Israel marked its 70 year anniversary since inception on Wednesday. Crowds gathered to celebrate its unlikely economic success and military prowess whilst battling a range of political and security challenges. The celebration starts by midnight and marks the anniversary of the proclamation of the state of Israel by founding father David Ben-Gurion. According to the […]

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This post was syndicated from The Herald Nigeria Newspaper. Click here to read the full text on the original website. </s> Israelis marked the 70th anniversary of their independence Thursday, with celebrations taking place across the nation of nine million.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attended the country's annual Bible Quiz in Jerusalem, in which young Jewish scholars from around the world compete.

In an Independence Day message, he praised the "men and women from every walk of life, young and old, Jew, Christian, Muslim, religious and secular" who have worked hard to build the nation.

"Israel's success didn't happen overnight," he said.

He praised Israel's technology and ingenuity, which, he said, has helped improve lives around the world.

"Here's the best part: we're just getting started," Netanyahu said. "Seventy years is the blink of an eye in historical terms. I have no doubt that 70 years from now, Israel will be even stronger and even more prosperous than it is today."

Happy Independence Day, Israel! <a href="https://t.co/6PZxBbhbcr">pic.twitter.com/6PZxBbhbcr</a> —@IsraeliPM

Independence Day festivities, which included barbecues, beach parties and air force flybys, began Wednesday night, when in sharp contrast, Israel abruptly crossed over from its melancholy Memorial Day for fallen soldiers and terrorism victims.

The grouping of the two days is intentional, to show the link between the costly wars Israel has fought and the establishment and survival of the Jewish state.

Independence Day celebrations began late Wednesday. Here, Israeli youths embrace at the Mahane Yehuda market in the centre of Jerusalem to celebrate what is also known as Yom Ha'atzmaut. (Menahem Kahana/AFP/Getty Images)

Israel has much to celebrate — a standard of living that rivals Western Europe and scientific achievements and military and technological clout beyond its modest size — but it's also a country that is weary from decades of conflict with the Palestinians, for which it has received criticism.

Israel's relations with the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank are poor; its relations with Gaza's militant Hamas rulers, who seized the territory from the Palestinian Authority in 2007, are hostile.

Strange juxtaposition of revellers and demonstrators

As many Israelis celebrated, thousands of members of the country's Arab minority turned out for a rally to commemorate what Palestinians call their catastrophe, or Nakba — an allusion to the war they lost 70 years ago that resulted in the birth of the modern Jewish state.

In a field near Atlit, an Arab village south of Haifa that was depopulated and abandoned in 1948, children read the lyrics of nationalist anthems from their iPhones while their elders sat beneath awnings, listening to dignitaries and musicians.

The rally organizers said 170 people were driven out of the small coastal village in 1948 and fled to other towns or into neighbouring countries. Lebanon has around 450,000 Palestinian refugees registered with the United Nations refugee agency, many living in the country's 12 refugee camps.

"I never miss any event related to the Nakba," said Sami Salman, 83, a carpenter originally from Nazareth who attended the rally. "Many people left for Lebanon back then, but fortunately for us we did not have enough money to go. I am very glad about that now."

Israeli Arabs demonstrating in Atlit south of Haifa hope to see refugees who fled their homes during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War repatriated. (Ammar Awad/Reuters)

There was a strange juxtaposition on the crowded holiday streets around Haifa on Thursday morning. Coaches from Jerusalem, Nazareth and other towns filled with Arabs headed to the Nakba rally, past long lines of cars bearing blue and white Israeli flags heading in the opposite direction to the coast, for the traditional picnics and beach parties at which Israelis celebrate Independence Day.

Israelis traditionally celebrate Independence Day with picnics, beach parties and air shows. (Ariel Schalit/Associated Press)

Similarly, as demonstrators at the Nakba rally waved Palestinian flags and wore T-shirts proclaiming Jerusalem to be "the eternal capital of Palestine," Netanyahu announced in Jerusalem that "at least half a dozen" countries were considering moving their embassies to Jerusalem following the U.S. decision to do so.

U.S. President Donald Trump announced in December that the United States recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital, infuriating even Washington's Arab allies and dismaying Palestinians who want the eastern part of the city as their capital.

The U.S. Embassy is due to relocate to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv on May 14, the date on which Israel's independence is marked on the Gregorian calendar (vs. the Hebrew calendar).

