By Barry Rosenfeld
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This tiny nation is always in the news—why?
“Arise, Jerusalem! Let your light shine for all the nations to see! For the glory of the Lord is shining upon you” (Isaiah 60:1)
Israel has become the center of attention when it comes to startups an innovative technology.
In a recent study that ranked universities by the number of startup founder alumni, Tel Aviv University was the only non-US school to make the list, tying with Duke and ranking only slightly below Princeton and Brown. And this was based only on US startup companies. (Haaretz)
Of the many nations and empires that have risen and fallen throughout history, only Israel remains as a free and Democratic state. Starting with the conquest of Canaan under Joshua in the 15th century BC (Joshua 6:1-27), and the formation of the first biblical kingdom of David 3,000 years ago, and followed by the reign of Solomon, the Hebrew people dominated the area with King Solomon’s realm covering all of the Levant and Arabia and stretching from the Sinai to the Euphrates. Since that time the nation of Israel has been conquered repeatedly by such nations as the Persians, Greeks, and Romans, all, according to the Bible, because of their disobedience to God’s word. Following the destruction of Herod’s Temple in 70 AD (as prophesized by Yeshua Jesus [Matthew 24:1-2]), most of the Jewish people were left scattered throughout the world. A small number remained in the Land in spite of the persecution of invading forces such as the Romans (64 BC – 324 AD), the Greek-speaking Byzantine occupiers (324-638 AD), the Muslim invaders who granted relative tolerance allowing for the development of the Masoretic text of the Hebrew Bible (638-1099 AD), persecution by the Crusaders (1099-1291 AD), a second period of relative tolerance under Muslim rule brought on by Saladin (1211-1517 AD), Ottoman rule (1517-1917 AD), and finally the British Mandate (1917-1948 AD). (Wikipedia)
Still, during all of this time, Jerusalem and the Holy Land remained at the heart of Jewish longing with each Passover Seder completed with the words, “Next year in Jerusalem.”
Identifying with the biblical prophesies and seeing the Jewish people as their roots, many Christians also support Israel and identify with its rebirth seeing this as a harbinger of the Messiah’s soon return. (Matthew 24:32-35; Isaiah 66:8)
Throughout its entire history the state of Israel has had to face insurmountable odds. Israel has had to deal with the aggressions of at least seven of its neighboring Arab countries from Egypt and Lebanon to Jordan, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Iran. It has also had to absorb Jews from a variety of countries with varying backgrounds ranging from advanced European and Western countries to such less developed societies as Yemen, Ethiopia, and a range of Arab countries.
The little state of Israel with its population of 8 million is now a member of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation (OECD), an exclusive group of 34 nations that works to promote economic progress and world trade. In addition, Israel has hundreds of companies that are listed on Nasdaq, the second largest stock exchange after the New York Stock Exchange, and it continues to provide humanitarian aid to peoples in need as well as its technical expertise to countries all over the world. In spite of all of its challenges, the state of Israel has truly emerged as a “light to the nations,” both economically and spiritually. (Isaiah 49:6)
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