Why Israel should belong to the jews by Jeremy L Hi, My name is jeremy and today i will be talking about why Israel should belong to the jews. For those who don't know me, i am a 15 year old male who goes to Mount Scopus Memorial College and loves judaism, israel and sport. You may be wondering why a person from scopus a co-ed zionist and modern orthodox school would go to school every week and thrive on religion. Before i get on to the topic, i'll give you a bit of history into why i got so enthusiastic into why Israel should belong to the Jews, As part of year 9 last year, we had a camp and its theme was “why israel.”

This camp was very enjoyable and educational and while it meant no school learning, we learnt about the true meaning of where my grandfather on my mum side and grandmother on my dad side lived and the history and conflict in which our people faced .it went from ruach at night to keeping shabbat with the year and actually having conversations without being distracted by a device. Usually i don't like to do public speaking but because it's important to me i feel the need to express my opinions and remember its opinion based. In my speech today i will be talking about the history, present and future of the current state of israel.

Before i start i’d like to quickly talk about a few concepts about the world and my perspective on the attack on muslims in christchurch. Around a month ago a far right, neonazi delusional racist man came into a mosque and killed around 50 innocent lives who are just praying to their god just like we are. This was a terrorist attack and it outcomes were shocking. Now Just as that happened an attack on israel where two missiles were sent in and barely any news was reported on that but also in the news recently is that the head of muslims in new zealand said that they believe it was the mossad that did this which frustrated me as israel is like the furthest away to New zealand and what intentions do they have., and it got me thinking why when a small nation/religion is attacked its quiet but when it's the opposite we hear it everywhere, all i’m saying that the time is now where those who even live in little places where they might not be recognised or liked by their surrounding, no matter your opinions , news should be told in a way which is the truth. A quote i really like that is by Ben Shapiro “ facts don't care about your feelings” indicates that if i were to show a smoker about an article on let's say smoking is bad for you i would show him the facts of how smoking affects your life and even though they might disagree, it is proven just like israel is a country weather you like it or not and it’s not going to change. In most newspapers like herald sun, the age and exetra there is a world page, and we see different perspectives on current affairs in the world. At my house we only have the herald sun mainly because the age is too anti semitic and so why should i support their newspaper if they don't at least have a two side opinion on israel. In the world we have large and small countries. Israel, is such a small country around big nation countries. From what i have noticed is that small countries can make a big difference in the world and i'll show you why. Let's look at the vatican city, such a small country yet 100s of millions people visit their because of a belief in a guy called the pope and their love for church. Another country we can look at is new zealand, bigger than israel but smaller than most countries, now after what i've seen from my life the attack a few weeks ago was the first one i have ever seen in new zealand. From what is seems, they look like very united expect for a few people and very multicultural, now let's look at israel, a multicultural, religious, secular, freedom, equality place where all are accepted. Anyone hear watch the show travel guides. For those who don’t 4 families go to a different countries and then rate it out of 5. A few weeks ago these families went into israel as part of the program. What surprised me the most is that when these families entered they were quite anxious because of the propaganda from the news and its manipulation towards vulnerable children and adults wanting to go to israel but are now afraid. After seeing peoples in israel, being relaxed and not worried they became calmer and from then enjoyed their time in the holy city to an extent where they thought they might go again . Israelis thrive under israel because of it uniqueness which is why israel is so special. Nic Naitanui, a West Coast eagles afl ruckman, who is one of the greatest ruckman since i have been alive, an inspiration and a fijian showed the press on why israel is not so scary as it seems to quote him, he said “We truly are so lucky to live in Australia. Going to bed without the fear of uncertainty like some families in this part of the world � breaks my heart to witness and feel it first hand not just the news’ perspective. This is “REAL LIFE” out here. I was urged not to visit these parts and I’m so glad I ventured to this beautiful place on earth and hopefully my trip has opened others eyes of the beauty as well as the dark reality out here.” i think thats speaks for that. As we have seen, the small countries tell a story in which their ideology is community and hopefully can be passed down do bigger countries like australia. Just last week another west coast player was told he was a “monkey” on social media because of his race . eddie betts, a former blue and now adelaide player, who i respect and admire so highly was racially abused because of him being aboriginal and had a banana chucked at him.what does this tell us about Australia There are so many stories where people have been attacked in sporting games and its highlights the world unknowingness of the people around them. I'd like to end of this section with israel message on its nasa aircraft “ small country big dreams” “ am yisrael chai”

