'This Was Promised to Us By God': The Declaration of Independence that Changed the World - CBN News Julie Stahl,Scott Ross

'This Was Promised to Us By God': The Declaration of Independence that Changed the World

04-18-2018CBN News Julie Stahl, Scott Ross

TEL AVIV, Israel – 70 years ago in an art gallery in Tel Aviv, David Ben Gurion made a declaration that changed the world forever. On May 14, 1948 he declared the birth of the modern state of Israel. For the first time in nearly 2,000 years, the Jewish people had a nation.

CBN's Scott Ross spoke with Isaac Dror, who heads education at the place where the declaration was made – now known Independence Hall.

"Ben Gurion chose the words 'we hereby declare the establishment of a Jewish state in the Land of Israel to be known as the State of Israel.' This was the birth of a Jewish state for all Jews," Dror told CBN News.

Related

---

'A Fulfillment of That Great Prophecy': Israel Turns 70, a Light to the Nations

Israel Then and Now: Prophecy Fulfilled

---

"Ben Gurion was standing here as the voice of 11 million Jews around the world who had no voice, who had no address and nowhere to go to," Dror said. 

"This was promised to us by God," he said. "We are the only people in the history of the world that live on the same land, speak in the same language and believe in the same God more than 3,000 years."

It was Friday afternoon and the ceremony needed to be finished in time for the guests to get home before sundown when the eve of the Sabbath began. The ceremony lasted just 32 minutes. 

The British, who had ruled mandatory Palestine for about 30 years, left and reborn Israel was invaded by five Arab armies.

"The civil war that was launched upon us six months before the declaration was still going on. Jerusalem was besieged and struggling, not very far away from here," Dror said. 

"It's like when you mix the happiest day for the Jewish people, one of the greatest moments for our nation in modern times with one of the most dangerous and sad days when Israel was that close to a complete annihilation," he added.

Dror said the building had been chosen because it was the "safest auditorium" in Tel Aviv. Most of the guests, too, were from Tel Aviv because the "country" was divided up and Jerusalem disconnected. 

"Only 350 of them were lucky enough to be squeezed in the room with no air conditioning," he said.

One of those people was Yael Sharett, the daughter of Moshe Sharett, the second prime minister of Israel. 

"Her father was on the stage here, Moshe Sharrett. He was the right hand of Ben Gurion and the, kind of, foreign minister of the provisional government of Israel," explained Dror.

"When they came to the ceremony, they came with an invitation. It was issued on the 13th of May, which is 24 hours before the event. And it says, 'we are honored to invite you to the ceremony of independence.' And then it goes 'we ask you to keep it as a secret.'

"You don't want thousands of people to swarm the street when you expect an air raid later that day. And then it says the invitation is 'personal,' like come alone.

"And here, you have Mr. Moshe Sharrett who brought his daughter with him. And not only his daughter, but his sister as well and the guy at the door said 'what are you doing? This is just for one person.' And Moshe Sharrett said, 'they will share the same chair.'

Ross met Yael Sharett Medini at her home in Ramat Gan, near Tel Aviv. On the wall, is a photo of the ceremony. Using a toothpick, Yael pointed out where she and her aunt had been sitting.

"Here's my aunt and this is my forehead and we shared a chair there – next to the wall," Yael told Ross.

Just a day earlier her father had dictated to her a draft of the Declaration of Independence. A copy of that draft is also hanging on the wall in Yael's home.

"This is the document. This is my father's version of the declaration – the one that he dictated to me. This is my handwriting," Yael said.

"And this took you how long?" Ross asked.

"I think that I sat there about three-quarters of an hour to an hour," she said. 

Despite her participation in such a momentous event, Yael referred to herself as simply "a handmaiden of history." She told us her story.

At age 17, she said, she wasn't so interested in the declaration ceremony.

"I knew that this was going to happen from the age of zero. That we are going to have a state. And, we are rightfully here," she said.

Yael and her family were living in New York at the time where her father was busy at the United Nations, convincing countries to support the soon to be born Jewish state. When they returned on May 11th for the declaration of statehood she stayed in Tel Aviv with her aunt.

"So, my father came to his sister's apartment place to dictate this to me, right. When he finished, he said, 'tomorrow there is going to be a ceremony declaring the state, ok. Now I'm going to pick you up at 3:30, you and your aunt. Be ready, get dressed, comb your hair, and be presentable.' And, I obey orders," she said.

"Do you remember the event itself? When Ben Gurion stood up and read?" Ross asked.

"Yes, this I remember," she said. "It's really epic. It's poetry actually." Nevertheless, it was an ancient Jewish prayer that touched her most.

"The only time I was really moved I must say was when the Rabbi Levine made the old age Jewish blessing: shehecheyanu, v'kiyimanu, v'higiyanu la'z'man ha'zeh," she said.

