Israel’s Ambassador to the US Ron Dermer said something at AIPAC that I found to be incredibly profound.
It’s something I think most of us Jews take for granted since we grew up hearing it, so it doesn’t sound exceptional to our ears.
But Dermer explained it as an outsider would see it, and it’s quite an insight when you hear it explained from an outsider’s worldview.
Starting around 8:19 in the AIPAC video:
Dan Weiss asked Dermer how he thinks Trump’s Jerusalem Declaration will advance peace.
Dermer begins his response with this introduction:
“Well to understand the significance you have to appreciate, Dana, that the Jewish people remember the Declaration of Cyrus from 2500 years ago that allowed the Jews to go back and rebuild the Second Temple.
Now I don’t know if the Persian remember Cyrus, but the Jewish people remember Cyrus.
This decision [by Trump] will be remembered forever for the Jewish people. The fact that the leader of the free world, the most powerful country in the world, becomes the first leader to recognize Jerusalem as our capital, is a decision that will never ever be forgotten by the Jewish people.”
When someone does something exceptionally good (or exceptionally bad) for the Jewish people, it becomes part of our living history, and they become immortalized forever for their actions.
I never thought about it that way, but it’s true.
It’s a powerful thought.