"Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu addressed the session (CUFI) via satellite from Jerusalem. Greeted with over 10 minutes of applause and enthusiastic cheers, Mr. Netanyahu extended his appreciation to those Christian supporters of Israel who have the “courage to stand up and speak the truth.”
Drawing the largest applause was Netanyahu’s reference to the biblical connection of the Jewish people to their ancestral homeland. “The Jewish people are not occupiers in the land of Israel. We have returned to the land of our forebears; of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David and Solomon and we are here to stay.” Speaking of Israel as America’s only reliable ally in the Middle East, Netanyahu underscored Israel’s initiatives at the peace table. “This conflict is not about Israel refusing to accept a Palestinian state. Israel wants peace with the Palestinians, but we can’t build a peace based on lies.”
Colonel Ben Tzion Gruber of the Israel Defense Forces took the audience through a video and slide presentation that described how the IDF takes great pains to avoid civilian casualties during military strikes and during wartime. He said that the nomenclature of the code of ethics can be divided into three categories. “Necessity,” he said, means that force is only employed for accomplishing the mission, and “Distinction” means that every measure is taken so that innocents will not be harmed, and “Proportionality” means that collateral damage is only used in proportion to the threat.
Also addressing the session was Malcolm Hoenlein, the Executive Vice Chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations who said, “We have begun a three week period of mourning for the Jewish people as we remember the destruction of our Holy Temple and other calamities that befell us throughout history.” He asked his biblically well-versed audience: “If I would ask you to provide the names of those spies who returned from the land of Israel with a negative report, would you remember their names? The answer is no because those who stand with Israel are remembered for posterity and those who decry Israel are forgotten.”
On the international campaign to abrogate the biblical and religious heritage of the Jewish people in the land of Israel, Mr. Hoenlein said, “Those who would dismiss our past also risk our future. For example, there are those who question Judaism’s undeniable ties with Rachel’s Tomb and thus would like to transform it into a mosque. There are those who say that our Temples never existed. Our bible tells us that Abraham purchased the city of Hevron, in broad daylight, in full view of all, because he knew that in the future its ownership would be challenged. Today there are regular archeological discoveries which serve as concrete proof of the fact that when you open your bibles, the land of Israel comes to life. We must ask ourselves: why did G-d give this generation the privilege of uncovering this Jewish connection. What does it mean for us in the future?”
Drawing the largest applause was Netanyahu’s reference to the biblical connection of the Jewish people to their ancestral homeland. “The Jewish people are not occupiers in the land of Israel. We have returned to the land of our forebears; of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David and Solomon and we are here to stay.” Speaking of Israel as America’s only reliable ally in the Middle East, Netanyahu underscored Israel’s initiatives at the peace table. “This conflict is not about Israel refusing to accept a Palestinian state. Israel wants peace with the Palestinians, but we can’t build a peace based on lies.”
Colonel Ben Tzion Gruber of the Israel Defense Forces took the audience through a video and slide presentation that described how the IDF takes great pains to avoid civilian casualties during military strikes and during wartime. He said that the nomenclature of the code of ethics can be divided into three categories. “Necessity,” he said, means that force is only employed for accomplishing the mission, and “Distinction” means that every measure is taken so that innocents will not be harmed, and “Proportionality” means that collateral damage is only used in proportion to the threat.
Also addressing the session was Malcolm Hoenlein, the Executive Vice Chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations who said, “We have begun a three week period of mourning for the Jewish people as we remember the destruction of our Holy Temple and other calamities that befell us throughout history.” He asked his biblically well-versed audience: “If I would ask you to provide the names of those spies who returned from the land of Israel with a negative report, would you remember their names? The answer is no because those who stand with Israel are remembered for posterity and those who decry Israel are forgotten.”
On the international campaign to abrogate the biblical and religious heritage of the Jewish people in the land of Israel, Mr. Hoenlein said, “Those who would dismiss our past also risk our future. For example, there are those who question Judaism’s undeniable ties with Rachel’s Tomb and thus would like to transform it into a mosque. There are those who say that our Temples never existed. Our bible tells us that Abraham purchased the city of Hevron, in broad daylight, in full view of all, because he knew that in the future its ownership would be challenged. Today there are regular archeological discoveries which serve as concrete proof of the fact that when you open your bibles, the land of Israel comes to life. We must ask ourselves: why did G-d give this generation the privilege of uncovering this Jewish connection. What does it mean for us in the future?”
By Fern Sidman, A7 New YorkArutz Sheva 22.07.2011
