Israel and her friends are celebrating the 70^th anniversary of the country’s founding on Monday. Since 1948, the Israeli people have established a prosperous and democratic state in their ancestral homeland. Israel’s thriving existence is a fact, not something to be negotiated.

However, from the time of the Balfour Declaration in 1917, groups have rejected the legitimacy of the Jewish state. To their detriment, the Palestinians continue to embody this rejectionist attitude. The world must stand up to those that espouse this policy and strongly support the existence of Israel as a nation.