THIS IS ALL NOT JUST

DOCUMENTED IN THE BIBLE

AND IN HISTORY --

Gordon: JEWISH CLAIMS

TO THE HOLY LAND.

...IT ALSO REVEALS

ITSELF IN EVERY INCH OF

THE LAND, IN ANY

ARCHEOLOGICAL DIGS.

Gordon: THE REAL

STORY, BEGINNING WITH

GOD'S PROMISE TO ABRAHAM.

YOU JUST SCRATCH THE

SURFACE, AND YOU FIND A

RICH JEWISH CULTURE AND

HISTORY, AND BATHED IN

BLOOD, SWEAT, AND TEARS.

Gordon: ON TODAY'S

"700 CLUB INTERACTIVE."

Gordon: WELL, WELCOME

TO THE SHOW.

BACK IN 1967, ISRAEL

CAPTURED THE WEST BANK

FROM THE JORDAN IN THE

SIX-DAY WAR.

BUT RECENTLY U.N.

SECRETARY KOFI ANNAN

REFERRED TO ISRAEL'S

PRESENCE THERE AS AN

ILLEGAL OCCUPATION.

Terry: SECRETARIES OF

STATE, JOHN KERRY AND

HILLARY CLINTON CALLED IT

ILLEGITIMATE, AND MANY

WORLD LEADERS REFER TO THE

WEST BANK AS OCCUPIED

TERRITORY.

BUT ARE THOSE TERMS

HISTORICALLY CORRECT?

HERE IS A LOOK AT ISRAEL'S

CLAIMS TO THE LAND.

Gordon: IT'S THE

OLDEST LAND DISPUTE IN

HISTORY.

FOR CENTURIES JEWS AND

ARABS HAVE BOTH CLAIMED TO

BE THE RIGHTFUL OWNERS OF

THE LAND OF ISRAEL.

JEWISH CLAIMS TO THE LAND

ARE BASED ON FOUR MAIN

ARGUMENTS: THE FIRST IS

GOD'S PROMISE TO ABRAHAM.

ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER

DAVID BEN-GURION OFTEN

SAID THAT THE BIBLE WAS

THE JEWISH MANDATE FOR

SETTLING THE LAND OF

ISRAEL.

IN THE BOOK OF GENESIS,

GOD GAVE THE LAND TO

ABRAHAM, ISAAC, AND JACOB,

THE PATRIARCHS OF ISRAEL.

AND THE REST OF THE BIBLE

TELLS THE STORY OF THEIR

DESCENDENTS IN THE LAND.

MOSES LED THE JEWS BACK TO

ISRAEL AFTER THEIR EXILE

IN EGYPT.

AND ROUGHLY 400 YEARS

LATER, AROUND 1,000 B.C.,

KING DAVID CONQUERED THE

CITY OF JERUSALEM AND

BUILT HIS CAPITAL THERE.

BUT THE STORY OF THE JEWS

ISN'T LIMITED TO THE

BORDERS OF MODERN ISRAEL.

THEIR FOOTPRINTS HAVE BEEN

TRACED THROUGHOUT JUDEA

AND SAMARIA.

NOW THE PALESTINIAN WEST

BANK.

BETHEL, WHERE JACOB

DREAMED OF A LADDER TO

HEAVEN.

CHILO, THE ARRESTING PLACE

OF THE ARK OF THE

COVENANT.

BETHLEHEM, THE BIRTHPLACE

OF KING DAVID.

AND HEBRON, WHERE THE

JEWISH PATRIARCHS ARE

BURIED.

THIS IS ALL NOT JUST

DOCUMENTED IN THE BIBLE

AND IN HISTORY, IT ALSO

REVEALS ITSELF IN EVERY

INCH OF THE LAND.

IN ANY ARCHEOLOGICAL DIG,

YOU JUST SCRATCH THE

SURFACE AND YOU FIND A

RICH JEWISH CULTURE AND

HISTORY OF MORE THAN 3,500

YEARS.

EVER SINCE KING DAVID

BUILT JERUSALEM 3,010

YEARS AGO.

Gordon: THE JEWISH

RULE OVER ISRAEL WAS ALSO

DOCUMENTED OUTSIDE THE

BIBLE, OFTEN BY THE

ENEMIES OF ISRAEL.