That prayer is recited on momentous occasions and thanks God "who has given us life, sustained us and allowed us to reach this day." 

"We are not religious, I am not religious. But, this blessing has an echo of generations," she said.

At the end they stood and sang the national anthem, HaTikvah, The Hope.

The next day was the Sabbath. US President Harry Truman became the first world leader to recognize the re-born state. But Yael wasn't so interested.

"I had to get in touch with my friends who were already mobilized, while I was not yet because I was in America. And, I was very eager to join with them – to be mobilized, to be part of the fighting call. That was on my mind," she said.

According to Dror, Truman's top advisors were opposed to the US recognition of Israel.

"The Pentagon and the State Department truly believed that Ben Gurion, the leader of Israel, is leading the world into a new catastrophe," Dror said.

"(Truman) understood something that most of his top advisors and ministers failed to see. This is truly prophecy being realized," Dror said.

Against all odds the fledgling state not only survived but thrived.70 years later it's clear Truman was right.

"We are faster, better, prettier than ever today," Dror said. 

"The economy in Israel is doing wonderfully well and Israel is, you know, innovation country, a start-up country. 

"More and more countries around the world realize that what Israel spoke about for so many years now is a reality. Suddenly, people understand why we are here," he said.

Watch here: Promised Land

 

'We Thought We Were Losing Israel Forever': Israelis Remember the Six-Day War - CBN News Julie Stahl, Scott Ross

Israelis remember the Six-Day War

'We Thought We Were Losing Israel Forever': Israelis Remember the Six-Day War 

May 11, 2017 CBN News  Julie Stahl, Scott Ross

JERUSALEM, Israel -- After 2,000 years of occupation by various world conquerors, Jerusalem was reunited under Jewish sovereignty in the 1967 Six-Day War. But since then, that victory has pitted much of the world against Israel and even divided Israelis. 

CBN's Scott Ross took to the streets of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv to ask Israelis what they know about the war and its impact, and how they feel about the idea of dividing Jerusalem. 

"I was in New York. That was an extraordinary situation," recalled Martin Oliner. "All the troops were lined up. (Egyptian President Abdel) Nasser's troops – we thought we were losing Israel forever. We thought it was really a Goliath story. Nasser was ready to annihilate us."

But after just three days, Israeli forces routed the Jordanians. The victory reunited the Jewish capital, including the Old City and Temple Mount. 

The Six-Day War

"What do you know about the Six-Day War, historically?" Ross asked.

"(It's) before my time, before I was born," replied Jonathan from South Africa. "Obviously, it's hugely significant for all Jews. It seems to be a seminal event."

"I remember it like it was yesterday," said Avi Sela, a veteran of the Six-Day War.

"I was 20 years old. I remember well that time. I was a young lieutenant in Golani Infantry Division, in the north, in the Golan Heights. I was even hurt here," he said, pointing to his chin. "(By) a shell."

"We overcame pharaoh. We'll also overcome whatever this is next to us," said David Moses, who is originally from the U.S.

"The Six-Day War is almost like a myth, I think, in the Israeli society of today," said Kobe from Tel Aviv. "It was a sign of Israel's strength and ability to defend itself against all odds. It's sort of like Israel's military DNA was almost based on the Six-Day War." 

"It's a very important war in the history of Israel," said 24-year-old Noa. She added that she thought people her age appreciate that.

"We all know that it's one of the biggest moments in the history of the Jewish state," said Gilad.

Should Jerusalem Be Divided?

You might think such a victory after 2,000 years would leave no room for discussion. But as Jerusalem grew and thrived, adversaries – from within and without -- demanded that Israel turn over eastern Jerusalem to Palestinian Arabs, dividing the city as the potential capital of two states. 

According to Isaac Dror, Jerusalem will "never ever" be divided.

"It will never ever happen," said Dror, who heads the education department of Independence Hall, where Israel's founding fathers signed the Declaration of Independence.

"Because you know now after so many years, finally, we realized the plan of God. And the plan is to put us in Jerusalem, the Jews, to bring us back to Jerusalem, so we can protect what is so precious – so precious to the human race," Dror said.

"Give them half (of Jerusalem)," said Kobe, laughing. "Just give them half. I think that (in) Tel Aviv you'll find more left-wing people that say, 'Who cares about a piece of ground as long as the blood stops?'" 

Gilad disagrees.

"It's a shame when any Israeli (is) saying such a thing. It must be a shame because Jerusalem is the City of David," he said. "That's the most important place on earth for the Israelis, for the Jewish (people). We got it thousands of years ago from God and it's our only place on earth." 

Abigail, a teacher, said, "I think we have kind of mixed feelings because from one side of the story, of course we're happy that we got all Jerusalem and the people are permitted to go to both parts. But I, of course, from the other side see the suffering of the Palestinians on the east side of Jerusalem." 

Jonathan from South Africa sided with Gilad, saying, "I certainly believe that Jerusalem is the eternal capital of the Jewish people."

