Why the Nations Still Stand with Israel

“As for all those who plot evil against me, speedily nullify their scheme and disrupt their plan. Act for Your Name’s sake.” — From the Shemoneh Esrei 

Why do the nations sometimes stand beside Israel… and then suddenly turn against her? 

It is a question that returns after every war, every diplomatic crisis, every wave of terrorism, and every shocking vote at the United Nations. One year the world applauds Israel for defending itself. The next, it condemns her for doing the very same thing. 

Political analysts explain it through economics. Military experts point to shifting alliances. Historians speak about changing demographics, energy markets, and global strategy. 

All of those factors matter. But the Torah tells us there is something even deeper taking place. 

Looking Beyond Politics 

Israel possesses remarkable achievements. Our scientists develop world-changing technologies. Our doctors pioneer life-saving treatments. Our engineers build some of the world’s most advanced defense systems. The Israel Defense Forces have earned a reputation for courage and innovation far beyond what anyone expected from such a small country. 

Yet when viewed through a purely geopolitical lens, Israel has always appeared to be an unlikely investment. 

Consider Iran. 

It possesses a population many times larger than Israel’s. It sits atop some of the world’s largest oil and natural gas reserves. Through decades of cultivating regional allies and proxy organizations, it has built  significant influence stretching from Lebanon to Yemen and beyond. From the perspective of strategic planners, Iran represents enormous economic and geopolitical potential. 

That reality has tempted leaders for decades. 

Some American administrations emphasized containing Iran. Others believed engagement might reshape the region. Reasonable people continue to debate which approach best serves American interests. 

Yet beneath those debates lies a deeper question: 

If nations evaluate only military strength, population, geography, and economic opportunity… Why choose Israel at all? 

More Than a Strategic Alliance 

The Torah offers an answer that no think tank can. When Hashem first spoke to Avraham, He declared: 

“I will bless those who bless you.” (Bereshit 12:3) 

Those words were not merely a promise to one man. They became part of the spiritual architecture of history. 

From a purely military perspective, Israel should have disappeared many times over. Instead, generation after generation, she survives. Sometimes through miraculous victories. Sometimes through unexpected alliances. Sometimes through events that  historians struggle to explain. 

Believers recognize God’s Hand guiding history. 

Two Different Worldviews 

Modern politics often reflects two fundamentally different ways of seeing the world. 

One worldview asks: “What benefits us the most?” 

The other asks: “What is right?” 

If history is merely economics, then alliances become transactions. If history belongs to Hashem, then morality cannot be separated from strategy. 

In recent decades, American presidents have approached the Middle East from different perspectives. Some viewed strengthening Israel as both a moral and strategic imperative. Others explored whether broader regional engagement—including opening new relationships with Iran—might better advance American interests. 

Presidents Barrack Obama and Joe Biden saw opportunity in diversifying alliances to include Iran. Presidents Ronald Regan and Donald Trump saw partnering with Israel as part of the soul of their nation.  

Why Israel Still Matters 

Millions of Christians read the same 24 Books of the Jewish Bible. When they open its pages, they encounter Avraham. They read about Yitzchak, Yaakov, David, Yeshayahu, and Yirmiyahu. 

They read Hashem’s covenant with Israel. Even if their theology differs from ours, they recognize that the Jewish people occupy a unique place within the biblical story.  

For many believers, support for Israel is not merely foreign policy. It is faith. 

That conviction has shaped public opinion and influenced political leaders for generations. Whether people acknowledge it openly or not, biblical values continue to exert enormous influence throughout parts of the Western world. 

We are not gaining powerful friends in this world due to our army, high-tech prowess, or intelligence services. They are from Hashem. God is giving us the sword of the west by promising them His blessing for fighting alongside us.  

But What Happens When Faith Fades? 

This is where the picture becomes more sobering. 

As societies become increasingly secular, fewer people view history through the  biblical lens of covenant. Blessing becomes difficult to recognize if one no longer believes in the One Who gives it. When God disappears from a nation’s worldview, alliances become calculations. 

Questions begin to change. 

Instead of asking, “What is right?”  

People ask, “What is profitable?” “What is convenient?” “What costs us the least?” 

As economic pressures increase, energy prices fluctuate, and geopolitical competition intensifies, some voices naturally begin asking whether standing with Israel  remains worthwhile. 

That conversation is becoming louder. Not only on the political left. Increasingly, it can also be heard on parts of the political right. 

For Jews, this should not surprise us. The prophets warned long ago that our security would never rest solely upon international approval. 

Our Greatest Defense 

We often speak about the IDF. And rightly so. We thank Hashem every day for the extraordinary men and women who defend this country. 

We appreciate our intelligence services, our technological innovation, our diplomats, and the remarkable resilience of Israeli society. These are tremendous blessings. But they are not the source of our security.  They are instruments through which Hashem often chooses to act. 

King David understood this. “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we call upon the Name of Hashem our God.” (Psalms 20:8) 

Military strength matters. Technology matters. Diplomacy matters. But none of them  replaces the Source from which all blessing flows. 

History repeatedly reminds us that nations stronger than Israel have vanished. Empires that once ruled continents exist today only in museums. The Jewish people remain. 

Not because we were always stronger. But because Hashem remained faithful to His covenant. 

The Real Battle 

Three times every day, Jews quietly conclude our Shemonei Esrei prayer by standing before the Master of the Universe and praying: 

As for all those who plot evil against me, speedily nullify their scheme and disrupt their plan. Act for your Name sake.  (End of Shemoneh Esrei)

This prayer has accompanied our people through exile, pogroms, inquisitions, expulsions, world wars, and terrorism. 

It accompanies us still. 

The greatest contribution any Jew can make to Israel’s future is not found only on the battlefield, in the Knesset, or in the boardroom. 

It is found in Torah. In mitzvot. In acts of kindness. In honest business dealings. In guarding our speech. In raising children who love Hashem. In putting on tefillin. In lighting Shabbat candles. In every quiet act of holiness that no headline will ever report. 

The future of Israel has always been shaped in the beit midrash and around the Shabbat table before He decrees our fate on the battlefield. 

Why Our Allies Stand Beside Us 

Our allies are important. We should pray for them. We should appreciate them. We should strengthen those relationships whenever possible. 

But we should never confuse the branch for the root. Political alliances rise and fall. Governments change. Public opinion shifts like wheat bending before the wind. Nations go from being firm in their values to spiritual, moral, and ethical decay. As they do, antisemitism rises at the same pace as love for Israel plummets.  

Only one relationship has never failed. The covenant between Hashem and His people. 

Before any nation ever chose us… Hashem did. 

After every nation rejects us . . . Hashem won’t.  

And as long as we continue choosing Him through Torah, mitzvot, and faithful devotion, we can face an uncertain world with confidence. 

Our greatest ally has never occupied the White House, Westminster, or any palace on earth. 

He neither slumbers nor sleeps. 

That is why Israel still stands. 

*** 

David Ben Horin lives in Afula with his family, 60,000 passionate Israelis, and Matilda, our local camel.