IN EGYPT, AN INSCRIPTION

ON THE MERNEPA STILA

CLAIMED THAT ISRAEL HAS

BEEN LAID WASTE.

IN 840 B.C., KING MESHA

WROTE ABOUT THE HOUSE OF

DAVID.

AS DID ANOTHER KING, A

CENTURY LATER.

HAZA EL OF DAMASCUS.

JOESIFUS DESCRIBED ITS

DESTRUCTION BY THE ROMANS.

A STORY CONFIRMED BY THE

ARCH IN ROME.

EVERY YEAR ARCHEOLOGY

REVEALS MORE EVIDENCE OF

ANCIENT JEWISH CULTURE.

AND IN THE 20th CENTURY,

THAT HISTORICAL CONNECTION

HAS BEEN RECOGNIZED

SEVERAL TIMES BY

INTERNATIONAL LAW.

IN 1917, BRITISH FOREIGN

SECRETARY ARTHUR BALFOUR

ISSUED A DECLARATION,

CALLING FOR A JEWISH

HOMELAND IN PALESTINE,

ALSO KNOWN THEN AS

SOUTHERN SYRIA.

HE INCLUDED AT THE

TIME, ALL OF THE

TERRITORY, WHICH IS NOW

ISRAEL AND JUDEA AND

SAMARIA, THE WEST BANK,

AND JORDAN.

Gordon: IN 1920,

ALLIED LEADERS GATHERED IN

SAN RAMO, ITALY, TO DIVIDE

THE REMAINS OF THE OTTOMAN

EMPIRE.

THEY CREATED THE SAN RAMO

RESOLUTION, WHICH

INCORPORATED THE BALFOUR

DECLARATION.

THE RESOLUTION WAS SIGNED

BY THE MEMBERS OF THE

LEAGUE OF NATIONS, AND THE

BRITISH WERE PUT IN CHARGE

OF PALESTINE.

THAT MEANT THEY WERE

LEGALLY BOUND TO HELP THE

JEWISH PEOPLE BUILD A

STATE THERE.

TWO YEARS LATER, IN 1922,

THE LEAGUE ADOPTED THE

BRITISH MANDATE FOR

PALESTINE, WHICH

RECOGNIZED THE HISTORICAL

CONNECTION OF THE JEWISH

PEOPLE.

AND THE NEED FOR

RECONSTITUTING THEIR

NATIONAL HOME THERE.

BY THAT TIME, THE LAND

ALLOCATED TO THE JEWISH

PEOPLE HAD BEEN

DRASTICALLY REDUCED.

WITH MORE THAN 75% OF IT

GOING TO THE NEW ARAB

KINGDOM OF TRANSJORDAN.

THE MANDATE WAS SIGNED BY

ALL 51 MEMBERS OF THE

LEAGUE OF NATIONS.

AND, ONCE AGAIN, A JEWISH

STATE WAS GUARANTEED BY

INTERNATIONAL LAW.

BUT 25 YEARS LATER, THAT

STATE STILL EXISTED ONLY

ON PAPER.

AND IN 1945, THE LEAGUE

WAS REPLACED BY THE UNITED

NATIONS.

ARTICLE 80 OF THE U.N.

CHARTER STATES THAT THE

U.N. WOULD NOT ALTER

EXISTING STATES, PEOPLES,

OR MANDATES, WHICH MEANS

THE U.N. LEGALLY

RECOGNIZED THE RIGHT OF

THE JEWISH PEOPLE TO

SETTLE IN PALESTINE.

FROM THE JORDAN RIVER TO

THE MEDITERRANEAN SEA.

THE UNITED NATIONS IS

THE LEGAL SUCCESSOR AND

INHERITOR OF THE LEGAL

NATION.

WHICH MEANS ALL

OBLIGATIONS, COMMITMENTS,

AND PLEDGES OF THE LEAGUE

OF NATIONS MUST BE UPHELD

BY THE UNITED NATIONS.

UNFORTUNATELY, THEY DID

NOT DO IT IN THE CASE OF

ISRAEL AND THE JEWISH

OWNERSHIP OVER THEIR LAND.

