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Israel Celebrates 61 Years

…For the Lord has chosen Jacob for Himself, Israel for His special treasure.

Blessed be the Lord out of Zion, who dwells in Jerusalem. (Ps: 135: 4 & 21, NKJV).

I have the privilege to write this blog from Jerusalem. On Wednesday April 29, Israel celebrated its 61^st year as an Independent nation in accordance with the Jewish calendar. On the night before Independence Day, I walked the crowded streets to take in the scenes of a people doing all manner of things to add flavor to their celebrations. The activities ranged from singers and live musical bands charging the air with their melodies in Hebrew, to the somber, yet beautiful sound which came from the harp, several young men and a lone female performing shadow boxing and two ladies colourfully dressed dancing without any music. The stores were alight and vendors sold all manner of toys and food; children, men: old and young, with women besides were everywhere. There were many people from all parts of the world who were also in the streets. Israel has the right to celebrate, it is fitting for us to wish this nation peace as she strives to exist in her ancient homeland, for it was the Lord Himself who brought back the captivity of Zion (Ps 126:1).

The Challenges to Israel's Survival

In accordance to the Western calendar Israel declared Independence on May 14,1948, when the British Mandate expired. The next day, on May 15, five Arab Sates invaded this country and in their wake two of them seized territory. Egypt took possession of Gaza, whereas Jordan seized Judea and Samaria commonly known as the West Bank. Nineteen years later there was a second Arab-Israeli war and unlike 1948, Israel now a stronger nation did not lose territory to her enemies, but regained her losses of 1948 along with the Golan Heights.

Consequently, the Arab community has been angered by this outcome and so they have used their natural resources (mostly oil) as leverage to get the West to come to terms with its demand. They demand the return of the lost territories and more… mostly they are ultimately unwilling to make any concessions to the Jewish State. The continued existence of the Jewish State ultimately represents a zero sum game. Whereby, the Arabs would have to lose something so that Israel can remain as a country, a distinct people in the region. Furthermore, the Islamic ideology does not allow for this status quo. How can they justify ceding territory to one they hate?

As it stands now, most of the peace initiatives and concessions are demanded of the Israeli side. The events of the past four years have shown that such yielding for the sake of peace from Israel have been insufficient. It must be noted that Israel has given in on numerous occasions to Arab demands but because of this strategy, in an attempt to make peace, she is perceived as weak and has made the demands from the other side more daring. The removal of Jews from Gaza and elsewhere has compromised Israel's security. Meanwhile, the leader of the Fatah in the Palestinian Arab community, Mahmoud Abbas on Monday April 27, 2009, in an Anniversary message to Israel told his young people that 'he does not accept the Jewish State'. According to the international community Abbas is perceived as moderate. History has shown that the policy of appeasement brought about WWW11 and when done today, gets the same results; war! It is that same policy which has prolonged the Arab-Israeli conflict in the region. The hard core fact is that the Jews are not going anywhere. The time has come for the Arabs to concede this fact!

Solutions for Israel's future include the following:

• The Arab community must recognize Israel's right to exist as a legitimate Jewish State. This would be precisely as the Arabs in Palestine desire to be recognized by the Jews
• To make peace Israel must have a Palestinian partner who is willing to recognize her and willing to make concessions to her on a reciprocal basis.
• The international community and the Arabs must cease using the Question of the Refugees as a political tool.
• The international community cannot burry its head in the sand when it comes to negotiating peace between the two sides. Israel is a democracy… Hamas rules by terror. Would they take responsibility for creating a "Greater Gaza," by bringing Judea and Samaria under its influence? (The ways of men…)

In closing, the following are remarks from the President of Israel.

"Judging by our size, we are a small state, and judging by the magnitude of the challenges before us, we are a superpower in and of itself," President Shimon Peres said at the ceremony.

"There is no country in the world that has been attacked seven times in 60 years of existence," Peres said. Israel stands before existential threats, ostracism, and wars but it will enter the history books as a miracle, as proof that it is possible to do beyond what is expected and beyond what is extant."

(Source: Haaretz Service, Haaretz.com. Netanyahu: Israel to do all in its power to bring Shalit home, http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1081841.html).

Cherub A. Nicholls

 

 

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