Jewish and Arab Neighborhoods

Under former U.S. President Bill Clinton's plan from the 1990s, eastern Jerusalem and the Old City would have been divided along ethnic lines – Jewish neighborhoods to Jews, Arab neighborhoods to Arabs. But because the neighborhoods are in many cases intertwined, most people thought that would be impossible.

"No way! It's very difficult. If you go to east Jerusalem you have one Arab neighborhood, one Jewish neighborhood, one Arab," observed Ian Brook. "I wish we could all live in peace, but dividing Jerusalem is not a possibility." 

Carmel from Tel Aviv said if dividing Jerusalem would bring peace, she would be in favor of it. "I would like to think so, but I really don't think so," she said.

"I think some parts of Jerusalem should be for all nations, like, the Kotel (Western Wall) of course should be for the Jews," said Abigail. "But I don't think we need east Jerusalem."

But fellow Israeli resident David Moses insisted, "The dividing of Jerusalem is about destroying the State of Israel. Dividing Jerusalem is about pushing us a little further in the direction of the Mediterranean Sea." 

Ron Hoffman was walking in the streets of Jerusalem with a giant Israeli flag.

"Arabs can walk all the way here to the market freely. Try to go now to east Jerusalem with the flag. What can happen?" he asked. "First of all, the police (are) going to tell me get out. You escalated and you agitated (the situation)."

What Part Does God Play?

And does God enter into the equation?

"I think there's no question that Jerusalem is the city of David. God has watched over Jerusalem for millennia, for 3,000 years," said Oliner. "This is the most important city in the world." 

"Do you pray for the peace of Jerusalem?" Ross asked Noa. "Do you believe you'll get an answer to that prayer?"

"I hope so," she said, "otherwise, I wouldn't pray." 

Support News from a Christian Perspective

At CBN News, we seek the truth and strive to bring you an alternative to the major media outlets. Please help us continue to provide this free service by donating today.

Become a PartnerGive a special gift

Mountain of History: Why Jerusalem's 'Re-Settlers' Won't Be Bullied - CBN News Julie Stahl

Mountain of History: Why Jerusalem's 'Re-Settlers' Won't Be Bullied

08-15-2016

CBN News Julie Stahl

 +0

JERUSALEM, Israel – The Mount of Olives is an important biblical site. It's also part of the disputed area known as East Jerusalem. CBN's Scott Ross visited a Jewish family who is living there amidst a sea of Arabs.

The Bible mentions the Mount of Olives many times in both the Old and New Testaments – there Jesus wept over Jerusalem, prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, was arrested, crucified and ascended to heaven.  It's the place where Christ will return to redeem Jerusalem.

Ross visited Yishai Fleisher and his family at their home in Ma'aleh HaZeitim -- the Olive Heights – in Hebrew, on the slopes of the Mount of Olives. From Fleisher's balcony, he has a stunning, close-up view of the southeast corner of Jerusalem's Old City. That means he's staring at the Temple Mount with its golden Dome of the Rock shrine.

 
"Those are the walls that (were) rebuilt by Sultan the Magnificent (more than 450 years ago), but those are built upon the ancient city walls of Jerusalem," Fleischer told Ross.   

"We see the Temple Mount where we know the two temples stood and where Abraham almost sacrificed his son, Isaac, at the binding (of Isaac in Genesis)," he said.

A Mountain of Jewish History

Some call Fleisher a settler and say his community is a stumbling block to peace, but he says Jews have been here for thousands of years and he's not going to be bullied out of it.

"And if we look a little more to the east, we see the magnificent Mount of Olives cemetery, which has 180,000 Jewish graves. I call it the mountain of history. It's got important Jews – our peoples' ancestral burial ground from 3,000 years ago," he said.

And this ancient piece of Jewish history is located in the eastern part of the city, which many refer to as "East Jerusalem."

"These were lands that were actually taken away from Israel in 1948 by the Jordanian Army, which was British-led and British-trained and British-armed, and in 1967, we liberated or captured these lands and returned back to places like this," he explained.

"And that's why it's always so funny to me when people claim that we don't have a right to be here, that we're on somebody else's land. I just point them to this mountain and say, 'Well, look at it. It speaks for itself, you know. This is where our people have been for the last 3,000 years,'" he said.

Call Us 'Indigenous Returnees'

Fleischer says Jewish people purchased the land where his community sits in the 1700s to expand the cemetery. But the expansion didn't happen.  

Now 100 Jewish families live in the secured complex of apartment buildings known as Ma'aleh Hazeitim built on that land. Children play within the compound in the mostly Arab neighborhood.

"We live with Arab neighbors. These folks are all Arabs, Muslims, a few Christians, but mostly Muslims. Yet some of them believing in the jihadist ideology that we don't have any rights here," Fleisher said.

