RAISING A FAMILY IN THE HEARTLAND OF ISRAEL
by David Kiern
The mountains of Israel have always been the heart of the Jewish people’s homeland.
First promised to Abraham and his descendants in an everlasting covenant, the hills and valleys of Judea and Samaria are where the patriarchs and matriarchs first traveled and began to put down roots. When the Children of Israel crossed into the Promised Land, it was here that the first settlements were founded and the first fields were planted.
Centuries ago, Jewish settlements blossomed upon the mountains of Israel and land was vibrant and fertile. As prophesied by Ezekiel, these mountains eventually became desolate and its cities forsaken as the Jewish people were exiled to foreign lands. However, God promised that, one day, He would gather the Jewish people from around the world and bring them back to rebuild and replant upon the mountains of Israel.
After more than 2,000 years, this prophecy has begun to unfold for the first time in recent decades. Though not without a struggle, Jewish people have returned to the mountains of Israel to fulfill the very words of the prophets. Towns and cities are being rebuilt in the same places where they once stood years ago while agriculture and life are returning to rocky and desolate places.
“Thus says the LORD God:
When I gather the house of Israel from the peoples among whom they are scattered, and manifest my holiness in them in the sight of the nations, then they shall dwell in their own land that I gave to my servant Jacob. And they shall dwell securely in it, and they shall build houses and plant vineyards.”
EZEKIEL 28
For our third featured character in I Am Israel, we wanted to find a Jewish woman who could represent the region of Samaria, and give viewers an inside look into the life of a young family building a life in the mountains of Israel. For decades, the secular global media has depicted Jewish settlers in Samaria as hateful racist thieves. One of the reasons we produced I Am Israel (and the book!) is to fight against this corrupt narrative. Our aim is present the world with the true story, and an amazing young woman named Batya Sela helped us do this.
Batya is a wife, mother and re-settler of Samaria. I like to use the term, "re-settler," because her Jewish community, called Itamar, is surrounded by places which her ancestors first settled 3,800 years ago. In the film, Batya gives viewers her perspective on her family's quiet life in the mountains, reflects on raising her children and even brings us along to her son's third birthday party.
There is a story in the Bible about a young woman who traveled to Samaria, to the LORD's Tabernacle in Shiloh, to earnestly pray with all her heart for a son. Hannah was her name and God heard her prayer. She gave birth to Samuel, who went on to lead Israel in the ways of God before the arrival of King David.
To me, Batya is a modern-day Hannah. She is a faithful mother who is raising the next generation, instilling into her children the reality of the promises of God so that they will grow to be future leaders of the nation of Israel.
"To me, Israel is family. More than anything else, it's family and it's home."
- BATYA SELA
Watch the Land of Israel miraculously returning to life in our award-winning film, I AM ISRAEL.
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