Hoping to return

Over at Atlit, the Arabs at the rally were mostly the descendants of Palestinians who did not go into exile. One of the main issues promoted by the organizers is the longstanding demand for the right of return of Palestinian refugees.

Palestinians — and some Israeli scholars — view the the refugee problem as the result of a systematic program of ethnic cleansing ordered by Zionist leaders to clear the way for the Jewish state.

Israel rejects this, saying that the refugee problem resulted from a war launched by Palestinians opposed to a UN partition plan adopted in 1947, and by Arab states which invaded as soon as the British Mandate expired in 1948.

Israelis and Palestinians disagree on who is ultimately responsible for the hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees dispersed across Lebanon and other neighbouring countries, Here, a demonstrator takes part in the rally near Atlit. (Ammar Awad/Reuters)

Before fighting began in late 1947, about a million Arabs and 600,000 Jews lived in what was to become Israel. Israel emerged with 78 per cent of Mandate Palestine. The UN plan, rejected by the Arabs, would have given it 56 per cent.

Successive Israeli governments have ruled out any right of return, fearing that the country would lose its Jewish majority.

But the refugees in Lebanon have not given up hope, even amid the stench of the sewers at the Shatila refugee camp in southern Beirut.

"I won't live to see it, but my children might," said Abdel Majid Al Shura, 42. "Seventy years is nothing in the history of the world." </s> President of Aggies for Israel celebrates 70th anniversary of Israel’s establishment

This year marks the 70th anniversary of the establishment of Israel. On April 18, Aggies of different cultures, religions and sexual orientations will come together to celebrate this historic occasion as part of a campaign on more than 160 campuses across the U.S. and Canada. By showcasing the positive energy and pride emanating from the Jewish state and its supporters, we hope to inspire students who have little to no knowledge of Israel — a country that’s deeply important to me as a proud Jew.

In anticipation of this event, I interviewed Aggies about their personal connections to Israel and why they’re excited to celebrate its 70th birthday with Celebrate 70.

Daniel Vainish, a fourth-year political science and philosophy double major and an LGBTQIA student, feels an irreplaceably strong bond with Israel. Since 2008, same-sex families have been allowed to jointly adopt, compared to the limited “co-guardianship” rights that were instilled before. In the Israeli Defense Force, openly gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender soldiers serve without hindrance in all branches of the military. Transgender soldiers’ transitions, injections and surgeries are also covered by the military’s health insurance — something the U.S. has never done.

“In most places I need to stand up for my identity and beliefs as a gay Israeli Jew,” Vainish said. “Israel is a place where my identity is protected by its legal system, a place where I’m not relegated to a minority status because of who I am. I know there is a place that will welcome me for who I am. I am so excited to celebrate this monumental time in Israel’s history with Celebrate 70.”

The beauty about Israel is that you can feel this connection that binds you to the land without ever visiting. First-year neurobiology, physiology and behavior major Sascha Recht has never been but still feels this sense of connection to Israel.

“Israel is important to me because it’s a connection to my people, my culture — a way to constantly remind me of those who came before me and the traditions they embraced,” Recht said. “As a Jew, there is an immense comfort knowing I can go to Israel and feel at home at any time because our people’s connection to that land is unprecedented. I’ve been so fortunate to be welcomed by the Jewish community at Davis and found a community that shares this love for Israel. Israel’s 70th birthday is important to me because it signifies the permanence of Israel.”

Jews around the world feel this connection to Israel, to their homeland. Most people think that Israel is only important to Jews, but that’s far from reality. Jerusalem, the capital of Israel, is home to three major religions — Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

On a recent trip to Israel, fourth-year political science major Nicholas Francois came back feeling more connected than ever.

“Being a non-denominational Christian with no cultural ties to Israel and understanding the instability of that part of the world, I never expected the overwhelming feelings of joy and fulfillment I found in Israel,” Francois said. “Calling it magical sounds cheesy, but that is the word I’d use to describe standing in 1,000-year-old churches, floating in the Dead Sea, visiting the West Bank and camping in a Bedouin village. Challenge your beliefs and experience Israel for yourself. Israel’s 70th birthday event on campus will be a wonderful way to celebrate a country that embraces different religions and cultures.”

Dana Benavi, the vice president of Aggies for Israel, is an Israeli-born student who feels a deeper connection and love for her country.

