Why the Whole World Should Celebrate Israel Independence Day

    On Earth Day 2016, 195 nations of the world met to discuss the problem of global warming.  It is lamentable that these nations did not think to look to the only country in the world that has more trees now than when it was founded, and the country with the largest per capita vegan population in the world, the State of Israel, for solutions.   While most countries are lamenting the tragic dependency of humans upon fossil fuels, one country is working to solve the problem by moving towards energy independence and new technologies that will make oil and gas obsolete.   Fringe benefits of this innovation are defunding Middle East oiligarchs who support terrorism, an economic boon to those who develop this technology, lower energy prices, and no more devastating oil spills.  As we approach the year 2020, only Israel has shown 20/20 foresight in realizing the need to end humanity’s fuelish enslavement to fossil fuels.

    The problem of terrorism was recently discussed by the Gulf Oil States at a conference held in Saudi Arabia on terrorism.  Again, if the Gulf leaders had read the Torah and looked to the Jews, the solution would be obvious.   As history has shown, and the Torah clearly states, those who bless the Jews will be blessed and those who curse the Jews will be cursed.  We do not need to rely on any supernatural causes to explain this, it may simply be that any group that mistreats educated, peace seeking, pursuers of justice, will soon go after all peace-seeking educated people and self-destruct as occurred with the Egyptians, Assyrians, Babylonians, Romans, the Tzars, the Nazis and many others.   While they all shared a love of power, which is fleeting, the Jewish people share the power of love, which is eternal.   If the Gulf oil states truly seek Democracy, stability, freedom and peace, then they should stop trying to destroy Israel and instead begin to emulate the bastion and oasis of Democracy, decency and dignity in the Middle East.

    Israel was founded by idealistic dreamers who thought they could change the world.  As Ben Gurion famously said “A Jew who does not believe in miracles is not a realist” and the Israelis have demonstrated that if we are willing to work hard for an ideal, we can make our dreams come true.  Thus, the people of Israel make the desert bloom, technology flourish, and medical breakthroughs become available not only for its citizens, but even for its enemies.

    In an age of cynicism and despair, especially as we listen to the political discourse in our country today, it is wonderful to know that one state exists whose National Anthem, Hatikvah, means “the hope” and is a place that offers hope for all mankind.   A strong Israel is not only good for the Jewish people, it is a blessing to all people who wish to visit their holy sites in a country that respects the rights of people of every race, religion or creed.

    How proud all Jews should be that Israel, while besieged by implacable, hostile, vicious enemies, who repeatedly try to destroy her and drive its inhabitants into the sea, offers medical care and life-sustaining supplies to the people of Syria, who have led the charge to destroy Israel.  Of all Israel’s impressive achievements in science, medicine, technology and self-defense, Israel’s adherence to humanitiarian ideals, championed by our prophets and still practiced today, reveal best of all, the essence of the Jewish state, as well as the Jewish state of mind.

    Yes indeed, Israel is real.    However, Israel faces two major threats besides global warming.  Israel has extremely violent neighbors.  To neutralize this external threat, the Jewish people must join the rest of the world in destroying radical Muslim terrorist groups such as Hamas and ISIS, whose name should be changed to WASWAS, and whose only state should be the state of oblivion.  The other threat to the Jewish state is more subtle.  This threat comes from those Jews who do not want to have a Jewish state, but merely a state with Jews in it.  What is the difference?  A Jewish state serves as a light to the nations and champions Jewish ideals.   It is free to criticize itself, including the unsettling actions of many settlors who are willing to settle for treating all Palestinians and even Reform Jews with contempt.   Such unchecked arrogance leads to violent acts such as the murder of Muslims in a Mosque and the assassination of Yitzchak Rabin by religious fanatics, encouraged by a climate of hate and intolerance.      

    Those who urge Israel to give up its historic mission and behave just like every other state, are asking Israel to stop being a Jewish state.  They condemn any Jews who criticize Israel.   We all know the sad fate that awaits those people or nations that are incapable of self-criticism.  Before long we see violence, despair and collapse.  

            A true Jewish state will lead the worldin solving global problems and seeking peace and justice.  Many Jews do not espouse this view of Israel.  For them survival is all that matters, and our sacred mission is forgotten along with the words of Hillel and other sages.

    Yes, Israel was founded by dreamers, who are descended from dreamers like Jacob and Joseph. These dreamers had the crazy notion that a people who lived in exile for thousands of years and were scattered across the globe could regain their homeland and for the first time in human history revive a language that had been considered dead, resurrecting it as a spoken language.  These dreamers proved the truth of Theodore Herzl’s assertion “Im tirtzu, ayn zo agadah” (If you will it, it is no dream), if you are willing to work for an ideal. 

     For a world plagued with so many tough problems, the message of Israel is needed more now more than ever.  So let us celebrate the Jewish state as well as the Jewish state of mind, and join with Jews around the world and others, to support Israel, a nation that can help mankind find its way out of darkness and into the light of freedom.