With the L-rd’s return drawing ever nearer, the enemy of our souls seeks to convince the world that Israel does not belong to the Jews nor to the G-d of the Jews. But what are the facts? The evidence is not just historical, but spiritual as well. Jerusalem, in particular, is emblazoned with love on the hearts of the Jewish people in a way that is not easily explained. The city is held in such esteem that every synagogue in the world is built facing Jerusalem. Whenever a Jew prays, he faces this Holy City in accordance with the petition of King Solomon:

"And may You hear the supplication of Your servant and of Your people Israel when they pray toward this place." (1 Kings 8:30)

Even though the Second Temple was destroyed in 70 AD, it is believed that the Divine Presence never left the Western Wall, the wall that is believed was closest to the Holy of Holies where the Ark of the Covenant once rested. Even during the Jewish wedding ceremony, at the happiest time of one's life, the groom proclaims that Jerusalem is still his highest joy when he recites:

"If I forget you, O Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its skill. May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth if I do not remember you, if I do not consider Jerusalem my highest joy." (Psalm 137:5, 6)

The reason for this great love and devotion on the part of the Jewish people is that Jerusalem is believed to be the place through which the lifeblood and nourishment of G-d flows from heaven to the world. G-d said that He has even put His name on Jerusalem (see also Deuteronomy 12:5; 2 Chronicles 33:4; 1 Kings 9:3, 2 Kings 21:4):

"Yet I have chosen Jerusalem, that My name may be there, and I have chosen David to be over My people Israel." (2 Chronicles 6:6)

An amazing phenomenon that has become known only in the twentieth century due to the development of aviation, is that the name of G-d literally appears on the physical city of Jerusalem. Shaddai, one of the names of G-d, meaning the "All-sufficient One", is written with three Hebrew letters––shin, dalet, yod. These letters form the acronym Shomer Daltot Yisrael meaning Watchman of Israel's gates or Protector of the doors of Israel. The single letter shin which stands for the word shomer (watchman) in the above acronym, represents G-d's signature. The Hebrew letter shin looks somewhat like and English letter “W”. The valleys in and around Jerusalem form the “W” or “Shin” from an arial view of the city and it appears on every mezuzah placed on the doors of Jewish homes. It is said that G-d looks down from heaven and sees His signature, the Hebrew letter shin, on Jerusalem and on the doors of Jewish homes calling them to His remembrance for protection.

The L-rd, in speaking of Jerusalem, told the prophet Haggai: "in this place I will give peace" (Haggai 2:8). This scripture, it is said, instructs us that Jerusalem is the key to peace. Because G-d put His name on it and promised that Jerusalem is the key to G-d's peace, Satan desperately wants to either take it for himself or destroy it. Zechariah records that this ancient contention over Jerusalem will one day erupt into an earthly war:

"Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of drunkenness to all the surrounding peoples, when they lay siege against Judah and Jerusalem. And it shall happen in that day that I will make Jerusalem a very heavy stone for all peoples; all who would heave it away will surely be cut in pieces, though all nations of the earth are gathered against it." (Zechariah 12:2, 3)

In fact, the Bible teaches that the Battle of Armageddon, the final war of all wars, will be fought over Jerusalem, the city of G-d. That is why the political situation of the nation of Israel serves as a barometer to measure how close we are to the L-rd’s return. The prophet Ezekiel declares that a day will come when a new name will be bestowed upon Jerusalem by the mouth of the L-rd: Jehovah Shammah, meaning: The L-rd Is There. Isaiah foresaw that day and declared that G-d, Himself, would rejoice over Jerusalem.

"You shall no longer be termed Forsaken, nor shall your land any more be termed Desolate; but you shall be called Hephzibah, and your land Beulah; for the L-rd delights in you, and your land shall be married. For as a young man marries a virgin, so shall your sons marry you; and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your G-d rejoice over you." (Isaiah 62:4, 5)

Israel Fact Sheet as reported by Zola Levitt and Joseph Farah:

1. Israel became a nation two thousand years before the rise of Islam. Arab refugees began identifying themselves as part of a Palestinian people only since 1967, two decades after the establishment of the modern State of Israel in 1948.
2. From the Jewish conquest by Joshua in 1272 BC, the Jews had dominion over the land for 1000 years with a continuous presence in the land for the past 3,300 years.
3. The only Arab domination since its conquest of the land in 635AD lasted no more than 22 years.
4. For over 3,000 years, Jerusalem has been the Jewish capital. Jerusalem has never been the capital of any Arab or Muslim entity.
5. Jerusalem is mentioned over 700 times in the Bible. It is not mentioned even once in the Koran.
6. Jews pray facing Jerusalem. Muslims pray with their back toward Jerusalem.
7. Arab and Jewish refugees: Arabs were not driven out of their homes. Following the UN decision on Partition in 1948. Rather, the Arabs were encouraged to leave Israel by Arab leaders who promised to purge the land of Jews. They promised that they could return after the purge. Most left without ever seeing an Israeli soldier.
8. The number of Arab refugees who left Israel in 1948 is estimated to be around 630,000. The number of Jewish refugees absorbed by Israel from Arab countries is estimated to be the same.
9. Before 1948, the term Palestinian generally referred to all inhabitants of Palestine, particularly the Jews since most of the people living in that area were Jews. The Jerusalem Post was called the Palestine Post.
10. There is no distinct Palestinian Arab culture or language. Most of the people who are called Palestinians today actually have their roots in other Arab countries. Yasser Arafat, for instance, was an Egyptian by birth.
11. As economic and living conditions improved in Palestine when Jews began to return from Europe and elsewhere, workers came from Egypt and Jordan and even non-Arab countries to capitalize on the opportunities Jewish immigration brought.
12. There were some 50 different languages spoken among the Arab population in pre-1948 Palestine indicating that most of the people in Palestine were new to the area. Only the conflict in the Middle East has given those displaced peoples an identity.
13. The Jewish refugees were forced to flee from Arab lands due to Arab brutality, persecution and pogroms.
14. Arab refugees were never absorbed or integrated into Arab lands to which they fled, despite the vast amount of Arab territory. Out of the one billion refugees since World War II, theirs is the only refugee group in the world that has never been absorbed or integrated into their own people’s lands.
15. Jewish refugees from the world were completely absorbed into Israel, a country no larger than the state of New Jersey.
16. The Arabs are represented by eight separate nations, not including the Palestinians. There is only one Jewish nation.
17. The Arab nations initiated all five wars against Israel. Israel defended itself each time and won.
18. The PLO charter still calls for the destruction of the state of Israel.
19. Israel has given the Palestinians most of the West Bank (i.e. biblical Judea and Samaria) and autonomy under the Palestinian Authority. Israel has supplied the police and security forces with weapons, which the Palestinians have used against the Israelis.
20. Of the 690 General Assembly resolutions in the United Nations voted on before 1990, 429 were directed against Israel.
21. Islam has conquered 22 nations, all by force.

"Pray for the peace of Jerusalem...For the sake of my brothers and friends, I will say, 'Peace be within you'. For the sake of the house of the L-rd our G-d, I will seek your prosperity." (Psalm 122:6, 8, and 9)

 Barukh HaShem (Blessed is the Name of the L-rd)