JERUSALEM – As Israelis mark the rebirth of their nation 76 years after the country’s first prime minister, David Ben-Gurion, declared the modern founding of Israel in 1948, opponents of the Jewish state seek its destruction.
Ze'ev Orenstein, the director of international affairs for the City of David Foundation in Jerusalem, explained its religious importance. 'Zionism not only represents the return of the Jewish people as sovereign to their ancestral homeland – the Land of Israel – where we have had a continuous presence dating back some 3,500 years to the time of the Biblical Joshua until today.' SURVIVOR OF HAMAS TERROR ATTACK ON ISRAEL RECOUNTS PAIN, GRIEF OF LOSING ‘ANGEL’ BOYFRIEND ON OCT.
For many Jews, the yearning of a return to their Biblical homeland is also captured by the famous Psalm 126: 'A song of ascents. When the Lord restored the captives of Zion, we were like dreamers. Then our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with shouts of joy. Then it was said among the nations, The Lord has done great things for them. The Lord has done great things for us and we are filled with joy.