INVEST IN ISRAEL

Israel—Happy Birthday!  On Thursday, May 8, Israel will be celebrating its 60th anniversary and we, God willing, will be blessed to witness it.  For centuries, the Jewish people prayed to the Holy One to reestablish Jewish sovereignty in the Holy Land, and we are the generation that has been fortunate enough to see those prayers answered.

But the future of Israel is not secure, and the odd thing is that the greatest attacks may be coming from the free world itself.  There are those within the liberal democracies  who speak openly of divestment, that is withdrawing all financial holdings that would have a stake in Israel.  Divestment is a singularly counterproductive move for anyone interested in the stability of the Mideast.

Israel deserves our financial support since it is the only democracy in the Mideast and therefore the only one that actively protects and promotes its citizen's civil liberties.  Without such a state challenging the other Arab nations, the influence of the free world is significantly diminished.

Israel deserves our financial support since its prosperity is based on ingenuity and entrepreneurship.  The wealth of the Arab economies is almost exclusively based on oil reserves whereas Israel’s wealth is a function of its brain power.  Israel has created technologies, medicines, and products that improve the lives of millions around the world.

Israel deserves our financial support since it promotes a culture of peace and respect for life, in stark contrast with a Mideast filled with Islamist radicalism extolling martyrdom and the killing of innocent civilians.  Israel’s culture is a challenge to the culture of death that permeates the Mideast.

Although some may perceive Israel's military response to terror as excessive, Israel is doing precisely what we would expect the American government to do were we under direct attack, which would be to protect us and to eradicate the source of the attacks.  If the Arab leadership was half as responsive to their own people as Israel is to theirs, the Palestinians today would live in prosperity and in a homeland they could call their own.

Divestment is a direct strike against democracy, civil liberties, religious freedom, women's rights, and ultimately peace, by on the one hand punishing the party that stands for these values while strengthening the party that opposes them.  Free people with a conscience do not divest, but invest in Israel.  Israel is our one hope for an enlightened MidEast that will no longer exist as a threat to western values or western culture.  Israel is 60 years young.  What a blessing for us all.  Happy Birthday Israel and may you be blessed with many, many more.