October 1, 2009

Shalom,

As Jews in Israel and around the world were fasting and praying earlier this week on Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement), Iran was conducting war games that concluded with the successful testing of a Shihab 3 missile capable of reaching Israel, Europe, and American military bases overseas. For me, these events sum up the difference between Israel and Iran: the Jews in Israel focus on cleansing ourselves, repenting and making God happy on the holiest day of the year, while Iran threatens peaceful societies with destruction and continues its pattern of violent and hateful rhetoric against God's sanctified land.

Still, I did not feel fearful when, after Yom Kippur, I read about Iran's successful missile test. All of our prayers tell us that God cherishes the just and moral nation, and that evil will not prosper. Israel is a democratic country built on a biblical foundation, a place where human rights and equality are valued. Iran focuses on war, oppression, and hate. I truly believe that God will protect Israel, because I have learned through the Bible of the sad fates that await nations that try to harm His homeland.

Throughout modern Israel's 61 years of existence we have witnessed miracles like those spoken about in the Bible. From the War of Independence in 1948, when little Israel, like David facing Goliath, won the fierce battle against the combined forces of many mighty Arab nations, to the 1967 war when our ancient Jerusalem was reunited, God has shown the world that He will not let harm come to His Holy Land. Israel need not fear Iran and its military might, because God is on our side.

By continuing with our daily lives in the face of the threat of terror and war, the people of Israel show the world that we will not be held hostage. We are surrounded by enemies—Hamas to the South, Hezbollah to the North, and Iran and Syria to the East—and yet we continue to build, work, and live as the Bible commands us to because, after 2,000 years of exile, we have finally returned to the Promised Land, the land we always dreamed of resettling.

Iran may look large and powerful. But those of us who have faith in God, who know that holiness comes from the land of Israel and that protection is provided to the Jewish nation, know the truth—there is nothing to fear but God.

With blessings from Jerusalem,
Yael