Israel's Memorial Day 2024

As I drove through Basel, Switzerland in my rental car yesterday, many thoughts raced through my head. Only a short five-minute walk from my hotel is the Stadtcasino in Basel, the location where the First Zionist Congress was held in 1897. This meeting was convened and chaired, of course, by Theodor Herzl, the founder of the modern Zionism movement. 

It was at this event they adopted the poem "Hatikvah" as the official anthem of the new Zionist Organization. Meaning the hope, it would later become the national anthem of the State of Israel. I often remark at bar and bat mitzvahs how fitting it is that the national anthem of Israel translates as "the hope" because that is what keeps us feeling optimistic for the future. We must remain hopeful to pass our Jewish heritage to the next generations.

As I drove I thought of how the city of Basel played such a prominent role in the story of the miraculous Nation of Israel. I also thought about how Yom Hazikaron, Israel's Day of Remembrance, would begin later that evening in Israel. Yom Hazikaron, a day in which we pay our respect to the fallen who died protecting the Jewish State, was built on the ashes of the Shoah. I smiled as I considered the irony of these thoughts while driving my rented Volkswagen.

As we honor those who defended the State of Israel today on Yom Hazikaron, I salute all those who serve Israel so that the Jewish people continue to have a homeland. At a time when anti-Semitism is once again permeating throughout the world and there are anti-Israel protests on most American college campuses, it is so dire that Israel be protected from its enemies on all sides. When the sun sets in Israel this evening on Yom Hazikaron, the Jewish people worldwide will celebrate Israel's 76th year of independence. We will sing Hatikvah with pride and be hopeful for the future. That is all we can ever do.

NY Times' Misguided News Alerts

Last week, the Zionist Organization of America issued a press release expressing its shock that President Barack Obama omitted Israel in his list of countries suffering from terrorist attacks. ZOA was appalled by the omission.

The Obama Administration released the President's talking points for the forthcoming tenth anniversary of 9/11 and while the speech included eight cities were terrorism has occurred, he didn't include an Israeli city. This is the statement the ZOA took issue with: "As we commemorate the citizens of over 90 countries who perished in the 9/11 attacks, we honor all victims of terrorism, in every nation around the world … We honor and celebrate the resilience of individuals, families, and communities on every continent, whether in New York or Nairobi, Bali or Belfast, Mumbai or Manila, or Lahore or London.”

The ZOA press release also referenced a 2008 speech Obama delivered as a candidate when he mentioned six cities plagued by terrorism but failed to include an Israeli city. I thought the ZOA's statement was unnecessary. It is clear that President Obama was using alliteration in his speech and sought to provide some examples of where terrorism has occurred. Perhaps if terrorism were more prevalent in a major world city like Johannesburg, he could have included "Jerusalem or Johannesburg" in his speech. The President wasn't giving priority to these world cities over any other location where terrorism has occurred, he was merely stating that we should honor and celebrate the resilience of people everywhere. Just as Chicago would be included if we say "in New York or LA," so too Jerusalem and Tel Aviv are included when the President says "Lahore or London".

So, I didn't think the ZOA's rant was necessary. I do, however, raise my eyebrows at the NY Times' decision to not issue an email news alert about yesterday's storming of Israel's Egyptian Embassy by thousands of protesters in Cairo and the necessary evacuation of its diplomats by Israeli military jets.

I've been receiving email news alerts from the NY Times for many years. Most of the time they are legitimately "breaking news" stories. Sometimes the news alerts refer to breaking political news and sometimes they let you know if a major sports milestone occurred. Oftentimes they alert us if a notable person has died.

I was surprised last night after Shabbat when the only news alert I saw in my email inbox from the NY Times let me know that actor Cliff Robertson had died. Who was Cliff Robertson? Exactly!

Even though over 80 personnel and family members of Israel's embassy in Cairo had to be saved in an emergency rescue operation after violent riots erupted there, the NY Times felt that the only "breaking news" that had to conveyed to its news alert subscribers was that a little known actor had died. In the alert, the Times even described Robertson as an actor who "never quite reached the top echelon of movie stardom."

I don't think President Obama deserves to be attacked for neglecting to include an Israeli city in his brief listing of world cities where terrorism occurs (everyone knows Israel has had her share of terrorist attacks), I do think it is curious that the NY Times is so misguided when deciding what news actually deserves an email news alert.

Evangelical Zionists

"I had them at Shalom."

