By: David R. Parsons, ICEJ Vice President & Senior Spokesman – Int’l Christian Embassy Jerusalem; icej.org
“You shall no longer be termed Forsaken, nor shall your land any more be termed Desolate; But you shall be called Hephzibah, and your land Beulah; For the Lord delights in you, and your land shall be married. For as a young man marries a virgin, so shall your sons marry you; And as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you.” (Isaiah 62:4-5)
The news out of Israel these days is filled with negative stories about the IDF’s painful, protracted fight against Hamas in Gaza. There is overall progress being made, but most headlines tell of more dead Israeli soldiers, of hostages still suffering in dark tunnels, of rising dissent inside Israel, and of even greater threats looming on other fronts.
In such times of crisis, we long for any positive news about Israel. Well, even though this war with Hamas has triggered waves of antisemitism worldwide, it also is generating a surge of interest in Aliyah. Reports indicate that Jewish applications to immigrate to Israel have risen sharply in some countries, including by 500% in France.
It also was encouraging to see the swift return of tens of thousands of Israelis living abroad when war erupted last October. Inbound flights were packed as Israeli airlines added extra seats to fit everyone on board. Many returnees were IDF reservists, including some who had not been called up for duty but reported anyway.
cont’d…