> Gordon: IN

NOVEMBER 1947, THE LAND

INTENDED FOR THE JEWS WAS

DIVIDED ONCE AGAIN.

THE U.N. VOTED TO

PARTITION WHAT WAS LEFT OF

PALESTINE INTO TWO PARTS.

56% WOULD BE A JEWISH

STATE.

WITH 43% GOING TO AN ARAB

STATE TO BE ANNEXED TO

JORDAN.

ONCE AGAIN, A JEWISH STATE

WAS MANDATED BY

INTERNATIONAL LAW.

ISRAEL DECLARED ITS

INDEPENDENCE IN 1948.

AND A YEAR LATER, THE NEW

STATE WAS ADMITTED TO THE

UNITED NATIONS.

BUT DESPITE NUMEROUS LEGAL

ENDORSEMENTS, ISRAEL'S

BORDERS WOULD STILL BE

DISPUTED FOR DECADES TO

COME.

AS ARAB LEADERS I LEADERS INCITED

VIOLENCE AGAINST ISRAEL.

THEY WOULD SAY, WHAT

THE UNITED NATIONS WROTE

WITH INK, WE DESTROYED BY

BLOOD.

Gordon: IN 2002, U.N.

SECRETARY-GENERAL KOFI

ANNAN FAMOUSLY USED THE

PHRASE "ILLEGAL

OCCUPATION" TO DESCRIBE

ISRAEL'S ANNEXATION OF THE

WEST BANK IN 1967.

BUT HIS CRITICS WERE QUICK

TO POINT OUT THAT HIS USE

OF THE WORD "ILLEGAL" WAS

INCORRECT BECAUSE THE LAND

NEVER BELONGED TO THE

ARABS IN THE FIRST PLACE.

PALESTINE WAS RULED BY THE

OTTOMAN TURKS FROM 1816 TO

1918.

AND THEN FOR THE NEXT 30

YEARS, IT WAS CONTROLLED

BY THE BRITISH UNTIL

ISRAEL DECLARED ITS

INDEPENDENCE.

DURING THE WAR THAT

FOLLOWED, THE KINGDOM OF

JORDAN INVADED THE WEST

BANK.

AND FORMALLY ANNEXED THE

LAND IN 1950.

THERE IS A LACK OF

HISTORICAL UNDERSTANDING,

AND ALSO THERE IS AN ABUSE

HERE BY THIS INTERNATIONAL

LAW.

SINCE THE WEST BANK WAY

ANNEXED BY JORDAN, IT WAS

A JORDIAN TERRITORY.

AND IN 1967, THE SIX-DAY

WAR, WHEN ISRAEL HAD A

CAMPAIGN OF SELF-DEFENSE,

WHEN THREE ARMIES OF

SYRIA, JORDAN, AND EGYPT

WERE SURROUNDING US, READY

TO DRIVE US INTO THE SEA,

ISRAEL WON THE WAR.

AND AS A RESULT, WE TOOK

INTO POSSESSION THE WEST

BANK, JUDEA AND SAMARIA.

THIS LAND WAS CAPTURED

FROM JORDAN.

Gordon: SINCE ISRAEL

RECAPTURED THE LAND FROM

JORDAN, IT NOW BELONGS TO

ISRAEL, ACCORDING TO

INTERNATIONAL LAW.

ONE JUDGE ON THE

INTERNATIONAL COURT OF

JUSTICE WROTE THE

FOLLOWING ABOUT THE 1967

WAR: "A STATE ACTING IN

LAWFUL EXERCISE OF ITS

RIGHT OF SELF DEFENSE MAY

SEIZE AND OCCUPY FOREIGN

TERRITORY, AS LONG AS SUCH

SEIZURE AND OCCUPATION ARE

NECESSARY TO ITS SELF

DEFENSE, AND WHERE THE

PRIOR HOLDER OF TERRITORY

HAD SEIZED THAT TERRITORY

UNLAWFULLY.

THE STATE WHICH

SUBSEQUENTLY TAKES THAT

TERRITORY IN THE LAWFUL

EXERCISE OF SELF-DEFENSE

HAS AGAINST THAT PRIOR

HOLDER BETTER TITLE."

WE BOU BOUGHT OUR LAND IN

OUR BLOOD.

WE DIDN'T STOP WITH THE

WAR.

