Mother asked some good questions today, about the history of Israel, that prompted me to do some research. I stumbled across this wonderful story at ZioNation - Progressive Zionism and Israel Web Log:
Who were the Ten Booms and how are they relevant today?
The Ten Booms were a family of devout Christians living in Holland during World War II. When the Germans occupied their city and began rounding up the Jews, the Ten Booms organized an underground railroad, hiding Jews in their home and then leading them under cover or darkness to hiding places that other like-minded Christians ran in the countryside. At the time of their arrest by the Nazis in 1944, the ten Boom family had organized a network of more than eighty volunteers who had rescued more than seven hundred Jews.
The ten Boom family paid dearly for its heroism. Casper ten Boom, the family patriarch, became sick in prison and died within days of his arrest. Both his daughter Betsie and his grandson Kik died in Nazi concentration camps. His son Willem ten Boom survived the concentration camps but emerged terribly ill and died shortly thereafter. Casper’s daughter Corrie ten Boom survived the concentration camps and spent the rest of her life sharing her family’s faith and story.
The ten Booms are highly relevant today because they demonstrate the sincerity and depth of the evangelical commitment to the Jewish people. The ten Booms were explicit in their rejection of replacement theology. And they were explicit in their love for the Jews. They risked (and lost) their lives to save Jews because of this Christian faith, not despite it.
There is a direct theological line from the Ten Booms to the Christian Zionists of today. While Jews no longer need to be hidden in Jewish homes, we do need Christian support in confronting new threats such as those from Iran and Hamas. We should embrace these modern-day righteous gentiles and work with them to defend Israel.
Lots of other great stuff where this came from that provided greater insight into what I'm researching.
