There is something about Israel that makes people uncomfortable and it is not what they say it is.
People point to politics, settlements, borders, and wars. But if you scratch just beneath the surface of the anger, you may discover something deeper: discomfort not with what Israel does, but with what Israel is.
As British editor Alistair Heath writes, "A country so small shouldn't be so strong."
Israel has no oil, no extraordinary natural resources, and a population roughly the size of a medium-sized American city. It is surrounded by enemies, frequently criticized by international institutions, targeted by terrorism, condemned by celebrities, boycotted, vilified, and attacked. Yet it continues to thrive.
In military innovation, medicine, technology, agriculture, intelligence, and resilience, Israel consistently exceeds expectations. It transformed deserts into fertile land, developed cutting-edge water technologies, intercepts missiles in midair, rescues hostages under impossible conditions, survives wars that many believed would destroy it, and continues to build one of the world's most dynamic economies.
Many struggle to understand this. And when people encounter success they cannot explain, they often search for other explanations. Some claim it exists only because of American support. Others point to political influence, oppression, theft, or conspiracy. Anything, it seems, except the possibility that Israel's achievements are real, and earned.
The Jewish people were expected to disappear long ago. That is how history often treats persecuted, enslaved, and hated minorities.
But the Jewish people did not disappear.
They returned to their ancestral homeland. They rebuilt their nation. They revived an ancient language. They restored a national identity that had survived centuries of exile. To many, this is more than an extraordinary historical event, it carries profound biblical significance.
There is no simple historical formula that explains how a people returns to its homeland after nearly 2,000 years. There is no easy explanation for the journey from the horrors of the Holocaust to becoming a global center of innovation and influence. There is no historical parallel for surviving the Babylonians, the Romans, the Crusades, the Inquisition, the pogroms, and the Holocaust—and still building a vibrant, modern state.
For those who see history only through politics or statistics, Israel can appear difficult to explain.
For believers, however, Israel's story points to something beyond human calculation.
If Israel's survival is not merely remarkable but part of a larger divine promise, then the implications are profound. It suggests that history may not be random, that evil does not ultimately prevail, and that the Jewish people represent not only a nation, but also a testimony.
This, according to Alistair Heath's argument, is the deeper reason behind much of the hostility Israel faces. If people accept that Israel's existence is more than an accident of history, long-held assumptions about power, history, justice, and faith may need to be reconsidered.
As Heath concludes, it is easier for many to dismiss what they cannot explain than to acknowledge the possibility that God keeps His promises.
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