“Israel is my home,” Benavi said. “It’s where my parents got married, where I was born, where my family lives, where I laugh, where I cry, but most importantly it’s where I can proudly be Jewish. Celebrating Israel’s 70th birthday is important to me because it’s a chance for me to proudly celebrate my family and my country.”

There is this sense of connection for Jews who move from Israel that comes from all the history that the land of Israel holds: from feeling secure in a country where Jews are the majority to knowing that you always have a home to go to.

As an Iranian Jew, Israel is a place I can call my home. It’s a country where 33 of my relatives live. It’s the home for Arabs, Muslims, Christians, Baha’is, Druze and many other religions. It’s a place where people invite strangers to their homes for weekly Shabbat dinners. It’s the country that opened her arms to my parents when they had fled Iran from religious persecution. Israel is about having a place that anyone can go to and be granted sanctuary. Israel is much more than a sliver of tiny land in the Middle East; she is living proof that the Jewish people have, against all odds, survived and returned to their home where they will continue to live and thrive.

Charline Delkhah is a fourth-year student studying managerial economics and computer science at UC Davis. She is currently a CAMERA Fellow and the president of Aggies for Israel, which can be reached at afi.ucd@gmail.com.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by individual columnists belong to the columnists alone and do not necessarily indicate the views and opinions held by The California Aggie. </s> Thursday is Yom Ha'atzmaut – Israel Independence Day. On this day 70 years ago, as authorized by the United Nations, David Ben-Gurion declared the establishment of the Jewish state of Israel and became the nation’s first prime minister.

Independence Day – which began at sundown Wednesday in accordance with the Jewish calendar – is an occasion for celebration in Israel. Fireworks, concerts and parties began Wednesday night across the nation.

Israel received congratulations from the nation’s friends around the world – including President Trump, who tweeted: “Best wishes to Prime Minister @Netanyahu and all of the people of Israel on the 70th Anniversary of your Great Independence. We have no better friends anywhere. Looking forward to moving our Embassy to Jerusalem next month!”

And Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tweeted in response: “Thank you, President Trump! We have no better friend than America. We are greatly looking forward to your moving the embassy to Jerusalem, Israel’s eternal capital.”

The anniversary of Israel’s independence from Britain is also a day of denunciation from many countries opposed to Israel’s existence, since this day is known to Arabs as al-Nakba, or “the catastrophe” – and is the day the Arab nations surrounding Israel declared war against the newborn state in 1948, determined to wipe it off the map.

Israel’s existence inspires visceral responses from people, both positive and negative. People either see it as a bastion of stability and democracy, or a cause of instability and radicalization.

But whether they are for Israel or against it, everyone thinks they know it. That’s why I believe this 70th anniversary offers a perfect chance to meet the Israel you don’t know.

Over the past three years, film crews from CBN Documentaries have traveled to five remote locations around the globe to follow Israeli volunteers dedicating their time, talents and resources to international relief efforts and humanitarian aid.

Our documentary on their work is titled “To Life: How Israeli Volunteers are Changing the World” and is airing now on CBN and YouTube.

These Israelis are saving and changing lives wherever they go. Let me introduce you to just a few of the nonprofit organizations they work with:

Innovation: Africa is an Israeli organization on a mission to bring Israeli solar and water technology to remote African villages. So far, the organizations has helped improve the lives of nearly 1 million people across the continent. Because of Israeli innovation, crops now grow where people were once starving. Boys and girls study in classrooms with electric lights for the first time in their lives. Clean water brings life where contaminated water once brought disease and death.

Save a Child’s Heart is an Israeli-based international humanitarian project that provides lifesaving heart surgery and follow-up care for children from developing countries. The group gives these children free medical care regardless of their nationality, religion, color, gender or financial status.

Springs of Hope Foundation, another Israeli organization, provides food, supplies, medical care and comfort to the Yazidi refugees in Kurdistan. ISIS terrorists attacked the Yazidi people in Iraq in 2014, enslaving or killing thousands and creating a half-million refugees.

IsraAid is an Israeli group that provides lifesaving disaster relief wherever people are in crisis. Its professional medics, search-and-rescue squads and post-trauma experts have been on the frontlines of every major humanitarian crisis, from rescuing Syrian refugees in Greece to helping Texans in the wake of Hurricane Harvey.

This is not the Israel you read about in the headlines.

