Rock of Israel

In Psalm 19:15 of the Hebrew Bible, God is referred to as the "Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer". In religious terms, the "Rock" means God, who protects the Jewish people and is the center of their faith, which defines their identity and consciousness. The term indicates the trust and faith of people in God, who is immutable. However, secular Zionists have interpreted this term in a non-religious way to mean the cultural and historical heritage that has preserved Jewish community and identity over centuries. Both meanings have influenced the movement for the return of Jews to the Eretz Israel and the creation of the Jewish state of Israel. A phrase beginning "Rock of Israel" is part of the morning prayers in some versions of the prayerbook, where it is recited immediately before the Shemonah Esrei prayer. == Controversy ==

The term "Rock of Israel" was subject of controversy just before the promulgation of the Israeli Declaration of Independence on 14 May 1948. The disagreement threatened to derail the actual and ceremonial proclamation of the establishment of a Jewish state in the former British Mandate of Palestine. Israeli leader David Ben-Gurion, who would become the country's first Prime Minister, spent the morning of 14 May mediating the dispute between Rabbi Maimon and Zisling. After hours of talks, Rabbi Maimon agreed to leave out the term "Redeemer" from the text of the declaration. The compromise was included without a final vote. or "Tzahal" (the Israeli army). ==English translation==

Significantly, the whole passage containing the words "Rock of Israel" was not included in the English-language translation that was released for publication, owing to the military censorship imposed to keep the time and place of the ceremony secret in the wake of the war that was about to begin. ==See also==