Anne Reed
AFA Journal staff writer
February 2016 – “I don’t understand how a person can be a Christian and not have a love for Israel and the Jewish people,” my fiancé said as we pulled into my driveway. I suddenly felt small and ashamed. He didn’t know it, but he was talking about me.
I was not anti-semitic, but I was indifferent. I interpreted and applied texts written specifically to and about the Jewish people to myself and the worldwide church. My proclivity toward the concept of biblical symbolism clouded and dismissed the literal intent of the Scripture.
But, as our wedding drew nearer, I flooded my groom-to-be with questions. He patiently read Scripture, drew maps, explained fulfilled prophecies, and spoke in detail about his trips to Israel. The more I learned, the more I was embarrassed by my ignorance. But I was fascinated by his love for God’s chosen people as he shared with excitement his seemingly endless knowledge.
Eight years later I am still learning and longing to experience the promised land of Israel for myself.
In November, I attended Jerusalem Call, a two-day conference in Lake Charles, Louisiana, hosted by Friend Ships Unlimited, a Christian humanitarian aid organization. Jerusalem Call, a project of Israel Allies Foundation, is a grassroots movement expressing faith-based political advocacy for Jerusalem as the undivided eternal capital of the State of Israel.
Fulfilled prophecies by Old Testament prophets Amos, Ezekiel, Isaiah, and Jeremiah attest to the validity of God’s literal covenant with the Jewish people and their historic bond with the land of Israel and the city of Jerusalem.
Amos, for example, lived about 2,700 years ago when the people of Israel were forced out of their God-given homeland by a series of foreign invasions. He spoke of a time when the exiles of Israel would regain their land, never to be uprooted again (Amos 9:14-15, NIV).
Fast forward to the 1800s when a movement called Zionism encouraged Jews worldwide to move to Israel, a desolate land called Palestine.
But desolation would soon turn to hope as a miracle was about to happen. An ancient people, who had been scattered throughout the globe and had experienced an enormous degree of persecution, had somehow maintained their ethnic identity and founding faith. On May 14, 1948, the Jews reclaimed Israel as a united and sovereign nation, as accurately described by Isaiah:
“Before she was in labor, she gave birth; before her pain came, she delivered a male child. Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things? Shall the earth be made to give birth in one day? Or shall a nation be born at once? For as soon as Zion was in labor, she gave birth to her children. (Isaiah 66: 7-8*).”
Within a 24-hour span of time, British control of the land expired, Israel declared its independence, and the U.S. issued a statement recognizing Israel’s sovereignty. After 2,900 years of desolation, modern Israel was literally born in a single day.
However, within hours, Israel was abruptly attacked by the surrounding countries of Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia. Israel’s declaration of independence was not the result of war but the cause of war. Just as Isaiah had foretold, “Before she was in labor, she gave birth.” And Israel has been forced to defend itself ever since.
Isaiah spoke of the historic moment in which we live: “The wilderness and the wasteland shall be glad for them, and the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose; It shall blossom abundantly and rejoice, even with joy and singing. …” (Isaiah 35:1-2).
A nation the size of New Jersey has somehow become a prominent world leader in agriculture, research, technology, and perhaps the spiritual and geopolitical epicenter of the world.
Jerusalem Call speakers included a diverse array of leaders: Daniel Williams, chief strategy officer of Israel Allies Foundation; Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX); Erick Stacklebeck, CBN News correspondent; Tony Perkins, president of Family Research Council and host of Washington Watch radio program aired on AFR; and Ran Ichay, senior deputy director general of the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office.
According to Ichay, an attitude of indifference toward Israel is perhaps the most dangerous threat to Israel’s future. “Most Americans and Europeans don’t really care,” he told AFA Journal in a robust Hebrew accent. “If someone is passively interested, he won’t go for himself to research. And you only have to turn on the TV for wrong information.
“The Jerusalem Call and other organizations that practice the same principles are righteous in what they do because they save people from ignorance and disinformation. And that is a crime in my opinion, because without understanding, [they] end up supporting evil regimes, evil thoughts and ideologies which [they] have no intention of supporting.”
Williams, national director of the Jerusalem Call, said the Israeli government began noticing that evangelical Christians were coming to Israel in increasing numbers, so they established the Knesset Christian Allies Caucus to explore the trend. The caucus initiated relationships with leaders of churches, Christian organizations, and political representatives.
“They began to realize it was because we believe in the Bible,” Williams explained.
Why is all of this important to evangelicals?
God’s faithfulness – God’s covenant is unconditional and irrevocable. Israel’s rejection of Christ is not final. Romans 11:25-26 says, “Blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel will be saved. … ”
Our gratitude – In a sense, Christians owe the Jewish people a spiritual debt. The Apostle Paul instructed Gentile Christians regarding Jews: “For as you were once disobedient to God, yet have now obtained mercy through their disobedience, even so these also have now been disobedient, that through the mercy shown you they also may obtain mercy. For God has committed them all to disobedience, that He might have mercy on all.” (Romans 11:30-32)
In September 2015, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu summarized it well in a videotaped address to thousands of evangelical Christians gathered in Jerusalem from more than 80 countries:
“Israel has no better friends throughout the world.” 
*Unless otherwise noted, the New King James Version is used throughout this article.
LEARN MORE
Israel: A Journey of Light 6-DVD set is available at afastore.net
Visit Israel with AFA president Tim Wildmon. For more information: twholyland.com
Call to Action –The Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995 specified that Jerusalem should remain an undivided city to be recognized as Israel’s capital, and that the U.S. Embassy should be established in Jerusalem no later than May 31, 1999. However, each U.S. president has utilized a waiver postponing implementation, and U.S. Administrations have continually pressured Israel into making dangerous concessions.
Protect Jerusalem by contacting your representative and senators and ask them, respectively, to co-sponsor H.R.114 sponsored by Rep. Scott Garrett (R-NJ) and S.117 sponsored by Sen. Dean Heller (R-NV). The passage of both pieces of legislation will remove the presidential waiver power and begin the process of moving the U.S. Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
For information, contact: Israel Allies Foundation, Israelallies.org, 202-280-1178