But I’ve saved the most surprising organization helping people around the world for last.

The Israel Defense Forces provide humanitarian aid worldwide. IDF doctors and nurses have established field hospitals at major disaster sites around the world, including Turkey, Nepal, Haiti, Mexico, the Philippines and even the United States.

I know that many other countries and organizations do amazing things to help those in crisis or in need. But very few nations do it while facing a steady drumbeat of criticism and U.N. condemnation.

After 70 years, I think it’s time we see the whole picture of the modern state of Israel. Perhaps it is time to see Israel as a light to the nations, and an example for us all.

So happy anniversary to Israel and l’chaim as you celebrate life. </s> On Wednesday night, mourning turned to celebration in Israel as Memorial Day for the country’s fallen soldiers ended and the country’s 70th anniversary celebrations got under way.

The main ceremony took place at Jerusalem’s Mount Herzl, named after the founder of modern Zionism, Theodor Herzl, attended by prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu, president Reuven Rivlin and other leading officials.

Mr Rivlin, in his Independence Day message, said Israel represented a ingathering of the exiles. “From Yemen and Morocco, the Netherlands and Greece, Algeria and Russia, Poland and Ethiopia we have gathered here. Through pogroms, expulsions and from the demonic inferno we have gotten back on our feet and created a national home,” he said.

He noted that this year the United States recognised Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. “I am certain additional countries will soon follow suit,” he added.

Mr Netanyahu spoke about Israel’s unique spirit. “Many countries in the world consider us a beacon of strength and progress. We will continue realising the hope in the land of our fathers-the state of Israel-which we love so much and of which we are so proud.”

Founded in 1948, three years after the second World War in which two thirds of European Jewry perished in the Holocaust, the new state in its early years had to absorb survivors from the Nazi death camps together with large numbers of Jewish refugees from Arab countries.

Despite having few natural resources and being surrounded by hostile neighbouring states, Israel developed over the years into a prosperous and thriving democracy, a hi-tech start-up nation and the pre-eminent regional military power.

In 1948 there were just 806,000 people in Israel, less than a tenth of the current population.

But the country is not without its problems. Far from emerging as a safe haven for persecuted Jews, Israel has failed to achieve peace with most of the Arab world, has no permanent borders and is now involved in a dangerous struggle with Iran on a number of fronts.

The occupation of the West Bank is in its 50th year and there is no end in sight to the struggle with the Palestinians over control of the Biblical land. Tension with Gaza continues and threatens to erupt into another war.

Social gaps are getting wider and poverty persists, particularly amongst the Arab minority and the ultra-Orthodox sector, which together make up a third of Israel’s population.

Corruption is also a problem. Former prime minister Ehud Olmert served a 16-month jail term for fraud and bribery and police have recommended that Mr Netanyahu also be charged with bribery.

Despite the problems, a poll commissioned to coincide with Independence Day found a majority of the population are proud to be Israelis and believe Israel is a good country to live in and are optimistic about the future, while at the same time expressing concern about a possible war. </s> As their country turns 70, Israelis are coming together to celebrate at beach parties from the shores of Lake Tiberias in the north down to the the southern city of Eilat. Celebrations will also take place on Rothschild Boulevard in Tel Aviv where David Ben Gurion announced Israel's independence on May 14, 1948. In keeping with the Hebrew calendar, Israel's independence day festivities begin in April.

"I am very proud of what my country is today. The state of Israel is its people, its ordinary people, who make this state," says Laura Artzi, who is out shopping on Jaffa Street in Jerusalem. For most Israelis, Independence day is first and foremost a day off to spend with family and friends, have a barbecue or watch air force jets fly over Tel Aviv. Days before, street vendors sell the Israeli flag and other items in blue and white to commemorate the day.

Actor Yair Lehman is preparing to play Theodor Herzl, the father of modern political Zionism, during the Independence Day festivities. "70 years, it means on the one hand, I am glad, for all its historical reasons," he says. "But it is also a time to be worried, where is this country, the nation going from here? What will be the relationship with our neighbors, and what about all our internal disagreements?"

Reminiscent of Israel's long history of wars and conflict, the renewed tensions at Israel's northern border have overshadowed this year's celebrations. The Israeli army is on high alert for a potential Iranian retaliation after an airstrike on a Syrian base last week that Russia attributed to Israel. The airstrikes the US, Britain and France carried out on Syrian military installations last Friday, in retaliation for an alleged chemical attack on civilians in the Syrian town of Douma, have added to the tension. And in the south, mass protests by Palestinians in the Gaza-Strip at the demarcation fence with Israel are expected to continue into May.

