Terrorist Threats Can’t Break Israelis’ ‘Intimate Connection’ with God

Living in Israel is unlike living in any other place in the world according to Jonathan Feldstein.

Feldstein, a dual American-Israeli citizen that works for an organization helping to build bridges between Christians and Jews, says Israel’s citizens are in far more peril than just about anywhere else around the globe.

“We’re always on the edge,” Feldstein, an Orthodox Jew, told Charisma News’ John Matarazzo during a recent interview.

It’s a continual struggle for Israelis due to the precarious geopolitical situation in the Middle East. There is the conflict between the Palestinians and the Jews, and the constant threat of war from countries like Iran, which has edged closer to having full nuclear capabilities.

Now, there is also the threat of civil war in the Holy Land. With Israel constantly being in the news, it can become quite uncomfortable at times for its citizens.

“There’s never a respite,” Feldstein says. “There is the uranium threat—and I do take that very seriously as do our leaders. The Iranians have enriched uranium now up to what they say is 84%, and you need 90% in order to get enough material for a nuclear weapon.

“But I don’t worry about it because of God, and because I know our leaders are on top of it. I don’t know what will come of it, but we had the first day of Passover a few weeks ago [and] dozens of rockets [were] fired at Israeli communities by Islamic and Arab terrorists, both in Gaza and Lebanon.”

Feldstein says Hezbollah, a global terrorist group, is known to have “as many as 150,000 long-range and very accurate rockets that can hit most of Israel.”

In 2019 an Iranian general said Tehran, it’s capital and the location of its governing body, “aims to wipe Israel off the global political map.”

Contrary to the danger, however, Feldstein says that Israel was recently ranked as the fourth happiest nation in the world.

“This is a tremendous paradox,” Feldstein says. “I don’t know who ranks it, but honestly, I think it’s true. Yes, we do have conflict over judicial reforms. We’ve had weekly protests going on since January. We are no less divided today than American politics. There is all this tension, but I’ll tell you these days [the days before Israel’s Independence Day in April] have shown great respite.”

Feldstein says you cannot ignore the violence, especially when it’s in your own neighborhood. It’s something that he, his family and his neighbors live with on a “day-to-day basis.” And, he says, he cherishes the prayers for them from people around the globe because they are necessary. It helps them find the resilience they need to live every day to the fullest.

“But life goes on here and life goes on with gusto,” Feldstein says. “It’s just … we love it. We don’t love the threats. We love our life. And, we have purpose here. I think that’s what [is] driving our purpose in life. … We know that we’re intimately connected to God and God’s promises vis a vis the Jewish people, the land and the state of Israel.”

For more of this compelling interview with Johnathan Feldstein, click here. {eoa}

Shawn A. Akers is the online editor at Charisma News.