Why Some Jews Agree Comparing President Trump to King Cyrus of the Bible Makes Sense

Before the 2016 presidential election, some evangelical Christians began comparing Donald Trump to King Cyrus, the Biblical king who's credited with allowing the Jews to return to Jerusalem from exile in the Babylonian Empire.

The idea behind the comparison is that a non-believing leader can be used by God to enact policies that help advance the interests of believers – in this case, Christians.

Now, some prominent Jews are making the same comparison because President Trump has recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, among other things the president has done in support of the Jewish state. 

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is the most recent person to do so. At the White House recently, Netanyahu lavished praise on President Trump, likening him to not only Cyrus the Great, but also to President Harry Truman, the first world leader to recognize the new country of Israel in 1948. He also likened him to Lord Arthur Balfour, author of the Balfour Declaration, a public statement issued by the British government during World War I announcing support for the establishment of a "national home for the Jewish people" in Palestine.

CBN News recently spoke with Israeli author and historian Gil Troy, whose most recent book is called The Zionist Ideas: Visions for the Jewish Homeland – Then, Now, Tomorrow.

We asked him his thoughts on the comparison of Trump to Cyrus the Great.

"Those of us who are lucky enough to live there (Jerusalem) know that we don't count in decades, we don't count in centuries, we count in millennia," Troy said. "So when you see someone do something good for the Jewish people, you put that in historical context." 

"And Harry Truman, after he recognized the state of Israel 11 minutes after its founding in 1948, was thanked, and he said, 'I am Cyrus!' because he was going back to the Persian king," he continued. "So it's not surprising we would say he did something good for the Jewish people, he did something good for the American people, he did something good for the world, and say you're part of that historical chain."

And while Troy acknowledges that what President Trump has done is admirable, he does not believe what Trump has done rises to the level of what President Truman did in 1948, or what Lord Balfour did in 1917.

"President Truman was told, 'Do not recognize the state of Israel.' Lord Balfour was there at a time when there was no notion, even, of a state. Donald Trump basically acknowledged something very obvious. How is it that there is only one country in the world that's not allowed to pick its capital?" Troy said.

"So while I give Donald Trump credit," he continued, "if we lived in a 'normal' world, a fair world, it wouldn't be such a heroic act."

Troy says so far, President Trump has been a good friend to Israel, standing up to the world's bullies and recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

Troy's latest book is called Zionist Ideas. We asked him what Zionism means, and why Christians should care about it.

"Zionism says, first of all, that the Jews are a people. We're not just a religion. We're this mix of religion and people. And as a people, we have a deep, deep tie to a particular homeland, the Holy Land," Troy explained.

"And we have a right to establish a state on the homeland," he went on. "So it's people, it's land, and it's statehood. And Christian Zionists should embrace Zionism for two fundamental reasons.  First, it's one of the great stories," he said, going on to describe the history of the Jewish people's struggle and persecution, and its rising again.

"Talk about redemption!" Troy said. "Talk about renewing your faith in God and your faith in people-hood. That's an amazing thing." 

Troy also says Israel's history and the story of Zionism serve as an inspiration to Americans who love democracy and liberty. Israel and America have shared values, shared interests, and now shared challenges as the two countries work together to support one another.

"I think that Zionism is an opportunity to remind us who we are as a Biblical people, as an ideological people, as democrats – lower case 'd,' – people who believe in democracy, and idealists who want to make the world a better place, be it here in the United States or in Israel," Troy said.