In the aftermath of World War II, the United States has supported the modern establishment of Israel as a democratic alliance and, more recently, as an economic partner. National security, intelligence sharing, technology development, scientific research, combating global Islamic terrorism and much more are also ongoing and shared interests.

The history of America and Israel didn’t start in 1948. It goes back to 1776, when American rebels looked to the Promised Land, its foundational story, and were inspired to reject the British Empire in pursuit of their own nation.

“We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved,” states the Declaration of Independence, signed by 56 men.

“And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.”

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The Founding Fathers were men of God and believers in the Bible. This is evident in their speeches, writings, proposals and public prayers. Faith was their guiding force, principle and tool to win the American Revolution—against all odds.

“In 1776, a month after the signing of the Declaration of Independence, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams met to discuss the design of the Great Seal of the United States. Benjamin Franklin’s idea for the Great Seal wasn’t an eagle or the stars and stripes. We wanted the Seal to depict Moses leading the Children of Israel through the Red Sea, out of slavery and into freedom,” author and filmmaker David Kiern writes. “Jefferson countered, proposing imagery of the Hebrews in the desert, led by a pillar of fire, marching toward the Promised Land.”

After the Americans won their freedom, the credit for Israel’s divine inspiration continued.

“May the same wonder-working Deity, who long since delivered the Hebrews from their Egyptian oppressors, planted them in a promised land, whose providential agency has lately been conspicuous in establishing these United States as an independent nation, still continue to water them with the dews of heaven and make the inhabitants of every denomination participate in the temporal and spiritual blessings of that people whose God is Jehovah,” President Washington wrote to the Hebrew Congregation of Savannah in 1790.

“May the children of the stock of Abraham who dwell in this land continue to merit and enjoy the good will of the other inhabitants—while everyone shall sit in safety under his own vine and fig tree and there shall be none to make him afraid,” Washington wrote in a letter to the Hebrew Congregation in Newport, Rhode Island, a year before the First Amendment. “May the father of all mercies scatter light, and not darkness, upon our paths, and make us all in our several vocations useful here, and in His own due time and way everlastingly happy.”

Inside the House Chamber in the U.S. Capitol, Moses is honored with a marble relief portrait. It has been there for 75 years, placed long after Washington’s speeches or Jefferson’s seal proposals, and is a testament to the Ten Commandments, which he received at Mount Sinai.

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Moses is also found on the walls of the Library of Congress and in other important, historical locations in Washington.

“The 23 marble relief portraits over the gallery doors of the House Chamber in the U.S. Capitol depict historical figures noted for their work in establishing the principles that underlie American law. They were installed when the chamber was remodeled in 1949-1950,” the Architect of the Capitol explains, detailing Moses as a “Hebrew prophet and lawgiver [1350-1250 B.C.]. Transformed a wandering people into a nation.”

The Founding Fathers believed not only in the promise of Israel but also that Israel was providential for the establishment of the United States of America.

Today, streets in Israel are named after Presidents Washington and Lincoln. In Jerusalem, a park is dedicated to the Liberty Bell. This history provides important context for the U.S. relationship with Israel, not just as a modern state after the sacrifices of World War II but more broadly and historically. Israel is the only modern country in the Middle East with Western values and the place where Western civilization originated.

Ripping out the roots of a tree instead of watering it is a terrible proposition. Thanks to the work of the men who established our nation, the roots are deep and strong. For the sake of America and our destiny, they must remain vigilantly protected.