Today, I'm thankful for Israel — and I stand with Israel

Today, I'm thankful for Israel — and I stand with Israel.

First of all, Israel is central to my Christian faith. Jesus, himself a son of Israel, walked upon its hills and ministered and taught in its synagogues. He also died — and I believe rose again — in Jerusalem.

The Jewish law and prophets of the Old Testament are the basis of what's found in the New Testament — and Israel was the stage for most of what's written in the Bible.

Out of Israel came timeless examples of men and women hungry and thirsty for God, faltering in their faith, getting back up, and learning and growing stronger. Out of Israel also came Jesus Christ, and the Bible states that he offers salvation to us as the once-for-all sacrificial lamb of God if we believe and trust in him for the forgiveness of our sins.

Without my faith in Christ, I would be nothing. And without Israel, there would be no Christian faith. For those eternally important reasons, I am thankful for Israel.

I'm also thankful that Israel provides an example of resolve in the face of terror. Many of Israel's neighbors would love nothing more than to light the flame of a second Holocaust and wipe Israel off the face of the earth. But after the Hamas atrocities of Oct. 7, Israel didn't shrink back — it fought back. Israel always does. And Israel will see through to victory this latest, utterly futile attempt to destroy it.

Today, I'm thankful for Israel — and I stand with Israel.

Which brings me to what I'm decidedly not thankful for and those I most definitely do not stand with: anti-Semitism and those who propagate it.

Israel, to be sure, has proven time and time again that it can take care of itself in times of war, often despite overwhelming odds. But the present day may be the most perilous and frightening time for Jewish people around the world since the Holocaust.

Since Oct. 7, instead of mass solidarity with Israel — the victim of the Hamas surprise terror attack — we're witnessing mass hatred for Israel. Sadly, anti-Semitism follows close behind. It's frightening and infuriating to watch hundreds of thousands of people march in the streets and chant "from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free" — a phrase that calls for Israel's destruction. Of course, most do so while taking a cowardly page from the Antifa playbook and concealing their faces with masks — or, if they're hip and fashionable, with "keffiyeh" scarves.

But what's even more unnerving is the seemingly increasing number of people who are putting their anti-Semitism and hatred for Israel on full display without attempting to conceal their identities. Such as:

• a now-fired Wall Street analyst who was caught on video telling a Jewish American to "go back to your country" and covering Israeli hostage posters with signs calling Israel an “apartheid state” that commits “genocide."
• a New York County public defender who was caught on video tearing down posters of Israeli hostages — and resigned in the aftermath.
• and even leftist baristas who walked off their jobs at a Jewish-owned New York City coffee shop due to the owner's open support of Israel.

Folks, down has become up. Up has become down. What is evil is being called good, and what's good is being called evil.

Anti-Semitism and hatred for Israel are on the rise, and sides are being chosen.

Today, I'm thankful for Israel — and I stand with Israel and with Jewish people around the world.

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