ALL OVER THE WORLD, THE

IDEA IS WHEN SOMEBODY

STARTED WITH A WAR AND

THEY FAILED, HE PAID THE

PRICE.

SO WHY WE HAVE TO PAY THE

PRICE NOW?

Gordon: THE LAST

CLAIM THE JEWISH PEOPLE

MAKE TO THE LAND OF ISRAEL

FOCUSES NOT ON HOW THEY

GOT IT, BUT WHAT THEY DID

WITH IT.

TODAY ISRAEL'S POPULATION

IS WELL OVER EIGHT

MILLION.

BUT IN 1850, ONLY 350,000

PEOPLE LIVED IN ISRAEL AND

THE WEST BANK.

IN 1857, THE BRITISH

COUNCIL IN PALESTINE

REPORTED THAT THE AREA WAS

EMPTY OF INHABITANTS, AND

ITS GREATEST NEED WAS A

BODY OF POPULATION.

A DECADE LATER, BRITISH

SCIENTIST H.B. TRISHAM

WROTE THAT WHOLE VIL VILLAGES

THERE ARE RAPIDLY

DISAPPEARING FROM THE FACE

OF THE EARTH.

AND AMERICAN WRITER, MARK

TWAIN, WROTE THIS ABOUT

THE JEZAWA VALLEY: "THERE

IS NOT A SOLITARY VILLAGE

IN THREE MILES IN EITHER

DIRECTION, NOT A SINGLE

PERMANENT HABITATION."

TODAY MANY PALESTINIANS

CLAIM THAT THE JEWS STOLE

ARAB LAND AND EVICTED THE

OWNERS AND LEFT THOUSAND

OF ARAB FARMERS HOMELESS.

BUT IS THAT THE REAL

STORY?

LET'S TAKE A LOOK.

AS EARLY AT THE 1850s,

JEWISH PEOPLE STARTED

BUYING LAND IN PALESTINE.

BUT THEIR CHOICES WERE

LIMITED BY ARAB SELLERS.

THE ARABS SETTLED

MAINLY IN MOUN MOUNTAINOUS

AREAS, AND THEY DID NOT

OFFER THOSE LANDS FOR

SALE.

THE ARABS WANTED TO SELL

LAND IN PLACES WHERE THEY

DID NOT LIVE, IN PLACES

WHICH THEY HAD LEFT IN THE

PAST.

Gordon: RECORDS SHOW

THAT MOST OF THE LAND

PURCHASED BY THE JEWS

BELONGED TO A SMALL GROUP

OF WEALTHY MUSLIM

FAMILIES, MOST OF WHOM

DIDN'T EVEN LIVE IN

PALESTINE.

THE ARABS WERE FROM

MANY WALKS OF LIFE,

ASCENDANTS WHO LIVED IN

BEIRUT AND DAMASCUS, AS

WELL AS LOCALS.

AND ALSO PEOPLE WHO LIVED

IN THE RURAL VILLAGES.

ALL OF THEM WERE WILLING

TO SELL THEIR LAND.

THERE WAS ALWAYS MORE LAND

AVAILABLE THAN THE DEMAND

FOR THEM.

Gordon: FROM THE

BEGINNING, THE JEWISH

POLICY WAS CLEAR: NO ARABS

WERE TO BE REMOVED FROM

THEIR LAND AGAINST THEIR

WILL.

IN 1920, ZIONIST LABOR

LEADER DAVID BEN-GURION

ANNOUNCED THAT UNDER NO

CIRCUMSTANCES MUST WE

TOUCH LAND BELONGING TO

FELLOW HEEM OR WORK BY

THEM.

ONLY IF A FELLOW LEAVES

HIS PLACE OF SETTLEMENT

SHOULD WE OFFER TO BUY

THEIR LAND AT AN

APPROPRIATE PRICE.

THE JEWISH NATIONAL

FUND BOUGHT THE LANDS

LEGALLY IN ORDER TO FULLY

SECURE THE OWNERSHIP OF

THIS LAND.

THE ARABS WERE NOT EVICTED

FROM THE LANDS.

THEY RECEIVED COMPENSATION

AND THE FULL PROCESS FOR

THE LANDS.