"This next door neighbor is an Arab," Ross noted as he looked at the building right next door. "There's an Arab. Are there contentions among you? Do you live in peace?"

"Instead of the word "peace" I prefer a word called normalization. We are trying very hard to normalize our existence back here. We see ourselves as the indigenous returnees," Yishai explained.

Fleischer says the compound and those who live there face weekly attacks, yet they hold on.

A 'David vs. Goliath' Tradition

Ross asked Fleischer how he could raise his two children in such an environment.

"People say, you know, aren't you putting them in danger? And the first thing to remember (is) that being a Jew is a dangerous occupation (in itself). Always has been," Fleischer said. "And second thing, we're teaching them to be courageous in the face of bullies, which is a Jewish tradition, a David versus Goliath tradition."

"And that is not to let people push you around and not to let people erase your story and try to tell you that you don't belong in Jerusalem. I mean, there's no greater irony than to tell Jews that they don't belong in Jerusalem," he said.

If Jerusalem Were Divided...

"What would happen if Jerusalem were divided?" Ross asked. Palestinian Arabs want to see Jerusalem divided with the eastern part of the city, including the Mount of Olives and the Temple Mount, as the capital of a future Palestinian state.

"It's the progressive people who claim that it's a good idea to divide Jerusalem and yet, what are you saying?  Are you saying that we should take a city, build a wall down the middle, and divide it based on race and ethnicity and move Arabs to one side and Jews to the other side?" Fleischer continued.

"I mean, that's a vision of progress to racially divide a city and build a scar like wall down the middle it? It's so regressive," he said. "We stand against dividing the city and dividing this land."

"You would take exception to the word or the definition of yourselves as being settlers?" Ross asked.

"We are not settlers.  We're re-settlers. We are re-claiming our ancestral rights. And to create a narrative that we don't belong and that somehow we're foreigners in this land is a myth. It's been created in order to delegitimize the Jewish people's right to this land," Fleisher said.

What 'Land for Peace' Really Means

"How do you view the philosophy of land for peace?" Ross asked. For decades that's been the formula the Arab world has offered Israel – give up land and we'll give you peace. But it's never worked.

"It's actually a misunderstanding about the Middle East mindset. When you say, 'I'm willing to give my land for peace,' what the Middle Easterner will hear is, 'here's my wife, take her, just don't hurt me'," Fleisher explained.  

"So when you say land for peace, you're actually giving up the most coveted thing here in the region, which is your land and it just shows you to be a completely spineless, jelly-like creature, which with time will be destroyed," he said.

"Every place that we leave and that we abandon and that we shrink away from, shirk away from…becomes our cancer," he added. "If it's South Lebanon, (it) becomes the home of Hezbollah; if it's Gaza, it becomes the home of ceaseless Hamas wars.  Three wars in six years, okay. To make it in the Middle East, you have to be big; you have to be tough; you have to be a regional superpower. The message of Israel is one of tremendous opportunity for a better life."

Praying for Jerusalem

Noting that the book of Psalms commands us to pray for the peace of Jerusalem, Ross asked how Christians can pray for Fleisher, his family and those who live "in the middle of it in Ma'aleh HaZeitim.

"One of the ways to pray for Jerusalem is to come here.  And go to the (Western) Wall and go to the Temple Mount and talk to God and thank Him for the opportunity.  Be part of the story in some way," Fleisher advised.

But he said there's more.

"We have to take it also from the realm of prayer and the realm of hope to the realm of action. And one example is that the United States of America does not recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. In fact, they don't even recognize Jerusalem as a city in Israel."

"Tell your countries, 'Put your embassies in Jerusalem.' What kind of disrespect is that to Jerusalem and to Israel and to the God of Israel, to the God of the Bible, that you don't even recognize Jerusalem as the renewed, reconstituted capital of the Jewish commonwealth that we've all prayed and yearned for, of the promises of the Bible?" he asked.

Watch here: CBN News - Scott Ross in Jerusalem - interview

Jerusalem's Shuk: Where Prophecy's Fulfilled

By Scott Ross and Julie Stahl

CBN News Middle East Bureau

Monday, May 11, 2015

JERUSALEM, Israel -- Jerusalem's open-air market is one of the most colorful and popular spots in the city and a place where you can see prophecy fulfilled.

Mahane Yehuda -- the camp of Judah -- known as the "shuk" in Hebrew, is Jerusalem's most famous market, and like so many other places in the city, there's nothing ordinary about it.

Mahane Yehuda

The market begins along the historical Jaffa Road. About a mile and half down the road is the Jaffa Gate in Jerusalem's Old City.

In the late 1800s, a few brave Jews established homes in the area of the shuk, what was then a long way from the protection of the city walls.

"Today you would never even imagine such a thing, but when they moved out of the Old City, they were moving to these secured kind of neighborhoods, and that's why the name of the market is called Mahane Yehuda," tour guide Hannah Ben Haim told CBN News. "It's named after that neighborhood that was built in 1887."