In these 5779 years israel has belonged to the jews. This is due to the persecution of our people and the homeland which god had promised us. In this speech i will be talking about different ideas surrounding israel and the history. My first idea is to talk about the muslims and christians. As we know muslims have special places like Mecca and Medina. Medina has a major Islamic pilgrimage site. Mecca is Islam’s holiest city, as it’s the birthplace of the Prophet Muhammad and the faith itself. Did you know Only Muslims are allowed in the city, with millions arriving for the annual Hajj (pilgrimage). They also have Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Gaza, Iraq, Iran, Egypt and many more which all surround a little country called israel. Christians, on the other hand have the vatican city and so many unique places around europe. I then started to think why is israel wanted by the Muslims and Christians? Most people believe israel belongs to the Muslims as they owned it for 2000 year but if we go back in time we noticed that when abraham destroyed all the idols in his father shop there was a miracle. G-d started to speak to abraham saying “ Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.” highlighting the 7 promises that abraham would get if he left to canaan( which in our days is known as israel.) i'm not saying Muslims or Christians should leave israel as for some people it is their home just like us jews now who live in australia and are in the diaspora. However, As i have mentioned some past experiences such as the promises made to abraham and when he got there it is said in the torah that he first bought machpelah field and its cave(which is known as hebron) with four hundred shekels of silver in negotiable currency and Jacob bought another parcel of land near the city of Shechem, for 100 “pieces” of silver, highlighting proof that we bought israel. However , the jews are also to blame for leaving israel during a famine. They left to egypt to be closer to Joseph; he was second in command to King Pharaoh, and with his ingenuity had saved the people of Egypt, and by extension those from neighboring countries, from death by famine.

Later events that occurred where to when the jews were persecuted in egypt because of their faith and had to give up their babies boy and lay them down the river and were treated like slaves. Which also happened to be a miracle as when moshe was put into the river , pharaoh's daughter noticed him and took him out of the river and treated him like a son, foreshadowing that he was the chosen one. If it weren't for moshe persistence with both talking to G-D and talking to his father in Law pharoah, the jews would of succumb to their defeat and perished through time. G-d was on Moses side when he sent messages from a burning tree telling him to paint red next to the front door and played the plagues to all those who made the jews suffer. Another miracles was G-d splitting up the red sea so we could get israel and highlighting that he wanted us to have it. It is at that moment after the jews have walked past the red sea, they start to realise their hopes and dreams of living in israel is going to become a reality. They then receive the commandment showing the strategy of G- D’s plan to get to israel. If we look at now days and at a humans life it is very similar. It's very similar to riding a bike. You start to ride the bike with your helmet on but after thinking maybe you're too confident you fall and graze yourself which is similar to what im talking about as they were told to reach israel however they have a few moments when they have been manipulated and treated like dirt which is the falling part and then get up and realise keep moving otherwize, it will be worse just like when the egyptians came to the red sea and were swallowed up because the jews got up and moved to escape and then reached their destination ,they got the reward of torah and the commandments

. Then came the spanish inquisition where jews were treated first, like second class citizen who were in the golden age and had the right to express themselves and then when the christians ruled were exiled and murdered. In much recent time where when the jews were attacked by pogroms because of their faith but that didn't stop each different man to help establish israel. Each of the characters led a different way of thinking towards getting israel and making israel become a dream that we aspired for . In world war 2 we had the Shoah, where 6 million unique jewish lives perished because of anti semitism and the rest of the jews who survived were traumatized for the rest of their lives. Countries rejected us because of our identity was not theirs and they didn't want us because of that. People in now days say the holocaust didn't happened which is absolute false as there is so much proof and obviously highlights the lack of knowledge about history their school has given them. From what i believe, that after the shoah happened it was sign that we are not safe unless we have our own country. We needed Israel even more now and we needed to maintain it like we had 2000 years ago. In the torah , it highlights that we need israel and we know the torah is true as someone in high authority wrote it. After israel's being an independent country, it has had so many wars which we have all won because of our determination, power and with the help of god were able to defeat the enemies. In israel it is a law to join the army at the age of 18 which is why we have a great deal of soldiers and we must thank all of them for the bravery and commitment they have everyday not knowing what might happen next. In the 6 day war, israel was supposed to be the inferior country against 6 muslim countries. Israel fought against all of them and by miracle and with the help of G-D was able to win which proves that not just is it a jewish country it also is a country no matter what anyone says. In much recent times lots of anti semitism has happened in europe which has led to lots of jews making aliyah. Just a few days ago a member of the Ku Klux Klan group was arrested for putting on facebook that he wanted to kill lots of jews and luckily the police found it before it was too late. This proves that we need israel even more because everybody has the right to feel safe. the last 20 years israel has fought against all different countries, however even though they might be a small country they have enormous power.

