When God spoke to Abraham in Genesis 12, making an everlasting covenant with him, He didn't just establish a people and nation; He set in motion a cosmic struggle. The real struggle needs to be seen with spiritual eyes beyond the battles. In God's call to Abraham, his declaration, "I choose you," was met with an equally resolute but malevolent echo from Satan, "Then I choose you too." Since that pivotal moment, history has witnessed an unending assault against the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Today marks Kristallnacht or the night of broken glass – the day when, 85 years ago, on November 9, 1938, a pogrom against the Jewish people was carried out by the Nazi Party’s paramilitary, with some participation from the Hitler Youth and German civilians throughout Nazi Germany. Kristallnacht marks the point Hitler moved from an emotional antisemitism to a systematic antisemitism of laws and government violence. Everything changed.

Israel was set to have 2023 be its biggest tourism year since it became a nation again in 1948. More than 9 million people were going to make the holy pilgrimage this year, nearing the actual population of those living in the land, including the 35 souls set to leave on our trip the day after the October 7 attacks. Now in the grip of what feels like a battle for its existence, many of us who regularly travel to Israel wonder when we will be back next.

If one thing is for sure, Israel has been here before, and she will be here again.