Read more: US-led strikes on Syria: A move with unpredictable consequences

Traditionally, the day before independence day, Israel officially mourns its fallen soldiers and victims of conflict. For many years, an "alternative" memorial day has also been held by Israeli and Palestinian civil society organizations to jointly honor their loved ones who have been killed in the conflict. The somber mood of memorial day will transition to a festive mood with a traditional torch lightning ceremony on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem to celebrate Israel's birthday.

70 years ago, Michael Shiloh was a 14-year-old pupil when he listened to David Ben Gurion's announcement of independence in Tel Aviv. Looking at pictures from that time in his home in Jerusalem, he remembers the euphoria after the speech and the singing and dancing in the streets. "This was only three years after the Holocaust. Auschwitz still existed in April of 1945," says Shiloh whose parents fled Nazi-Germany and came to what was Mandatory Palestine in 1935. "So there was this cloud over my parents head, but on the other hand, there was euphoria, there was this collective feeling, we've made it, we are safe, we have a state of our own."

But that feeling did not last for long: A coalition of Arab countries, who had already rejected the UN partition plan in November 1947, attacked the new state. Ten months of fighting ended in an armistice in 1949. An estimated 700,000 Palestinians were forcibly displaced or fled their towns and villages during this war, which Israel refers to as Independence War. Those Palestinians became refugees in today's occupied West Bank and Gaza and in other Arab countries they fled to like Jordan, Syria and Lebanon. Only a minority stayed in today's Israel.

A day after Israel celebrates its creation, Palestinians mourn the loss of their land, which they refer to as "nakba" ("catastrophe"). Since the end of March, at least 30 people have been killed and hundreds more wounded by Israeli sniper fire in the current mass protests in Gaza which have put the issue of the right of return of Palestinian refugees firmly back on the agenda.

"It is a reminder to Israel, that the questions of Palestinian refugees, is still not solved, even after 70 years," says Ahmad Abu Irtema, 33, one of the young initiators of the protests from Gaza City, who insists that the majority of the events are peaceful. The small territory is home to about 1.2 million refugees and their descendants. Israel accuses Hamas which controls the Gaza Strip of using these demonstrations for its own violent means. The issue of refugees is one of the most contentious in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. But beyond asking for a just solution for refugees, protesters also say they want to highlight the decade-long closure of the Gaza-Strip, as well as Israel's military occupation of Palestinian territories, which it has maintained for over 50 years.

For Michael Shiloh, who went on to become a diplomat serving in Israeli missions and embassies around the world, it is the missing peace that is his main concern. He was closely involved with the team that worked on the Oslo peace negotiations in the early 1990's. "We are successful in many ways," Shiloh says. "But we didn't arrive at any arrangement; not at peace with the neighbors, not even with an interim arrangement that would give us the feeling of security and justice."

Read more: When Israelis started to talk about the occupation </s> Israel has passed a law to declare that only Jews have the right of self-determination in the country, something members of the Arab minority have called racist and verging on apartheid.

The "nation-state" law, backed by the Government, passed by a vote of 62-55 and two abstentions in the 120-member Parliament after months of political argument.

Some Arab politicians shouted and ripped up papers after the vote.

"This is a defining moment in the annals of Zionism and the history of the state of Israel," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the Knesset after the vote.

"Israel is the nation state of the Jewish people, which honours the individual rights of all its citizens," he said.

"Lately there are people who are trying to destabilise this and therefore destabilise the foundations of our existence and our rights," he added.

"So today we have made a law in stone. This is our country. This is our language. This is our anthem and this is our flag. Long live the state of Israel."

Ayman Odeh, the head of the Arab Joint List, pulled out a black flag and waved it during his speech in Parliament, warning of the implications of the law.

"This is an evil law," he said, adding that "a black flag hovers over it".

In a statement following the law's passage, Mr Odeh "today I will have to tell my children, along with all the children of Palestinian Arab towns in the country, that the state has declared that it does not want us here".

Benny Begin, the son of former Israeli prime minister Menachem Begin, and the founder of Mr Netanyahu's ruling Likud party, abstained from voting, warning of the party's growing disconnect from human rights.

