departure from the Middle East of today. So as we mark 60 years from Israel’s founding, let us try to envision the region 60 years from now. This vision is not going to arrive easily or overnight; it will encounter violent resistance. But if we and future Presidents and future Knessets maintain our resolve and have faith in our ideals, here is the Middle East that we can see:

Israel will be celebrating the 120th anniversary as one of the world’s great democracies, a secure and flourishing homeland for the Jewish people. The Palestinian people will have the homeland they have long dreamed of and deserved — a democratic state that is governed by law, and respects human rights, and rejects terror. From Cairo to Riyadh to Baghdad and Beirut, people will live in free and independent societies, where a desire for peace is reinforced by ties of diplomacy and tourism and trade. Iran and Syria will be peaceful nations, with today’s oppression a distant memory and where people are free to speak their minds and develop their God-given talents. Al Qaeda and Hezbollah and Hamas will be defeated, as Muslims across the region recognize the emptiness of the terrorists’ vision and the injustice of their cause.

Overall, the Middle East will be characterized by a new period of tolerance and integration. And this doesn’t mean that Israel and its neighbors will be best of friends. But when leaders across the region answer to their people, they will focus their energies on schools and jobs, not on rocket attacks and suicide bombings. With this change, Israel will open a new hopeful chapter in which its people can live a normal life, and the dream of Herzl and the founders of 1948 can be fully and finally realized.

This is a bold vision, and some will say it can never be achieved. But think about what we have witnessed in our own time. When Europe was destroying itself through total war and genocide, it was difficult to envision a continent that six decades later would be free and at peace. When Japanese pilots were flying suicide missions into American battleships, it seemed impossible that six decades later Japan would be a democracy, a lynchpin of security in Asia, and one of America’s closest friends. And when waves of refugees arrived here in the desert with nothing, surrounded by hostile armies, it was almost unimaginable that Israel would grow into one of the freest and most successful nations on the earth.

Yet each one of these transformations took place. And a future of transformation is possible in the Middle East, so long as a new generation of leaders has the courage to defeat the enemies of freedom, to make the hard choices necessary for peace, and stand firm on the solid rock of universal values.

Sixty years ago, on the eve of Israel’s independence, the last British soldiers departing Jerusalem stopped at a building in the Jewish quarter of the Old City. An officer knocked on the door and met a senior rabbi. The officer presented him with a short iron bar — the key to the Zion Gate — and said it was the first time in 18 centuries that a key to the gates of Jerusalem had belonged to a Jew. His hands trembling, the rabbi offered a prayer of thanksgiving to God, “Who had granted us life and permitted us to reach this day.” Then he turned to the officer, and uttered the words Jews had awaited for so long: “I accept this key in the name of my people.”

Over the past six decades, the Jewish people have established a state that would make that humble rabbi proud. You have raised a modern society in the Promised Land, a light unto the nations that preserves the legacy of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob. And you have built a mighty democracy that will endure forever and can always count on the United States of America to be at your side. God bless.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ISRAEL – YOU ARE 60 YEARS OLD TODAY!

Isaiah 66:8 -“Who hath heard such a thing? Who hath seen such thing? Shall the earth be made to bringforth IN ONE DAY? or shall a NATION be BORN AT ONCE? for as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children.”

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ISRAEL – YOU ARE 60 YEARS OLD TODAY!

Jeremiah 31:35-37 – “Thus saith th LORD, which giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar; The LORD of hosts is His Name! If those ordinances depart from before Me, saith the LORD, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a NATION beforeMe forever. Thus saith the LORD; If heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of ISRAEL for all that they have done, saith the LORD.”

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ISRAEL – YOU ARE 60 YEARS OLD TODAY!

The mood in Israel has shifted from the somber remembrances of its Memorial Day – to the joy of celebrating its national birthday! In synagogues today, Rabbis will read Isaiah 11-12, wonderful Messianic prophecies that remind all Jews around the world that the only hope for the continued survival and success of the NATION of ISRAEL is complete faith and trust in the promises and plan of HaShem – the LORD GOD of ISRAEL and His promised Messiah!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ISRAEL – YOU ARE 60 YEARS OLD TODAY!

Genesis 12:2-3 – “And I will make of thee a great NATION, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.”

Genesis 17:7-8 – “And I will establish My covenant between Me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an EVERLASTING COVENANT, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee. And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, ALL THE LAND OF CANAAN, for an EVERLASTING POSSESSION, and I will be their God.”

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ISRAEL, YOU ARE 60 YEARS OLD TODAY!