Honoring a Christian Zionist Hero and Bibi Goes to Washington
Pastor Dewey Moede
Honoring a Christian Zionist Hero!
Recently, the State of Israel held special ceremonies to honor a leading figure in Christian Zionist history, Lt. Col. John Henry Patterson. He was a British officer during World War One who commanded the Zion Mule Corps, the first Jewish military force since the Bar-Kokhba revolt nearly 2,000 years ago. In fact, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lauded Patterson for being the ‘godfather’ of today’s Israeli army. Now Patterson also led the Jewish Legion into battle in 1917, and after the war he became a strong supporter of the Zionist movement and its efforts to revive the Jewish nation back in the Land of Israel. But he died just before Israel was reborn in 1948, and was buried in far-away Los Angeles. Yet in December, Patterson’s dying wish was finally granted when Israeli leaders reburied his ashes alongside his troops in the Jewish Legion cemetery near Netanya. So just who was Col. John Henry Patterson? How important a figure was he in Israel’s modern history? How did his Jewish troops perform during World War One? And what is the special connection between Patterson and the Netanyahu family? Honoring a Christian Zionist Hero! That’s our focus this week here on Front Page Jerusalem. We’ll look back at the life and military career of Lt. Col. John Henry Patterson and his unique role in Israel’s modern history. Our special guest will be Jerry Klinger, president of the Jewish American Society for Historic Preservation. Jerry was the key player in making sure Patterson was reburied alongside his troops, and he will tell us more about why Israel and particularly Prime Minister Netanyahu were so keen to honor this important Christian Zionist figure.
On today’s program we’re taking a look back at the life and career of Lt. Col. John Henry Patterson, a leading figure in Christian Zionist history. At a recent ceremony to mark the reburial of Patterson’s remains in Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called him the ‘godfather’ of the Israeli army. For more on Patterson and his important role in Israel’s modern history, Front Page senior producer David Parsons spoke with Jerry Klinger, president of the Jewish American Society for Historic Preservation. Jerry spearheaded the effort to honor Col. Patterson and tells us why he was such a key figure in Israel’s re-founding.
ICEJ Report
We will also hear about the Christian Embassy’s recent efforts to bring Jews home to Israel from trouble spots in France and Ukraine. Find out what Christians like you can do to help?
Join hosts Earl Cox, Ben Kinchlow and David Parsons for this week’s Front Page Jerusalem, on a radio station near you or visit our website to download the MP3 and to subscribe to program podcasts
The time has finally arrived for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to head for Washington to deliver his highly anticipated speech before the US Congress. The controversy over his address to a joint session of Congress has raged for weeks, as the Obama administration tries to spin it as a breach of protocol and a blow to bi-partisan support for Israel. But Netanyahu has insisted it is all about Iran’s renegade nuclear program and his last shot at stopping Obama from signing a bad deal with Tehran. He also contends that Congress has an important say in how the United States should handle this grave threat to world security. Netanyahu’s speech is now just around the corner, and we’ll be back on air next week with the highlights and instant analysis on its impact. What was Netanyahu’s message to Congress and the American people? How did he handle the charge that he was just playing politics? Did he make the case for taking a tougher stand against Iran’s nuclear program? And were there any surprises in his historic speech? Bibi Goes to Washington! That’s our focus next week here on Front Page Jerusalem. We’ll have excerpts and analysis on Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu‘s upcoming speech before Congress. Will it succeed in stopping Iran in its tracks from crossing the nuclear threshold?
