My friend who helps me write and edit my work, Mike, asks “With so much violence and hatred, why do American citizens move to live in Israel ‘on purpose'”? I answer with my own family story. My father wore out a record with songs by Irish lyric Tenor John McCormack who crooned a tune, “Sure, a little bit of heaven fell from out the sky one day, And it nestled in the ocean in a spot so far away And when the angels found it, sure it looked so sweet and fair They said suppose we leave it, for it looks so peaceful there…” My father, a first generation American, cherished the dream of “returning to Ireland.” He planted that idea in me and I did go and I loved it… “this is my homeland, I whispered in Shannon airport.” For my father, Ireland was heaven. To go there was the dream of his life. For the Jews who have survived for centuries reading the Old Testament stories of God’s promising them the land, Israel is “their country.” They died for Israel with the word “Israel” on their lips. … Palestinians always lived there… farmers, many in tents, wandering to find grass for their herds. For Jews, Israel is “the Biblical Holy Land.” The Old Testament tells the story of how God promised the land to Abraham and his descendants. While the Jews were in exile in Babylon and then later dispersed by the Romans who colonized the land (the dispersion called the Jewish diaspora) Jewish prayer was, “Next year in Jerusalem.” Jews wait in Jerusalem for their savior. “According to the Midrash, the earthly Jerusalem is the place where God will arrive even before reaching the heavenly Jerusalem. As the Midrash imagines God saying, ‘I will not come into the city of Jerusalem that is above until I first come into the city of Jerusalem that is below.’” (Dasee Berkowitz 2013) “By the rivers of Babylon, there we wept as we remembered Zion.” (Psalm 137) The dream to return to Israel survived the Babylonian exile, the Russian Pograms, and the German Killing camps. For centuries, with Jews dispersed over Russia, Europe, and the regions of old mesopotamia, the Ottoman Turks controlled a great part of the middle East until the end of WWI when the Turks (some of modern day Turkey, Egypt, and much of what is southern Russia), who supported Germany, lost to mostly British fighters. Some “countries” (Palestine has never been considered a country) gained independence in 1922 after WWI. Governing of the remnants (Palestine) passed to the League of Nations, and the League turned the governing of the Jews and Arabs remaining in Palestine over to Britain because Britain previously had control of or defeated the Turks in Egypt, Persia, India, Afganistan, Trans Jordan, the Sinai and more. There was no provision for the future of Palestine. Arabs were shepherds, they roamed the land, and many never set up “governments,” rather they were ruled for centuries by Sultans and kings who didn’t develop governments like the west did. With the British “Mandate,” attempts to set up a government with an Arab majority were soundly rejected and finally on May 14, 1948, as Britian pulled out, David Ben Gurian led the declaration of Israel’s independence. Jews declared Israel their homeland and the fighting began.
The Jews from concentration camps and from various hiding places in Europe traveled “home” towards Zion / Israel…Meanwhile the Temple mount has gone back and forth between Jews and Arabs: The Temple originally built by Solomon in 957BC and rebuilt under patronage of King Cyrus in 515BC was destroyed in 70 AD. The Rock was taken by Arabs (Mohammed went to heaven from the rock in 691AD) and retaken by Jews in 1967. When I went to Jerusalem we were allowed to tour the holy site which was guarded by Jewish soldiers. Jews will not go any further than the western wall of the temple which is sacred to Jews. Meanwhile…. Jesus celebrated Jewish feasts in the Jewish Temple, and he was crucified, buried, and Resurrected in Jerusalem (actually outside the wall as crucifixions took place outside the Jerusalem walls). Queen Helena of Greece, Mother of Constantine, found the sites of the crucifixion and burial and built churches over them. Those churches are shared by the Christian church as beloved sites in the life and death of Jesus. We also travel on pilgrimage to Nazareth and other sites written about in the Gospels.
So now, my dear Mike, why live in Jerusalem? Why Live in Israel? Each faith will answer according to their belief: for me, I cherish the weeks I spent in the Holy Land… Because Jesus lived there. His blood was shed there. Walking the streets of Jerusalem is the same for me as walking down the aisle of a church. Jesus walks here. This fervor is over 5000 years deep for Jews who will tell you Abraham walked up Mount Moriah with his son Issac. It is 2000 years deep for Christians. Fight for Jerusalem? Yes. And Pray for Jerusalem. House of Peace. Peace in your heart Mike.