Watson Coleman: “A birthday is an occasion that allows a family to focus on one of its members and celebrate what is unique and special…”

“A birthday is an occasion that allows a family to focus on one of its members and celebrate what is unique and special about that person. It is time to reflect on major challenges met and major fulfillments achieved. The same is true when we celebrate the birth of a nation, or perhaps more appropriately today, its rebirth. The modern State of Israel is 60 years old today. But the idea of Israel was born at the dawn of recorded history. Students of the Bible know that Israel was originally a person--the father of 12 children who became the Twelve Tribes. Israel became a nation as the progeny of those patriarchs grew in population of more than 1 million. And Israel has become a revered concept, a union of spiritual ideas that has benefited many cultures far from the Middle East. That is what our second President, John Adams, meant when he wrote: The Hebrews have done more to civilize man than any other nation. If I were an atheist and believed blind eternal fate, I should still believe that fate had ordained the Jews to be the most essential instrument for civilizing the nations. We in the United States have enjoyed that civilizing influence. Much of what we believe and assert in our founding documents was drawn from ancient Jewish roots.”