Jaffa Road connects Jerusalem to the Mediterranean Sea port at Jaffa, considered by some to be the oldest harbor in the world.

"Who would have been on this road in recent history? Someone like General Allenby when he came and conquered this from the Ottoman's [in] 1917 [and] Theodore Herzl, the father of modern Zionism, came down this road," Ben Haim said.

"But when we think really old, really ancient, do you realize that the cedars from Lebanon, that were imported by [King] David and then [King] Solomon, they had to come from Jaffa into Jerusalem. Now, we don't know exactly the route they took, but this was the main artery," she said.

"It certainly hasn't disappeared off the face of the earth. It's had a transformation. Now it's a pedestrian mall with a beautiful European light rail going through it," she added.

Deep Symbolism

CBN's Scott Ross and his wife, Nedra, joined Ben Haim on a walk through the shuk on a busy Friday as shoppers prepared for the Sabbath.

"It's Shabbat, and we have to buy challah. Challah is the braided Shabbat bread and it comes in several different styles. One is sweeter than the other," Ben Haim told us.

"And traditionally you'd buy two of them because on the Friday when the children of Israel were in the desert, they always had a double portion," she added.

Many things in the shuk have a deeper symbolism for Israelis and Bible believers, like olives and olive oil.

"Of course the olive is part of the symbol of Israel. We have the menorah with the two abbreviated branches from Zachariah 4, 'Not by might, not by power,'" Ben Haim pointed out, noting that olive oil was burned in the menorah in the Temple.

Dozens of countries and cultures are represented in the shuk, brought here by Jews returning to the land from more than 100 countries.

An Iranian Jew started the Rosemary Spice Shop in Jerusalem in 1953 and later moved here to the shuk.

Today his grandsons still run the shop and grind and mix the spices themselves like their grandfather did. They sell mixtures that are good for rice, cheese, salads, or desserts.

"So that's three generations mixing spices and selling spices here in Jerusalem from Iran," Ben Haim said.

A Place to 'Remember'

An estimated 200,000 people visit the shuk each week. Rich and poor, young and old, religious and secular, as well as Jews and Arabs shop in the market. But it's had its share of tragedy, too.

In the center of the shuk a small plaque on the wall says "Remember" in Hebrew. It lists the names of 16 people.

On July 30, 1997, suicide bombers killed 16 people here and wounded almost 200. Terror attacks in the market virtually destroyed business so the municipality re-invented the shuk to make it one of the trendiest places in the city.

"How are we going to encourage people to come back here?" Ben Haim asked us. "So the new floors and the new ceilings…even though it doesn't look very brand new to you, and also the openness to so many different other kinds of shops and restaurants, bistros, even night life is here."

"It's obviously been very successful," Ross noted.

"So you see all things work together for good. This tragedy brought new life," Ben Haim continued.

Seeing God at Work

More than 250 vendors sell everything from fruits and vegetables to gourmet cheeses, nuts, and special boutique items like flavored tahini and halva.

And some of the best restaurants in the city are here. The Azura Restaurant is in the Iraqi section of the shuk. It's been here for decades, having started in 1952.

It's a kosher meat restaurant serving traditional Turkish and Iraqi food. One of the restaurant's specialties is "azura," a cooked eggplant stuffed with ground beef, pine nuts, and cinnamon.

The Rosses agreed the food was delicious.

"Do you see why they've been here so long?" Ben Haim asked.

"It's so amazing the abundance of food that's here. I mean the tomatoes are [giant] like that and the variety of food piled up," Ross said.

"You know this was prophesied. Ezekiel prophesied, 'I'm going to give them such abundance.' Why is He giving us such abundance? So the nations will know what I'm [God is] doing. And here we are living and enjoying it today," Ben Haim said.

One religious Jew summed up the shuk for the Rosses this way: He said if you want to talk to God, go to the Western Wall; but if you want to see God at work go to the shuk.

And that's exactly what they saw.

Hidden Heritage: Aramean Christians Fighting for Israel

Scott Ross with Father Gabriel Nadaf

Hidden Heritage: Aramean Christians Fighting for Israel

By Scott Ross and Julie Stahl

CBN News Middle East Bureau

Wednesday, February 18, 2015

Ad Feedback

JERUSALEM, Israel -- Christians across the Middle East are fleeing Muslim murder and persecution. But one country provides a safe haven and freedom for Christians and that's Israel.

For generations, indigenous Arabic-speaking Christians have been considered a tiny minority within the larger Muslim Arab minority in Israel and Muslim majority in the Middle East.

But now many of them are breaking away from that identity, fighting in the  Israeli Defense Forces for the Jewish state and reclaiming a hidden heritage.

Greek Orthodox priest Father Gabriel Nadaf is leading the way. He lives and ministers in the northern Israeli city of Nazareth.