These words are attributed to Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein as he was on his way back to Chicago in a rented compact Chevy with author Zev Chafets after Eckstein addressed a group of Christian Zionists at the Family Christian Center in Munster, Indiana.

I've read every book that Zev Chafets has written. Zev's books are hard to put down -- they are witty, provocative, and informative. I've known Zev Chafets my whole life. He is a family friend who was once married to my mother's best friend. His most recent book, however, I read not because of the author but rather because of the subject matter that intrigued me.

A couple years ago when I was directing the monthly Synaplex program for Adat Shalom Synagogue in suburban Detroit I needed to find an interesting speaker to follow Shabbat dinner. I put in a phone call to Zev in New York who graciously accepted my invitation to come to Adat Shalom (he is a native Detroiter who grew up in Pontiac). He told me he would talk about his current project -- Christian Zionists and the Judeo-Evangelical Alliance. It was December 2005 and Zev was about to travel to Israel with a group of Evangelicals as part of his research for A Match Made in Heaven, his new book (a chapter in the book is Zev's travelogue from his Christian pilgrimage).

Zev spoke brilliantly at Adat Shalom about the phenomenon that is the passionate love that Evangelical Christians feel for the State of Israel (and how they back this up with their charitable commitments to Israel). I hadn't previously given much thought to Christian Zionism, but like most Jews at the time I was fairly skeptical about the motivations behind Christian support of Israel. Following Zev's talk, my interest was piqued. Over the course of the ensuing two years, I read as much as I could about Christian Zionism, I invited Pastor Glenn Plummer (Fellowship of Israel and Black America) to address my synagogue in Ohio, I was captivated by an emotionally charged speech by Pastor John Hagee at the AIPAC Policy Conference, I dialogued with Israeli tour guides Linda Olmert and Danny Ehrlich of Keshet Israel about their experiences guiding Christians through Israel, and most recently I completed Zev's book.

Zev devotes an entire chapter to an individual who has committed his life to reaching out to Christian Zionists for the sake of Israel and Israelis. He characterizes Yechiel Eckstein as an Orthodox rabbi who "had become a televangelist." Eckstein, who runs the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, has raised millions of dollars from evangelical Christians and given that money away to Jewish charities. Zev spends much time with Eckstein -- both on the road and at his headquarters in Chicago -- and provides the reader with an in-depth perspective about Eckstein's background and the motivation for his work.

One thing is clear in Zev's evaluation of Eckstein (right), his popularity among Christians is unmatched among Jews. Eckstein has long had detractors in the major American Jewish organizations, especially the Anti-Defamation League where Eckstein got his professional start. In Zev's book, he quotes ADL executive director Abe Foxman "as accusing Eckstein of selling the dignity of the Jewish people by pandering to Christians."

Israel's political leaders have long appreciated and recognized the importance of Christian tourism in Israel (a point made several times by Zev in his book). Further, following John Hagee's well received AIPAC speech in March, strong supporters of Israel among the Jewish community have learned how vital and reassuring the genuine Christian support of Israel is. And a major development this week may change the way the Jewish community views Christian Zionism.

The JTA reports that "thousands of evangelical Christian donors now have a powerful seat at the table of the Jewish Agency for Israel, the vanguard of the Zionist movement. The Jewish Agency announced last week it has forged a 'strategic partnership' with the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, an organization that depends primarily on conservative Christian donors to raise tens of millions of dollars per year to help Israel and impoverished Jews in the Diaspora."

In exchange for an annual $15 million contribution to the Jewish Agency, Yechiel Eckstein will be given a seat on the Jewish Agency's highest governing committee. The article addresses the Jewish community's ambivalence about financial support from evangelical Christians, stating, "the fear being that some might be motivated at least in part by the belief that the Apocalypse and the return of Jesus can take place only once Jews move back to the Holy Land." [complete JTA article]

Perhaps this news will give Zev Chafets cause to pen a new epilogue to the paperback edition of A Match Made in Heaven: American Jews, Christian Zionists, and One Man's Exploration of the Weird and Wonderful Judeo-Evangelical Alliance. It is a wonderful book and I highly recommend it to anyone interested in Israel and the Christian support of the Jewish state. Hopefully, Zev Chafets will alleviate the concerns and cynicism the American Jewish community has about Christian support of Israel. As Zev eloquently puts it, the evangelical Christian Zionists in America are "not the enemy. They are the enemy of the enemy, and they want to be accepted and appreciated. In return they are offering a wartime alliance and full partnership in a Judeo-Christian America. It is an offer the Jews of America should consider while it is still on the table." Well said.