The Future is in Our Hand and in the Hand of God

I recently spoke to a group of American Jewish high school students who had asked me to advise them on the best way they can help Israel from afar. I turned the question on them, and asked them what they thought was the best way they could help Israel. The first young student to answer the question did so with one word, “prayer.” While this student’s friends would offer the expected answers of political advocacy, posting on social media, and learning facts to refute Israel’s opponents’ narratives, this first student’s one word answer of “prayer,” served as a healthy reminder that in the end of the day, the destiny of Israel is in God’s hand.

This year I celebrated my twentieth year as a member of AIPAC. I started when I was instantly drawn to the organization as a young 24 year old Rabbi in his first Clergy position and I heard Elliot Brandt, AIPAC’s new CEO talk about the organization and its goals. A dear friend encouraged me to attend, and sponsored my first trip, to AIPAC’s Policy Conference in Washington, DC.

I was so taken by AIPAC’s work and accomplishments I was inspired to start a movement of teenagers from all across America that advocates for Israel to members of Congress, the Senate, and in the White House. Teenage advocates can be effective in ways adults cannot. The expectations of today’s teenagers are so low that when politicians meet with passionate teenagers they are impressed by their deep concern over a land and people thousands of miles away from them.

AIPAC’s donors are so generous that they gave more almost $70 million dollars in political giving in the last election cycle. Some donors have given millions and others $18. AIPAC activists have sacrificed their hard earned funds to ensure that America’s Congresspeople and Senators that support a strong U.S.-Israel relationship have the resources they need to be reelected and continue their leadership.

In my own personal life I’ve developed some of my deepest friendships with elected members and representatives of the American government. I spend hours each week helping foreign leaders and their advisors understand the situation in Israel. I host countless meetings, make introductions, and put on a suit and tie (no small accomplishment in Israel) and join meetings advocating for Israel among people who don’t always understand the Israeli side of the issues.

Activism and advocacy play an important role in helping Israel. Many people cynically look at political giving as dirty or impure. Nothing could be further from the truth. The biggest support of Israel, financially and diplomatically, is the United States of America. There is no organization, institution, or foundation that can match the 25 billion dollars America has given Israel over the past two years and the average $4 billion annually in non-wartime military support.

The American decision to fund Israel at these levels is not automatic. Members of Congress must vote every year to give Israel this amount of money and their vote is not guaranteed. Past achievements do not ensure future success, especially in politics. To make sure that Congress continues to support Israel, Americans who care about a strong U.S.-Israel relationship are going to have to give and give and give again. We can’t just assume the support of Israel will be there without the American Pro-Israel community giving financial support to Pro-Israel candidates.

At the recent AIPAC conference I attended a speaker regaled the audience by asking, “On October 1, 2024 Iran sent 200 missiles at Israel and not one Israeli died. Why didn’t any Israelis die under such a strong assault?”The speaker answered his own question by saying there were two reasons. The first was that President Biden put American planes in the air to work alongside Israeli planes to knock down Iran’s missiles. The second was that the Arrow Missile Defense system was able to knock down long range missiles.

I’ll add a third reason, and in my list I’d put it at the top – Divine Providence. The statistical probability of Iran firing over 200 missiles and drones at Israel and every defense system and Air Force from diverse countries working perfectly in sync to eliminate any threat to Israel and Israelis is astronomically low. Yet, it happened. Of course God was involved and ensured that the Iranian attempt to murder tens of thousands of Israelis failed.

God’s involvement in Israel’s well being extends well beyond knocking down Iran’s missiles on a dark night in Israel. It is Divine Providence that protects Israel from Palestinian terrorists in Gaza, Judea and Samaria. It is Divine Providence that allows a secret beeper operation to go off flawlessly and it is Divine Providence that allows an IDF tank to happen upon Yihyeh Sinwar as he crawled away from his tunnel like a rat. God’s involvement even extends to Congressional races in St. Louis, Virginia, and Westchester.

Ironically, at the AIPAC conference it wasn’t a Jew that made this point but an Evangelical and Catholic Christian. While speaking to an almost entirely Jewish audience, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson explained that his commitment to supporting a strong U.S.-Israel relationship isn’t just fueled by American interests but a recognition that God’s promise to Abraham that those who bless Abraham’s descendants will be blessed and those who curse Abraham’s descendants will be cursed is real. Paul Begala, a political commentator talked about reciting his Catholic prayers morning and night for the families of the Israeli hostages whose relatives are being held by Palestinians in Gaza.

The cynic might challenge this notion of God’s involvement by asking if God is involved in every aspect of Israel’s destiny, why should anyone put any effort into helping candidates, building defense systems, and creating partnerships from Washington to Abu Dhabi? The question is founded on a misunderstanding of God. It assumes that God doesn’t condition Divine Providence on human effort and that isn’t true. For humans to merit Divine Providence they must earn it by constantly growing and improving themselves and their communities.

Truly helping Israel requires both prayer and advocacy, reaching out to God and reaching out to elected leaders, strengthening our relationship with God and our representatives. The age-old adage states that God only helps those that help themselves has proven true over and over. Israeli President Chaim Weizmann once said, “Miracles sometimes occur, but one has to work terribly hard for them.” The Jewish Pro-Israel community must constantly work hard to make sure that miracles constantly occur.