Gordon: THAT

COMPENSATION WAS

DOCUMENTED BY THE BRITISH

PEEL COMMISSION IN 1937.

THE GROUP HAD BEEN SENT TO

PALESTINE TO INVESTIGATE

CLASHES BETWEEN ARABS AND

JEWS.

THEIR REPORT SHOWS THAT OF

THE 664 EARN WORKERS

DISPOSSESSED BY LAND

SALES, 347 WERE RESETTLED

BY THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT

FOR FREE.

THE REST REFUSED HELP AND

FOUND EMPLOYMENT

ELSEWHERE.

NOT OINL DI ONLY DID THE JEWS BUY

THE LAND LEGALLY, THEY

ALSO PAID 10 TIMES THE

NORMAL RATE.

IN 1944, THE GOING RATE

FOR RICH, FERTILE SOIL IN

IOWA WAS $110 AN ACRE.

WHILE IN PALESTINE, JEWS

WERE PAYING MORE THAN

$1,000 AN ACRE FOR ARID,

ROCKY LAND.

THEY SAY, THEY'RE

CRAZY.

THEY BUY THIS LAND -- IT'S

DIRTY LAND.

IT'S NO GOOD, THE LAND.

BUT THEY'RE NOT STUPID,

AND THEY KNOW THAT WE MUST

WORK VERY HARD AND THEY

WORKED VERY HARD.

LOOK WHAT WE HAVE.

WE'RE ONLY 66 YEARS OLD,

AND LOOK WHAT WE HAVE

ALREADY.

Gordon: IN THE 19th

CENTURY, LIFE WAS HARD

UNDER OTTOMAN RULE FOR

ARAB WORKERS IN PALESTINE.

MANY HAD LOST THEIR FARMS

TO HEAVY TURKISH TAXES OR

BEDELIN RAIDERS.

THERE WERE NO SCHOOLS, NO

ELECTRICITY, AND LITTLE

SANITATION.

THE AVERAGE LIFE

EXPECTANCY FOR AN ARAB

MALE IN PALESTINE WAS 30.

WITH THE ARRIVAL OF THE

JEWISH SETTLERS, ALL OF

THAT STARTED TO CHANGE.

WITH HARD WORK, THEY

TURNED SWAMPS INTO

VINEYARDS, FARMS, AND

CITRUS GROVES.

THEY INTRODUCED

ELECTRICITY TO PALESTINE.

AND THEY IMPROVED THE

SANITATION.

THEY ALSO WORKED TO

ERADICATE THE MOSQUITOS

THAT CAUSED MALARIA.

AND THE LOCAL ARABS

BENEFITED FROM THEIR WORK.

OVER A 20-YEAR PERIOD THE

INFANT MORALITY RATE FOR

ARAB CHILDREN WAS CUT IN

HALF, AND THE LIFE

EXPECTANCY FOR ARAB MEN

INCREASED BY 12 YEARS.

THE JEWISH LAND OWNERS

HIRED MANY OF THEM TO HELP

WORK THE LAND, AND PAID

THEM BETTER THAN THEIR

ARAB EMPLOYERS.

FIRST OF ALL, FOLLOWING

THE PURCHASE OF LAND, THE

ARAB POPULATION HAD

INCOME.

WITH THE HELP OF THIS

MONEY, THEY COULD IMPROVE

THEIR LIVING.

AND THE ARAB SOCIETY COULD

RAISE THEIR STANDARD OF

LIVING.

SO BECAUSE OF JEWISH

PURCHASE OF LAND, THE

ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL

CONDITIONS OF THE ARAB

SOCIETY WERE BETTER.

Gordon: ARABS FROM

NEIGHBORING COUNTRIES

FLOCKED TO PALESTINE TO

TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE

HIGHER STANDARD OF LIVING.

FROM 1922 TO 1947, THE

TOTAL ARAB POPULATION IN

PALESTINE MORE THAN

DOUBLED.

IN THE CITY OF HAIFA, THE

NUMBER OF ARABS INCREASED

BY 290%.

IN JERUSALEM, 131%.

AND IN JAFFA, 158%.

IN 1939, JEWISH SCHOLAR

MARTIN BUER DESCRIBED THE

COOPERATION BETWEEN ARABS

AND JEWS IN A LETTER TO

MAHATMA GANDHI.