As you can tell i love israel I find it personally very annoying that peace talks with Israel mostly never work. The only peace talk that has ever worked was 38 years ago when Egypt president Anwar Sadat, Israeli prime minister Menachem Begin came to the white house to meet with American president Jimmy Carter and all signed the Israel-Egypt peace treaty while joining hands. Sadat and Begin were awarded the 1978 Nobel Peace Prize for their work. What hurts the most is that Sadat was was assassinated for trying to make peace with Israel. Beside that incident look at what has happened between the two countries. Nothing, no wars , no fight, only respect for one another. 20 years later Israel tries to make peace with the Palestinians when Yasser Arafat the Palestinian leader, the Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and the American president bill Clinton shook hands and signed a peace treaty. Unfortunately this did not work out due to different opinions.

Israel and Saudi Arabia are becoming very close as the prince of Saudi Arabia once said “we as arabs have to recognise that Jerusalem is a jewish religious symbol as sacred to jews as Mecca and Medina is sacred to muslims,” highlighting because of talks between Israel and Saudi Arabia they have realised Israel belongs to the jews as Mecca belongs to the arabs which is a step into the right direction. It also highlights that the world is starting to see through the manipulation and propaganda from Hamas and the anti semitic people.

Us jews in the diaspora are treated alright in the world. We are told to be proud of who we are by our parents, grandparents but yet when it come to standing out we are told to be quiet. Last year my family and i went to the gold coast to have a nice holiday. I had a bit of a scenario where i was staying at a hotel and i wanted to go to the pool and while enjoying my time, i stumbled across people wearing a hijab and at that time i wasn't really thinking about what i am about to tell you. A few days later its friday afternoon and my family and i were discussing what we were going to wear for shabbat dinner at a friends holiday house and i had just happened to have a kippah in the room. However, i felt the necessity to wear a hat than wear a kippah as the media has portrayed an aspect in which young jews should feel unsafe. I say this as a few months ago a religious jewish boy on a bus was attacked because he was wearing a kippah. It then came to me, why is it that a muslim wears a hijab in front of anybody they don't feel threatened but when a jew wears a kippah and speaks freely in front of goyim we are afraid and rather wear a hat and also why is it that we shorten word like israel into is or jewish into j in public. I kept asking myself the same question over and over. Until i found an answer and this is it. I realised throughout time jews have been known as the innovative and have been respected highly to a point where goyim in point of view are jealous and rather see us diminishing and eradicated instead of flourishing. I mean i see where they are coming from considering Oman have recognised israel as a jewish country and air mumbai are now allowed to fly over the UAE to get to and from israel.

For those who don't know and should definitely follow him after shabbat as he is very pro israel. His name is Hananya Naftali and as i said is very supportive of israel. He sent a video of arabs in the gaza strip putting on makeup to look like they are injured or hurt and seem innocent and want to make israel look bad on the media. Also im sure not all fake their injuries because some definitely get injured but i'm just trying to portray the message of how this video on media is going to affect israel.

Overall, there's a small population that have been indoctrinated to believe that jews are the one on the bad and spreads to the rest of the community. However, i'm so grateful to be brought up in Australia jewish by the best parents and grandparents i could ever wish for. I'm so happy that most of my family is here and that we will be all together in israel for pesach.

I would like to end of with a quote from menachem begin

I am not a Jew with trembling knees. I am a proud Jew with 3,700 years of civilized history. Nobody came to our aid when we were dying in the gas chambers and ovens. Nobody came to our aid when we were striving to create our country. We paid for it. We fought for it. We died for it. We will stand by our principles. We will defend them. And, when necessary, we will die for them again, with or without your aid.”

Thank you And shabbat shalom