An Arimean Heritage

Two-thousand years ago, Nazareth was the boyhood home of Jesus. Today it's the largest Christian city in Israel.

But Nadaf, who founded the Christian Israeli Forum, is so controversial that the Greek Orthodox Church threatened to defrock him and Israeli police must protect him with a personal alarm that he can wear on his wrist like a watch round the clock. But he is not deterred.

"Despite all the threats and the incitement against me, I will not turn back from my way," Nadaf told CBN's Scott Ross.

Nadaf's son was violently attacked in December 2013 before he joined the IDF. He joined anyway.

"I am continuing with my faith and my way, the way of integration. Or I'll die or there will be more of this way. If I won't die, I'll continue to the end," Nadaf said.

Nadaf's offense: saying he's not an Arab, reclaiming his Aramean heritage and encouraging young Christians to integrate into Israeli society, especially by serving in the IDF.

"We want to protect the state that's protecting us," Nadaf said.

Most Christians in the Middle East come from a Catholic or a number of Orthodox traditions. Most of them speak Arabic -- the language of their countries -- but many say that doesn't make them Arabs.

No Such Thing as 'Christian Arab'

Until recently, Israel and the rest of the world considered Nadaf and most of the 160,000 Christians in Israel as Arab Israelis, lumping them together with the large Muslim minority.

But Nadaf and others like Shadi Khaloul say they're not Arabs even though they speak Arabic. They say they're Aramean.

"I was raised as a Christian in a Christian family who believed in Christ, who went to church every Sunday, and they listened to an Aramaic language in our church, in our mass," Khaloul, chairman for the Aramaic Christian Society in Israel, said. "That's our church language actually."

Many believe Jesus spoke Aramaic when he was on the earth. Khaloul told Ross the term "Christian Arab" is a "fake terminology" invented in the last century.

"It was created only around 100 years ago by pan-Arabism theology and this is a big mistake," he said.

"We are [an] Aramaic population who inhabited this area at the time of Muslim conquerors in the 7th century. We preserved our national identity and religious identity for 1,400 [years] and today because we are forced to speak Arabic," he said.

Ross asked if that made them Arabs and wondered if someone moved to the Middle East and spoke the Arabic language, if he would suddenly start calling himself an Arab.

"I can't accept myself being [called] an Arab, not because I hate or I don't like Arabs. I have nothing [against] Arabs. I am not [an] Arab," he said emphatically.

An Official Minority

Recently, Israel became the first Middle Eastern country to recognize Aramean Christians as an official minority. And in October Khaloul's 2-year-old son Ya'akov became the first person in modern history to be registered as Aramean in Israel's population registry.

Khaloul, an IDF reservist, was also ahead of the curve when it came to enlisting in the army.

"I joined the IDF in 1993, and at that time it was unusual," he explained.

But he did it, he said, first and foremost because he is a Christian.

"As a Christian, I believe that Israel is my country. I live here," he said. "This is the country that protects me as a Christian. I live here in freedom."

"If I compare myself to other Christians in the Middle East and the way they live -- I have freedom of speech; I have freedom of movement. I have freedom in anything I want," he continued. "If I have full abilities and requirements I can go anywhere I want, even to any position I want."

Khaloul said the Israelis treated him as one of the group.

"In the army, we're all equal. There is no difference between Jewish or Aramaic Christian -- as am I -- or even Arab, which is Muslim," he said.

Arab Backlash

But the problem came with the way the Arabs treated him.

"I faced a lot of Arab[s] cursing us, telling us that you are people that betrayed the Arabs and Palestinians, and they don't accept you as a national identity that can have freedom of your choice," he said. "They want you to be an Arab and they force you to be an Arab against your will."

Nearly all Jewish Israelis are drafted into the IDF after high school. Khaloul said it's also important for young Christians to join because it helps them to be part of the country.

"The IDF in Israel is considered to be a school actually, a school for the Israeli society, for entrance to the Israeli society," he said. "You will eat with them [Jewish soldiers], learn with them, talk with them. They will know about your side of identity and they will know about you."

"You will have a better chance to integrate into the Israeli society -- not because you did military service, but because of better understanding the Israeli Jewish society, which is the majority of this country -- 80 percent [of the population]," he added.

The trend is catching on. In one year, despite condemnation from Arab leaders, Christian enlistment increased from an average of 35 per year to 150 and more than 420--mostly women--signed up for National Civil Service.

Integrating into Israel

But there is still resistance from many Christians when it comes to integrating into Israel. Nadaf said there's a spiritual dimension. Since the founding of the State of Israel no one told Christians that Christianity came out of Judaism, he said. And that's what he is trying to teach them now.

"The Christians that now are against integration into Israeli society, to my dismay, they're not going in the way of Christianity," Nadaf said. "They don't understand that Christianity really comes from Judaism -- that the roots of Christianity are also from this land."