THE JEWISH PEOPLE TAUGHT

THE ARABS TO CULTIVATE THE

LAND MORE INTENTLY.

TOGETHER WE WANT TO WORK

TO CULTIVATE THE LAND.

THE MORE FERTILE THE SOIL

BECOMES, THE MORE SPACE

THERE WILL BE FOR US AND

FOR THEM.

WE HAVE NO DESIRE TO

DISPOSESIS THEM.

WE WANT TO LIVE WITH THEM.

THE JEWISH PEOPLE HAD

ALREADY BUILT A STRONG

NETWORK OF COMMUNAL FARMS

THAT STRETCHED FROM THE

GALILEE TO THE NEGEV.

THEY ALSO BUILT SCHOOLS,

HOSPITALS, ROADS, AND

CITIES.

IN OTHER WORDS, THEY WERE

ALREADY FUNCTIONING AS AN

INDEPENDENT STATE.

WHEN BEN-GURION

DECLARED A FOUNDATION OF

THE STATE OF ISRAEL IN

1948, HE ALREADY HAD A

BASE, A TERRITORIAL

FOUNDATION OF LANDS AND

SETTLEMENTS.

A LARGE NUMBER OF

SETTLEMENTS SPREAD

THROUGHOUT ISRAEL,

SETTLEMENTS BUILT ON LANDS

PURCHASED BY THE JEWISH

PEOPLE.

Gordon: DESPITE THE

VALID HISTORICAL AND LEGAL

CLAIMS OF THE JEWISH

PEOPLE TO THEIR LAND,

ISRAEL'S BORDERS ARE STILL

BEING NEGOTIATED.

AFTER NEARLY SEVEN DECADES

OF STATEHOOD.

EVEN THOUGH THERE IS NO

DOUBT, NOT HISTORIC, NOT

MORAL, NOT ARCHEOLOGICAL

DOUBT ABOUT THE CONNECTION

OF ISRAEL TO THE LAND, AND

THE LAND TO ISRAEL,

ISRAELIS ARE WILLING TO

COMPROMISE JUST IN ORDER

TO SAVE LIVES, JUST IN

ORDER TO ACHIEVE PEACE.

WE WILL WAIT UNTIL WE HAVE

A PARTNER ON THE

PALESTINIAN SIDE WHICH IS

TRUSTWORTHY, WHICH DOES

NOT BELIEVE IN THE

DESTRUCTION OF ISRAEL AND

THE JEWISH PEOPLE AS A WAY

TO BUILD THEIR OWN

NATIONAL NARRATIVE AND

WILLING TO LIVE WITH US IN

PEACE AND COOPERATION.

Gordon: AND THAT'S

THE FUNDAMENTAL FOR PEACE

IN ISRAEL, PEACE IN THE

MIDDLE EAST.

DO YOU RECOGNIZE ISRAEL'S

RIGHT TO EXIST?

SO FAR EGYPT, UNDER ANWAR

SADAT, IS THE ONLY ARAB

NATION THAT HAS RECOGNIZED

ISRAEL AND THE

SIGNIFICANCE OF ANWAR

SADAT FLYING TO ISRAEL AND

THEN SPEAKING AT THE

KNESSET PAVED THE WAY FOR

THE CAMP DAVID PEACE

ACCORD.

THAT SAME PEACE CAN HAPPEN

WITH ALL OF THOSE NATIONS,

INCLUDING THE PALESTINIAN

PEOPLE, IF THEY WILL

RECOGNIZE ISRAEL'S RIGHT

TO EXIST.

> WELL, EARLIER THIS

WEEK, WE FINISHED UP "THE

HOPE" SERIES, THE STORIES

OF THE FOUNDING OF THE

STATE OF ISRAEL.

IF YOU MISSED AN EPISODE

OR WANT TO SEE A STORY

AGAIN, ALL YOU HAVE TO DO

IS GO TO

700clubinteractive.com..

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COPY OF THIS DOCUMENTARY,

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IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO ORDER

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OR CALL US.

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AND WHEN YOU CALL, JUST

SAY, I WANT TO GET A COPY

OF "THE HOPE."

TERRY?

