{"id":42231,"date":"2018-04-21T19:12:10","date_gmt":"2018-04-22T01:12:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/?p=42231"},"modified":"2018-04-21T19:12:10","modified_gmt":"2018-04-22T01:12:10","slug":"op-ed-the-miracle-of-israel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/op-ed-the-miracle-of-israel\/","title":{"rendered":"OP-ED: The miracle of Israel"},"content":{"rendered":"

By ALAN SMASON<\/p>\n

Ever since I can remember, there has always been the State of Israel. From the time I was a small child in nursery school, through elementary, middle, high school and beyond, there has always been a homeland for the Jewish people.<\/p>\n

For my parents’ generation and those before them, that was not the case.<\/p>\n

These days it’s easy to forget that the Zionist dream of Theodor Herzl was born of discontent at the tail end of the 19th century and that he had died 44 years before it came to fruition. Jews struggled through two world wars, a promise from other world powers and the Holocaust before they declared independence amidst a sea of enemies and abandonment from the protectorate of Great Britain, setting themselves on a course that would decide their own fate. <\/p>\n

With few armaments, this ragtag group of long-established Zionist settlers joined with recently-arrived Holocaust survivors and others seeking sanctuary as they fought the combined might of the Arab world that massed against them. Despite overwheliming odds, they established a tiny nation as a true homeland for the Jews and instituted a land that would also guarantee rights for the Arabs and other non-Jews who lived under its protection. The Jews have long referred to this bloody conflict as the War for Independence. The Arabs have called it the Nakba, or “catastrophe.”<\/p>\n

This week we all celebrated the amazing story of a land built over the course of seven decades that remains resolute and strong despite being challenged again and again. We applauded this tiny country – the only democratic nation in the Middle East – which continues to guarantee religious freedoms to its people and for all those who wish to visit its many historic sites and revered places with ties to three major world religions.<\/p>\n

As a journalist, I have traveled to Israel twice and felt a sense of connection I had never thought I would experience both<\/em> times. When I trod along the ancient stone walkways in the Shuk or placed my hand on the Western Wall, it was as if I had walked back in time with my ancestors. Being part of a minority in a city like New Orleans steeped in Catholic ritual and practice could never prepare me for being in Israel. When one lives in a place where popular streets and the football team are named in honor of Christian saints and the biggest cultural celebration is based on the final day before Lent, being a Jew is not something that is considered the norm.<\/p>\n

Yet, in Israel it is common to see literally hundreds of people at a glance who are overtly Jewish. They go about their regular tasks under banners of Hebrew letters while conversing in Hebrew. It is a great leap for those in the minority suddenly to become part of the majority and for everyone to feel a sense of connection, even if they have not been introduced.<\/p>\n

While I acknowledge Israel is not a perfect nation, I cannot stand idly by and let the forces who would seek to destroy it go unchecked and without pushback. There are many who  would seek a return to the status quo of pre-1948, which was essentially a power vacuum before a Jewish State was established. Jewish lives were not protected during that era, which precipitated a need for Israel to be created in the first place. I know that scenario will never again occur.<\/p>\n

The 70 years we celebrated as a community this week should make us all happy in our hearts that we live in a time when such a nation exists. I hope that at the end of the next 70 years, when I am no longer here, my progeny will be able to be as justifiably proud of the land of Medinot Yisroel as I am now.<\/p>\n

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