"And if the Jews will leave the land of Israel, there also won't be Christians here," he added.

Nadaf said he would like Christians around the world to pray for their Christian brothers here that the integration process would succeed.

"If we [achieve] this integration there will be true love and we will live in peace with our neighbors here in the State of Israel," he said. "Together with the Jews, we will protect the Land of Israel."

Click: Watch the interview here.

Israel's Dreamers: Heroes and the Shaping of a Nation

By Scott Ross and Julie Stahl

CBN News Middle East Bureau

Monday, December 01, 2014

JERUSALEM, Israel -- It was a war that changed the Middle East and it only lasted six days.

"The Temple Mount is in our hands!" Those were the famous words of Commander Motta Gur, whose men helped reunite Jerusalem under Jewish sovereignty during the 1967 Six-Day War, fulfilling a 2,000-year-old dream.

Like Dreamers: The Story of the Israeli Paratroopers who Reunited Jerusalem and Divided a Nation is a new book about the battle that reunited Jerusalem and how the heroes of that battle went on to shape Israel.

"This is really a story of an Israeli band of brothers, young Israeli men who gave the Jewish people their greatest victory, I would say in history, probably since the exodus in Egypt," author Yossi Klein Halevi said. "You know, suddenly, we're born again as a people."

In a recent interview in Jerusalem, CBN's Scott Ross spoke with American-born Israeli Halevi about his book.

The title comes from Psalm 126, which says, "When the Lord brought back the captivity of Zion, we were like those who dream. Then our mouth was filled with laughter and our tongue with singing."

In the book, Halevi personalizes the history of Israel since the 1967 war by telling the story through the eyes of six paratroopers who were such dreamers.

"I felt that what was missing in the way people relate to the story of Israel was that personal connection," Halevi told CBN News.

"And I always wondered, you know, what happened to the guys who liberated the Western Wall in 1967?"

He said he grew up with that iconic picture of the battle-hardened soldiers staring up at the Wall as an image "symbolizing the 'like dreamers' story of Israel."

He said the paths the paratroopers have taken in his story reflect the microcosm of the stories in the development of Israel.

"The range that you have in this book are deeply religious people, West Bank [Judea and Samaria] settlers, secular Israelis, Tel Aviv residents, kibbutz-niks, left-wingers. And it was very important for me to tell the story of the whole people of Israel because the way that I understand the Jewish people is that we're a family," Halevi said.

Halevi said he spent 12 of his 32 years in Israel researching and writing the book.

"One of my characters, Arik Achmon, who was one of the first Israeli paratroopers into the Old City in 1967 -- and actually led the crossing of the Suez Canal in the Yom Kippur War of 1973, you know when Ariel Sharon turned the tide of battle in the Yom Kippur War, it was the same guys who fought in Jerusalem in '67," Halevi said.

Achmon "starts off as a boy living on one of these socialist, radical socialist kibbutzim, little agrarian settlement," Halevi explained. "And he leaves the kibbutz and ends up becoming the CEO of Israel's domestic airline and he privatizes -- Israeli's economy was socialist in those years."

"He fights the trade unions and he creates the first privatized company in the State of Israel and opens the way to the high-tech free economy that we have today. So for me, Arik Achmon, is a multiple hero," he said.

Meir Ariel, the greatest Hebrew poet-singer of his generation, became known as Israel's Bob Dylan.

Hanan Port founded Kfar Etzion, the first settlement in Judea and Samaria after 1967.

Halevi says his book tries to show the struggle within the Israeli soul over making peace with the Palestinians and dividing Jerusalem.

"[In] my neighborhood, I've got Jewish neighbors; I've got Arab neighbors in the same neighborhood, in the same building. Now, how do you separate that? How do you divide a city without -- God forbid -- destroying it?" he asked.

"I don't see how Jerusalem can be shared between two political entities that are emerging out of a 100-year war," he said.

As someone who lives in Jerusalem, Halevi said he prays for himself that he "personally should be worthy of living here -- of holding this story at this moment. I pray that the people of Israel will be worthy of this story."

"I pray for our strength. I pray for our generosity of spirit. I pray that we be protected from hatred -- that our hearts be open to love all the people of this land and all those who turn toward the city with hope, and I pray for all of us," he said. "That's my prayer."

Israeli-Arab Unity: SodaStream Helping Fulfill Isaiah?

By Scott Ross and Julie Stahl

CBN News Middle East Bureau

Thursday, September 11, 2014

Ad Feedback

MISHOR ADUMIM, Israel -- The Israeli-Arab conflict has been going on for decades. But what many people don't realize is that Jews and Arabs in many cases actually do get along.

SodaStream is one company making a difference. It's the leading manufacturer of home beverage carbonation systems in the world. It also has a practical solution for building Israeli-Palestinian Arab relations.