Terry: WE SPENT TWO

WEEKS TELLING YOU ABOUT

THE FOUNDING OF ISRAEL AND

ABOUT CLAIMS TO THE LAND,

SO WHY IS THIS TINY

COUNTRY SUCH A BIG DEAL?

THREE TEENAGERS TELL US

WHY AFTER THIS.

Terry: WELL, IF YOU

FOLLOWED THE NEWS, YOU'LL

FIND THERE IS RARELY A DAY

THAT GOES BY THAT ISRAEL

ISN'T THE SUBJECT OF AT

LEAST ONE STORY.

WHY SO MUCH ATTENTION ON A

COUNTRY SLIGHTLY LARGER

THAN THE STATE OF NEW

JERSEY?

ISRAEL'S SIGNIFICANCE

STARTED WITH A COVENANT.

HERE IS SKY TRINITY AND

CHRISTIAN TO EXPLAIN.

HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED,

WHAT'S THE BIG DEAL ABOUT

ISRAEL?

WHAT'S THE BIG DEAL

ABOUT ISRAEL?

WHAT'S THE BIG DEAL

ABOUT ISRAEL?

WHY IS THIS TINY COUNTRY

ALWAYS IN THE NEWS?

AND WHY DO OTHER

COUNTRIES WANT TO WIPE IT

OFF THE MAP.

OR MAYBE YOU HAVE

ASKED, WHY HAVE THE JEWS

BEEN SO MISTREATED

THROUGHOUT HISTORY?

AND WHY IS

ANTI-SEMITISM GROWING

AROUND THE WORLD.

OR HOW ABOUT THIS: WHY

SHOULD WE CARE?

TO ANSWER THOSE QUESTIONS,

LET'S GO BACK TO THE

BEGINNING.

GOD'S ENTIRE PLAN OF

REDEMPTION BEGAN WITH THE

COVENANT.

A PROMISE TO ONE MAN,

ABRAHAM, THROUGH HIS SON,

ISAAC, AND HIS SON, JAKE JACOB,

A.K.A., ISRAEL.

THE PROMISE INCLUDES A

SPECIFIC PIECE OF LAND,

AND THE PROMISE IS

EVERLASTING.

GOD ALWAYS KEEPS HIS

PROMISES.

OVER 400 YEARS LATER,

GOD MADE ANOTHER COVENANT,

THIS TIME WITH MOSES.

IF ISRAEL FOLLOWED GOD'S

LAW, THEY COULD TAKE

POSSESSION OF AND

PERMANENTLY OCCUPY THE

PROMISED LAND.

EVEN IN OUR DAY, WE

HAVE SEEN SOMETHING NO ONE

THOUGHT IT WAS POSSIBLE.

IN 1948, THE JEWISH PEOPLE

REESTABLISHED THE NATION

OF ISRAEL.

GOD ALWAYS KEEPS HIS

PROMISES.

AND HE MADE ANOTHER

ONE, A THIRD COVENANT,

WITH KING DAVID.

GOD SAID THAT DAVID'S

KINGDOM WOULD BE

ESTABLISHED FOREVER.

THROUGH THE COMING

MESSIAH.

AND WE KNOW THAT FUTURE

KING TO BE JESUS.

THAT'S WHY MATTHEW CALLED

HIM SON OF DAVID.

THERE COMES A DAY WHEN

HIS PROMISES TO ABRAHAM

AND DAVID WILL BE FILLED

TOGETHER.

THIS IS MADE POSSIBLE

BECAUSE OF THE NEW

COVENANT.

THIS NEW PROMISE WAS

SEALED WITH THE BLOOD OF

CHRIST JESUS.

ONE DAY JESUS WILL REIGN

FROM JERUSALEM.

ISAIAH SAYS HIS NEW

KINGDOM WILL BE THE CENTER

OF GLOBAL RULE.

PAUL SAID WHEN JESUS

RETURNS, ALL ISRAEL WILL

BE SAVED.

GOD ALWAYS KEEPS HIS

PROMISES.

SO IF YOU WANT TO KNOW THE

ANSWERS TO THOSE

QUESTIONS, GOD MADE A

PROMISE, AND THE ENEMY HAS

DONE, AND WILL DO,

EVERYTHING IN HIS POWER TO

DESTROY ISRAEL AND HER

PEOPLE.