"This is not a decision I expected from the Likud leadership," he said.

Largely symbolic, the law was enacted just after the 70th anniversary of the birth of the state of Israel.

It stipulates that "Israel is the historic homeland of the Jewish people and they have an exclusive right to national self-determination in it".

The bill also strips Arabic of its designation as an official language alongside Hebrew, downgrading it to a "special status" that enables its continued use within Israeli institutions.

Israel's Arabs number some 1.8 million, about 20 per cent of the 9 million population.

Early drafts of the legislation went further in what critics at home and abroad saw as discrimination towards Israel's Arabs, who have long said they are treated as second-class citizens.

Clauses that were dropped in last-minute political wrangling — and after objections by Israel's President and Attorney-General — would have enshrined in law the establishment of Jewish-only communities, and instructed courts to rule according to Jewish ritual law when there were no relevant legal precedents.

Instead, a more vaguely-worded version was approved, which says:

Even after the changes, critics said the new law would deepen a sense of alienation within the Arab minority.

"I announce with shock and sorrow the death of democracy," Ahmed Tibi, an Arab politician, told reporters.

The American Jewish Committee, a group representing the Jewish diaspora, said it was "deeply disappointed," saying the law "put at risk the commitment of Israel's founders to build a country that is both Jewish and democratic".

Israel's Arab population is comprised mainly of descendants of the Palestinians who remained on their land during the conflict between Arabs and Jews that culminated in the war of 1948 surrounding the creation of the modern state of Israel.

Hundreds of thousands were forced to leave their homes or fled.

Those who remained have full equal rights under the law but say they face constant discrimination, citing inferior services and unfair allocations for education, health and housing. </s> Israelis who hit all the right notes

Youth from all over the world celebrating Israeli independence at the Western Wall. (photo credit: YOSSI ZELIGER)

President Reuven Rivlin on Thursday warmly welcomed some 6,000 youths from across the globe who took part in March of the Living from Auschwitz to Birkenau last week and then flew to Israel.





“Our country, the State of Israel, is the ‘March of the Living’ for the Jewish people,” Rivlin told them, following their emotional trip to Poland to mark Holocaust Remembrance Day. 



 





As part of Israel's 70th Independence Day celebrations, they gathered in Jerusalem’s Safra Square and marched to the Western Wall for a mass communal prayer for the welfare of the State of Israel. Later that evening, the educational program concluded with a large-scale celebration at the IDF Armored Corps Memorial and Museum in Latrun. 





March of the Living, noted that

to Israel, from all over the world, constitutes the closing of an exciting and important circle. The establishment of the State of Israel is a miracle

, and it is something that must be experienced to be believed and understood

their interactions with Israel’s people and culture

, we believe that

our March of the Living

will develop a stronger kinship with the land of Israel, </s> Three years after the end of the Second World War and in the aftermath of the Holocaust carried out by Nazi Germany’s systematic persecution murdering 6 million European Jews, the Provisional Government of Israel proclaimed a new State of Israel on May 14, 1948.

According to published reports, “Truman sent his telegram recognizing Israel 11 minutes after Ben-Gurion proclaimed the country’s existence on May 14, 1948.”

President Donald Trump delivered on his campaign promise to move the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. This fulfills America’s great promise in implementing the Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995, a public law of the United States passed by the 104th Congress on Oct. 23, 1995.

Yet again, it was an American president’s moral leadership to stand firm against the opposition and media critics.

President Trump continues the legacy of America’s leadership in affirming the shared values and principles with trusted allies. This date, May 14, 2018, will be marked in history as a triumphant day when Americans and Israelis gathered to affirm Israel’s sovereignty and renewed the bonds of the strategic partnership between the two rule of law countries.

In a letter written a few weeks prior to Israel’s declaration of independence, Chaim Weizmann, the future president of Israel, conveyed this message to President Truman:

“The choice for our people, Mr. President, is between statehood and extermination. History and providence have placed this issue in your hands, and I am confident that you will yet decide it in the spirit of the moral law.”

President Trump’s leadership in fulfilling America’s commitment to a trusted ally honors the principled endeavors advanced for decades by America’s conservative movement, evangelical Christians and partners in Israel and the Jewish American community.

There are notable moments in history when U.S. presidents have stood for a moral cause and opposed external pressures to keep the status quo. At this hour, American leadership was at its best as a shining example to the world.

