It is no less important today to stand for Israel's right to exist than it was to stand against the horrors of the concentration camps. We are all given the opportunity in our own time to do as Paul said and show mercy and blessings to the root of the olive tree into which we have been grafted in (Romans 11:18; 15:27).

My first awakening to this calling came in July of 2000. For academic pursuits, my husband and I moved to Beer Sheva, Israel. I was enrolled to complete my last year of undergraduate studies at Ben Gurion University (BGU); my husband was beginning a program in international health and medicine at BGU, a M.D. program in collaboration with Columbia University. Two months after arriving to Israel, the Palestinians launched their bloody terror campaign. I soon enrolled in every class and lecture that had anything at all to do with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. For someone barely following current events in the Middle East beforehand, something changed inside me and I became obsessed with understanding the country, culture, religion, and conflict that surrounded me. While studying under Israel's most respected professors, traveling the region extensively, and by developing deep and lasting relationships with my Israeli and Jewish classmates, I became passionate about Israel from both a spiritual and political standpoint.

My final year in Israel, I joined a new graduate program in Middle Eastern Studies. Through my studies, I began to refine my interests in the Middle East, focusing more on the history and analytical study of the Israeli-Palestinian negotiation process. The high point of my studies came with the research and writing of my thesis which told the real story of what happened "behind the curtain" of the negotiations which ended the siege of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem in April 2002.

Our first year back from Israel, my husband and I moved to Boston where I worked as a consultant for the Middle East program portfolio of a non-profit organization connected to Harvard Law School.

In August 2004, I accepted a job at the office of the Consul General of Israel to New England. With the 2004 U.S. presidential elections, the Gaza disengagement plan, and Arafat's death, it was a particularly fascinating time to work for the Israeli government. I gained a deeper appreciation for the challenges of Israeli diplomacy. Being the consulate's "in-house gentile," I was invited regularly to speak at local Churches about Israel, the current situation, and the spiritual, historical, and moral reasons why I believe Christians should actively support Israel.

Meeting multitudes of Christians who shared a deep love and passion for Israel was spiritual nourishment. After years of seeing Israel's enemies at the forefront, I was thrilled to experience what the alliance between Christians and Israel can achieve. In conversations with people, I found many Christians who think only ancient Israel is relevant to their spiritual lives. I am here to proclaim the fulfillment of God's hand in modern Israel as well.

God has brought me to The Jerusalem Connection as the ideal place to continue his work to "inform, educate, and activate Christians and Jews to be pro-active instruments of God's love and blessing for Israel and the Jewish people."  When I read the mission of The Jerusalem Connection, I utter the words of each line as a prayer of thanksgiving that such a group of Christians exists. I am grateful to engage The Jerusalem Connections wonderful readership of believers passionate about Israel and the Jewish people.

As we recognize the needs of Israel and the Jewish people, and actively pursue the fulfillment of God's covenants in Israel, and as we fight the revival of Anti-Semitism and false theologies, together, we too can be righteous gentiles of our time.