Why I Celebrate Israel Independence Day!

Firstly, consder the region without a Jewish State. The Holy Land would be defiled with a muslim philosophy that treats women and children like chattel, forces genital mutilation on infant and adolesent girls, endorses honor-killings, and considers civil rights a non-starter. Oh, and of course, such a region would be Judenrein, a policy that many of the muftis and Palestinian apologists would love to implement today.

Consider the condition of Yemenite Muslim girls. Arranged marriages made as early as nine-years-old! Almost all of them are raped, and if they manage to get pregnant at the nubile age of 11 or 12, no abortions allowed and many of them bleed to death on the "birthing stool!" In Sudan, Muslims conduct a brisk, prosperous slave-trade. Prominent Saudi sheiks keep African slave families in bondage for generations! Such would be the nature of a 22nd Arab state, had God not allowed the founding of the third Jewish commonwealth.

Going through the Qur'an, already in the first sura one encounters a problem, which is not easily reconciled. The book says that Allah leads the Muslim people "in the way of justice, not the way of those with whom he's angry." According to conventional interpretation these are the Jews. During his time Muhammad was in contact with the Jewish people and he probably knew their history quite well. It is a history of losing their homeland, losing their own identity. In fact, the Torah confirms this as well when we read the rebukes and warnings found in Sefer Devarim (Deuteronomy). Exile and loss of our homeland is a consequence of idolatry and moral backsliding of the Jewish people. Very fertile fodder for the Qur'an's anti-Jewish grist mill.

Consequently, simplistic Muslim thinking teaches that God's anger results in banishment to exile, and conversely – it would be God's good will if the Jews could return. Muhammad knew the Jewish history and reflects it in his first sura. However, he speaks only of the God's anger. Obviously, when the State of Israel came to existence a paradoxical problem materialized. It was such an unexpected event that the (divinely inspired?) Qur'an didn't anticipate it in any way. According to the logic of the first sura (which is recited several times a day by pious Muslims worldwide in prayer) the Jews should never occupy a country of their own and should always remain exiled in the diaspora.

However, reality is so much more exciting than fiction (a common theme of Muslim writings). In 1948, three hours before my grandfather passed on, the State of Israel was founded. The stage of seeking Jewish geographic identity came to an end. The mere foundation of the state of Israel puts the entire Qur'an, in question. Despite the fact that God is supposed to be angry with us, we Jews have our own state among states. At this point a conflict appears – a conflict between reality and sort of an illusion stated by the Qur'an. The Israeli state stabs Islam in its most vulnerable underbelly - the veracity of the Qur'an.

Palestinian Muslims pray to Allah to lead them the right way of justice and to rid them of the Jews. Simultaneously, only a (quite literal) stone-throw away, we Jews have our summer resorts, hotels, houses of worship, thriving settlements and western-styled supermarkets. But most importantly, we have our State, for which the Palestinians can only pine. Do you notice the paradox? No longer can God's wrath be "measured" by having or not having a state. Hence the conflict between the Israeli and Palestinian people. It is a conflict between Judaism and Islam. All else is illusion. The mere existence of our Israeli state proves Islam wrong, period! To this I say, tough luck! I realize that if the Muslims accepted its existence they would betray their own identity based on Qur'an. The hostile foreign policy of most Arabic countries to the state of Israel is based on this point alone.

Several great rabbinic leaders acknowledge the Hand of Hashem to allow secular elements to be given the "Zechut" to establish the medina, as a precursor for the eventual reinstatement of the malchus beis David. The Nations of the World, with it's myopic bias against Torah and Judaism, would never have countenanced and acquiesced to handing the Land over to the Chofetz Chaim, Hazon Ish, or Rabbi Feinstein, ZT'L. So, in His infinite wisdom this is how He orchestrated it and eventually we will all discern the wisdom of it all. Even though we wait, there is no doubt we are living on the "heals" of Moshiach, who's imminent arrival is unimpeded by anything man or nature can throw at him; neither flawed Islamic theology nor Icelandic volcanic ash! Mazal Tov Israel on your 62nd birthday!