"This factory here used to be a munitions factory," Daniel Birnbaum, CEO of SodaStream, said. "Until about 15 years ago, the Israeli military made munitions for artillery. And then SodaStream came and transformed it to a soda factory -- a healthy, environmental, soda factory and that might remind you [of] something from the Bible."

Fulfillment of Prophecy?

Just outside the front door of the factory is a statue with a scripture on it from the prophet Isaiah (2:4).

"This statue commemorates that and reminds us every day as we come to work what we're doing here. We're turning bullets into bubbles," Birnbaum told CBN's Scott Ross.

"The statue reads here in Hebrew: 'And you shall beat your swords into ploughshares and your spears into pruning hooks. Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, nor shall they learn war anymore.'"

SodaStream is more than 100 years old. Its largest plant is in Mishor Adumim. Located just outside Jerusalem, it's an area the Bible calls Judea and much of the world refers to as the "occupied West Bank." And that has caused some problems.

"We're selling our products in 45 countries around the world," Birnbaum said.

"Not all of them are getting products from this factory. Because some of the countries, the Nordic markets for example, they don't want anything from this factory because they think it's a discriminatory, apartheid situation. They don't want to touch it," Birnbaum said.

"And I tell them, 'Guys, you have a chance to employ Palestinians, to prove that we can have peace here.' And they don't want to touch it. They're afraid of the lobbying. What we do for them is we make this product in a different factory in China or some other location.  What a shame," he added.

An Unexpected Ally

In another incident, actress Scarlett Johansson was forced to make a choice between her work with SodaStream and Oxfam, a group fighting global poverty. Johansson was shown in a commercial for SodaStream during the Super Bowl.

"Like most actors my real job is saving the world," she says in the commercial. 

Then she demonstrates how to use the SodaStream machine.

"Start with plain water, add bubbles, mix in the perfect flavor," she explains. "Look, soda that's better for you and all of us -- less sugar and less bottles."

A male voice then says, "You doing it Scarlett. Yeah, you're doing it -- changing the world one sip at a time."

But Oxfam told Johansson her work with SodaStream was incompatible because it furthers the poverty of the Palestinians. Johansson stood up for SodaStream and quit Oxfam, a group she had worked with for years.

Birnbaum said he respected Johansson for her courage. He said it was his idea to employ Palestinians at the facility.

"When I came here about seven years ago I inherited this facility. It did not employ Palestinians. It only employed Israelis," Birnbaum said.

"And I decided that it's the right thing to do was to employ people who also lived in the area and it evolved into a very interesting demographic situation where we have more Palestinians than Jews," he said.

According to Birnbaum, SodaStream is the "largest employer of Palestinian people in the world outside of the Palestinian Authority."

"We employ 500 Palestinians here. Side by side, we have 350 Israeli Arabs and another 300 Israeli Jews. And we get along together. They're not killing each other! They go to lunch break. We break bread together and we get to know each other," he said.

SodaStream pays Israeli wages -- four times what workers would earn in the Palestinian Authority, where unemployment is 30 percent.  And the workers say they're happy, too.

Yousef Besharat is a Palestinian Arab who works at the factory. He told CBN News his salary helped him to build a home in just a year. He said there's no discrimination between Jewish and Arab workers at the plant.

The plant produces about 15,000 soda-makers a day. There are dozens of regular, diet and naturally sweetened flavors boasting far less calories than bottled soft drinks.

The factory also manufactures its own specially designed bottles, which can be used over and over again for up to 10,000 liters (about 10,000 quarts) of soda.

The 'United Nations'

Birnbaum gave CBN's Ross a tour of the factory. He said he calls the room where they assemble the valves "the United Nations."

"We have people from all over here. You'll see Palestinians and Israelis. You'll see Russian immigrants and Ethiopians, Bedouins, women and men. I love this hall," Birnbaum said.

He introduced CBN News to the shift manager, whom he called "a wonderful Palestinian fellow who started as an entry level and built himself up here at SodaStream in the last few years to shift manager."

Nabil Besharat is a father of six who has worked at the plant for four years. As shift manager, Besharat is in charge of about 25 people, including Jews and Arabs.

Nabil says he came to the company "for good opportunities, for a good job, for good money," and he found those things here.

"We work here with Jews, with Christians, with Muslims -- all -- with Druze," Nabil told CBN News. They don't even mention the word conflict, he added.

Sadly, disturbances by some Palestinian employees did erupt during the fighting between Israel and Hamas earlier this summer, which led to the firing of dozens of Palestinians.

Management says things are now back on track. Still, they are considering closing the plant, not because of pressure but for financial considerations.

Nevertheless, Birnbaum says the company is doing its part to build bridges and make peace and that's a miracle.

"So every single soda-maker that we make here, every single soda-maker that you would buy at Wal-Mart, or Bed Bath, or Target, or wherever, was made by a Jew and a Palestinian together, living in harmony. And that gives me goose bumps," he said.