The state of Israel was reestablished in 1948 to end the Jewish nation's 2000 years homelessness.
From the time the Romans expelled the Jews from their homeland, Judea, in 70AD, to be scattered all over the world they were vagabonds. They lived in hosting countries, as a marginal, fringe society, at most times lacking equality with the rest of the country's citizenry. The Jews often found themselves expelled from a country where they have established a fully functioning community presence. During those years, Jews suffered religion and ethnic oppression and prejudice, anti-Semitism, persecutions and mass murder, the last one the devastating Holocaust. After 6 Million Jews were systematically murdered by Nazi Germany, the world, rather reluctantly, had done the Jews a favor and voted in favor of allowing them to return home, to the Land of Israel and Judea.
That sense of guilt, after causing the Jews the worst atrocity in the history of the world to have been perpetrated on human beings, from which people and nations may have suffered – or have pretended to have suffered from - did not last very long.
The moment the nascent modern
state of Israel was created and Jews have began to gather and rebuild their
reestablished homeland, the only Jewish country in the world, the Arab
countries began their attacks on Israel and the Jews living there. Since,
attacking Israel has taken many forms, coming at her from all over the world,
to have become a form of collective anti-Semitism. But it did not stop
there; Jews living outside Israel, automatically identified with the Jewish state
of Israel, have begun experiencing the millennia aged anti-Semitic sentiments,
simply because they are Jews.
Roz
Rothstein,
a daughter of Holocaust survivors, could not sit idle and see that attacks on
Jews, that culminated in the Holocaust, may be starting all over again, lacking
the defiance from the Jews. Twelve years ago Roz and her husband Jerry and the
community activist Esther Rezner founded the organization StandWithUs (SWU),
its goal is to stand with and for Israel, by educating about Israel on campuses
and in the community, in and outside Israel. Kind of a preventative medicine and possible
cure of the venomous anti-Semitic disease. The organization's committed and
passionate team work tirelessly to meet the challenges facing the pro-Israel
community, i.e. providing educational material on a verity of Israel-related
topics, strengthening and empowering students to be able to effectively debate
anti-Israel people and campaigns on all the subjects relating to Jewish and
Israel's history and jurisprudence.
But
most important work SWU took upon itself is to teach and prepare the next
generation that did not experience the persecution Jews have been through for
2000 years; that is to stand for the nation of Israel and for its only nation
state, Israel.
These days anti-Israel and anti-Semitism is becoming rampant of campuses. Without the right tools Jewish students are at disadvantage when entering college. Here is where SWU steps in to educate, through conferences, social media and speaker's programs.
SWU spreads its wings
with offices all over the world including Israel, Canada and Britain.
Until
there is peace in Israel and until anti-Semitism has vanished from the world,
StandWithUs will work tirelessly to educate, Jews and non-Jews alike, in an
ongoing effort to ensure support for Israel tomorrow. For if there is no Israel
the Jews will become homeless again and that is a risk the Jewish nation cannot
allow or take.This week, at the Century Plaza Hotel, in Los Angeles, 1,200 donors and supporting guests gathered to partake in StandWithUs – an organization not for profit - annual fund raising gala, 'Festival of Lights,' celebrating the organization's 12 years - Bat Mitzvah – achievements. (https://www.standwithus.com/)
The
program, emceed by Elon Gold, included opening words from Israel consul general
David Siegel, performance by anti-Boycott rapper Ari Lesser
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=se3PaCX7sjI&feature=c4-overview-vl&list=PLFCA76430EE201DB6)
and Ronny Weinreich, a disable IDF soldier-turned singer. Speeches were
delivered by SWU campus leaders Vida Velasco and Elad Menna and the honoree was
the entrepreneur, philanthropist who has become an ardent Zionist, Myron
Zimmerman, who is the founder of the MZ Foundation
(http://www.mzfoundation.org/) its goal is to empower students to stand with
Israel and the person behind the funding of SWU-MZ Teen Internship (http://www.standwithus.com/aboutus/mzteens/) and
'Israeli Soldiers Stories' programs (https://www.standwithus.com/campaigns/soldiers/).
Stephens, as always brilliant, in his low key but profound speech delivery style, has left the audience with food for thought second to none. His speech was centered on the nuclear Iran threat to the entire world and in particularly Israel. He compared the interim agreement, the USA, EU, Britain, France, Russia, China and Germany (the P5+1) have just signed with Iran to the situation the South African apartheid regime found itself years ago.
Sanctions eliminated the South African apartheid AND dismantled its nuclear program. Sanctions on Iran must increase till Iran clearly understands that their sweet talk and deceitful modus operandi will not help them to keep their nuclear program.
"Israel suffers from phony friends", Bret says. "Friendship does not come free and it has its benefits. It maybe unfashionable to stand with Israel but to be unpopular and unfashionable means to stand for the truth and that means to stand with Israel." I am afraid for Israel like I have never been before and being courageous is to overcome one's fears," says Bret.
Bret's explanation of the meaning of the state of Israel and the people who advocate for her, just like SWU, left no room for misunderstanding.
"The reason we support Israel is not because it is good; Israel is good and will always be good. That is not why we support Israel. You do not support a country based on its performance, because, sometimes, that performance will fail. Israel is a country that consists of human beings.
"We support Israel because it is OURS!
"The state of Israel did not come into existence to showcase Jewish vulnerability and Jewish victimhood. The state of Israel exists to end Jewish vulnerability and Jewish victimhood."
And that is the junction where Bret Stephens, StandWithUS and every supporter of Israel meet to strengthen the Jewish state and the Jewish nation for whom the state of Israel serves as the nation state.
Philanthropists and Zionists such as Sheldon and Miriam Adeslon, Debbie
and Naty Saidoff and Bruce and Ellie Lederman are among those who continuously support
SWU. What is interesting, whereby in the past people born in Israel, now living
abroad, did not understated how intensely important the existence of the state
of Israel is to Jews. But these day they are slowly coming around and becoming major
supporters of organizations that stand by and for Israel, just like
StandWithUs.
The
challenges Israel has been facing since it was recognized as a sovereign state,
from delegitimizaiton, to Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS), to threats and
attacks from her Arab neighbors, the terror organizations Hamas and Hezbollah
and now the nuclear threat from Iran's are ongoing. But, despite it all, the
Jewish state is there to help other nations when finding themselves in despair
and she shines among nations in so many aspects.And to that, as they say, Yishar Ko'ach!
The world's nations have a moral obligation to defend the Jewish nation they have mistreated for so long. Above it, all Jews must have the moral obligation and the desire to defend Israel and the Jewish people. We may not win the war but we will not lose it either.
I, for one, am in awe to be a Jew!
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