Never has the certitude of the rightness of this strategic endeavor been as strong as it is now, to implement the public law of the United States — the Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995. After the U.S. and Guatemala, Paraguay becomes the third nation to transfer its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

The State of Israel considers “Jerusalem its eternal and indivisible capital.” Over 3,000 years ago, King David established Jerusalem as the capital of the first Jewish kingdom.

However, nations around the world oppose America’s principled leadership in affirming Israel’s sovereignty. On Dec. 21, 2017, the U.N. General Assembly held a vote on an Egyptian-drafted resolution demanding that the Trump administration rescind its decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital city of Israel. A total of 128 of the 193-member U.N. General Assembly voted against America’s decision.

To make matters worse, America’s close allies on the 15-member U.N. Security Council, the influential and powerful body within the United Nations structure, voted for the resolution to embarrass the Trump administration.

Absent from the ranks to support Israel’s sovereignty and to recognize Jerusalem as the country’s capital were NATO members, a structure funded significantly by America’s taxpayers. NATO members missed an opportunity to side with the United States and Israel.

A great number of the Eastern Europe’s NATO members have failed to meet the alliance’s rule of law criteria including Croatia, Hungary and Poland. These countries are currently blocking efforts to return property confiscated during World War II to Jewish communities, a key article enshrined in the NATO’s charter as a prerequisite to joining the military alliance.

President Trump justifiably warned countries that are receiving U.S. taxpayer aid regarding their voting record when it comes to upholding the rule of law in the U.N. assembly.

Reuters reports: “According to figures from the U.S. government’s aid agency USAID, in 2016 the United States provided some $13 billion in economic and military assistance to countries in sub-Saharan Africa and $1.6 billion to states in East Asia and Oceania. It provided some $13 billion to countries in the Middle East and North Africa, $6.7 billion to countries in South and Central Asia, $1.5 billion to states in Europe and Eurasia and $2.2 billion to Western Hemisphere countries, according to USAID.”

A significant number of countries mired in corruption — and yet receiving U.S. taxpayer aid, generous loans and grants backed by the U.S. government through the International Monetary Fund and World Bank — continue to oppose rule of law reforms in their own jurisdictions while attacking America’s principled leadership.

In contrast, Israel is a beacon of democracy and the rule of law, and America’s key trusted ally in the Middle East.

Israel, known as the “startup nation,” is a leader in technology, medicine, agribusiness and desalination. Israeli innovations are empowering people in the developing world. Today, Israel’s engaged networks are actively sharing its resources with countries in Africa, Asia, Central and South America. Israeli scientists and experts have shared their unique drip irrigation system and natural pesticides. These practical approaches provide clean water and boosts agricultural yields for developing nations.

According to Israeli research, “there are now some 400 Israel agritech startups focusing on innovations for the global agriculture sector.”

The innovation and technology from Israel fuel our digital highways, strengthen cybersecurity measures and empower citizens through smartphones.

Venture capitalist Jon Medved stated at the inaugural Jerusalem Leaders Summit in 2015 in Israel, “There are 350 multinationals in Israel. If anyone wants to boycott Israel, you have to unhook the Internet, because God forbid, you should use a Cisco product, or a Google product, you shouldn’t go on Facebook, you should never use Intel — that means throw away your computers, you cannot use Qualcomm, because then you have to get rid of your cell phones.”

Citizens, consumers and businesses around the world benefit from Israel’s creativity and appreciate the benefits gained from cybersecurity, medical advances and agricultural innovation.

However, leaders from around the world ought to know better and acknowledge the importance of Israel’s rule of law foundation and the fruits of a vibrant market economy. Celebrating a nation’s sovereignty and its significant economic successes will go a long way in a region hampered by authoritarian regimes, rampant corruption, radical Islamism, a state of constant unrest and open conflicts.

Indeed, the opening of the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem on Monday will undoubtedly be celebrated by engaged citizens and stakeholders from America, Israel and beyond who are dedicated to strengthening the partnership of nations deeply rooted in the rule of law and freedom.

Natasha Srdoc and Joel Anand Samy are co-founders of the U.S.-based International Leaders Summit and Jerusalem Leaders Summit.

The views expressed in this opinion article are solely those of their author and are not necessarily either shared or endorsed by the owners of this website.

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Israel celebrates the 70th anniversary of its existence as a Jewish state.