THAT'S WHY AS CHRISTIANS,

WE NEED TO STAND IN

SOLIDARITY WITH ISRAEL.

WE NEED TO LOVE THE

JEWISH PEOPLE.

AND WE NEED TO PRAY FOR

THE PEACE OF JERUSALEM.

Terry: WE DO NEED TO

PRAY FOR THE PEACE OF

JERUSALEM, MORE TODAY THAN

MAYBE AT AITD ANY OTHER TIME IN

OUR LIFETIME.

KNOWING HISTORY, KNOWING

THE FACTS, MAKES A

DIFFERENCE.

WELL, AFTER THE BREAK,

WE'RE GOING TO BE

ANSWERING RON'S QUESTION:

"ARE PRAYERS PRAYED FROM

THE CITY OF JERUSALEM MORE

HOLY THAN OTHER PRAYERS."

FIND OUT WHEN WE COME

BACK.

Terry: WE ARE "700

CLUB INTERACTIVE," AND

WE'DLOWE'D LOVE TO HEAR FROM

YOU.

GO TO OUR WEBSITE AND

CLICK ON THE "CONTACT US"

BUTTON.

YOU CAN E-MAIL US YOUR

QUESTIONS.

HERE IS ONE FROM RON WHO

ASKS, "ARE PRAYERS PRAYED

FROM THE CITY OF JERUSALEM

MORE HOLY THAN OTHER

PRAYERS?"

Gordon: NO, IT

DOESN'T MAKE YOUR PRAYER

MORE HOLY, WHERE YOU STAND

OR WHERE YOU KNEEL, OR

WHERE YOU SIT WHEN YOU

PRAYED.

IT REALLY HAS NO EFFECT ON

IT AT ALL.

WHEN YOU UNDERSTAND THAT

THAT WALL OF SEPARATION,

THE VEIL THAT ISAIAH

PROPHESIED, THAT THERE

WOULD BE A VEIL OVER OUR

EYES, OVER OUR HEARTS, AND

WE WOULDN'T UNDERSTAND.

WE WOULD HEAR AND NOT

HEAR, AND WE WOULD SEE AND

NOT SEE -- WHEN YOU

UNDERSTAND ALL OF THAT WAS

TAKEN AWAY, WHEN THE VEIL

WAS TORN IN TWO IN THE

TEMPLE, WHEN JESUS WAS

SACRIFICED, WHEN THAT

HAPPENED, YOU AND I GET

THE EXTRAORDINARY

PRIVILEGE OF BEING ABLE TO

GO INTO THE HOLY PLACE,

THE HOLY OF HOLY.

WE GET TO BOLDLY GO BEFORE

THE THRONE OF GRACE.

SO WHEN YOU PRAY, KEEP

THAT IN MIND.

IF YOU HAVE IN MIND, HAVE

I DONE THE RIGHT RITUAL,

OR IS THIS HOLY GROUND, IS

THIS SACRED, DO I HAVE AN

OPEN HEAVEN -- IF YOU HAVE

ANY OF THOSE QUESTIONS IN

YOUR MIND, YOU'RE NOT

BELIEVING THE GOOD NEWS.

CHANGE YOUR THINKING.

BELIEVE THE GOOD NEWS.

BELIEVE THAT GOD IS WITH

YOU.

HE HAS BECOME EMMANUEL.

THE WALL OF SEPARATION HAS

BEEN TAKEN AWAY, AND YOU

CAN GO DIRECTLY TO THE

THRONE OF GRACE.

YOU CAN GO BOLDLY BECAUSE

OF WHAT JESUS HAS DONE FOR

YOU.

AND THEN WHEN YOU'RE THERE

AT THE THRONE OF GRACE,

REALIZE THAT HE IS PRAYING

ALONG WITH YOU.

AND SO TOGETHER YOU'RE

ASKING GOD THE FATHER.

WHATEVER YOU ASK IN HIS

NAME, HE WILL DO.

WE LEAVE YOU WITH THESE

WORDS FROM PSALMS 137: "IF

I FORGET YOU, O JERUSALEM,

MAY MY RIGHT HAND FORGET

ITS SKILL."

GOD BLESS YOU.

WE'LL SEE YOU AGAIN.