6 Little Known Contributions of Judaism to America

December 18, 2025

Host: Hon. Sam Rohrer

Guest: David New

Note: This transcript is taken from a Stand in the Gap Today program aired on 12/18/25. To listen to the podcast, click HERE.

Disclaimer: While reasonable efforts have been made to provide an accurate transcription, the following is a representation of a mechanical transcription and as such, may not be a word for word transcript. Please listen to the audio version for any questions concerning the following dialogue.

Sam Rohrer:

Hello and welcome to this Thursday edition of Stand in the Gap Today. And it’s also our bimonthly focus on the Constitution, US history and the Bible. And we generally try to take all of these and in some way blend them together because they are connected. Now, in just one week from today, the world will be forced to acknowledge the historical reality of the coming of Jesus Christ, the Old Testament and the Torah prophesied Messiah. Right? We know that. I just saying that because it’s almost upon us. But at Christ first coming, some accepted him in that fact and the majority though, sadly, rejected that he was the son of God. And so it is today. But it doesn’t alter the evidence of over 300 fulfilled prophecies in regard to this first coming of Christ recorded in the Hebrew Old Testament. So all of Christianity and all of those who celebrate Christmas have much for which to thank the Jewish people.

And all of us, we talk a lot about on this program, we do. It’s through them that the Redeemer has come. And it’s interesting that as we contemplate that, that this is also a time of greatly increasing antisemitism. I thought it would do well to stop and thank the Jewish people that through them, the Messiah came. And that should be a part of our Christmas thinking this year in particular. But when considering the contribution of the Jewish people through whom Yeshua came during this Christmas season, it’s also a great time to consider other vital contributions to our nation, America, made by Jewish people. And this key here, the underlying teachings of Judaism and the Hebrew Old Testament. The title I’ve chosen to frame our conversation today, and I think what will be an encouraging program, probably things that never heard before, is simply entitled this, Six Little Known Contributions of Judaism to America.

Six Little Known Contributions of Judaism to America. And my special recurring guest on this focus is Constitutional Attorney David New, historian, author, and public speaker. And David, so glad that you can be back with me. This is our last program together in this year, the way things are going to work out. It’s great to spend this Thursday again with you.

David New:

Yes, it is wonderful to be with you, Sam, and with all of our listeners, God bless you and have a good, happy holiday.

Sam Rohrer:

Yes, indeed. And David, let’s get into this because you’ve done some work on this. Obviously I’m putting together these six little known contributions and I’m going to give just a little heads up here, ladies and gentlemen. One of them includes the contribution that a contribution put this way that actually precedes the pilgrims coming to Plymouth Rock in 1621. And you say, “What in the world is that? ” Well, stay tuned. You get it. And then a famous Christmas song, White Christmas, made familiar by Bing Crosby. We’re going to kind of conclude by looking at that. It’s kind of interesting. And there’s others in there. I just gave you a heads up on two of them. But I want to ask David, you right now, your thoughts on the Sydney, Australia. And then there’s been another occurrence in Amsterdam assault. And there’s been other actually attacks on innocent Jewish people, but clearly, clearly at this time of Christmas and Hanukkah for those for Jews who observed that, these assaults are more than significant.

Any thoughts that you’d like to share on these?

David New:

Well, it’s a horrible situation that has happened to our friends in Israel and Australia, the Jewish community. And it’s quite obvious. World War II was a horrible time for the Jewish people. At least six million people were Jews were killed in these gas chambers and other means. And apparently it’s quite apparent that things are working up to another cataclysmic event. We’re headed for someplace very bad. I do believe that we are in the last days, and I’m deeply saddened by these murders by a father and son, no less.

Sam Rohrer:

Yeah. It really is amazing, David. And then this is not the focus of today’s program, of course, but ladies and gentlemen, as we talk about so often, these days in which we live, the Lord said lawlessness will increase. You’ll have an increase in persecution, not just against Jews, as we are seeing and just referencing right now, but also against Christians. And that is happening around the world. And of course, we know as we move into sooner than later, the seven year time of tribulation, the time of Jacob’s trouble, Book of Zechariah says that two thirds of the Jews alive then will lose their lives, a Holocaust that we have never, ever, ever seen. It’s all part of what God has laid out, and that’s why it’s so important to witness to all of our friends who do not know the Lord, Gentile or Jew, because days of tribulation are coming.

But when we see these things like this, it should be a reminder of the days in which we live. We need to be very, very fervent. David, there’s another thing that you made a comment. You asked me after the last program, after we concluded, sent me a note and you said, “Oh no, I think I said something that you would like to correct because on this program, we try to make sure every detail is accurate.” So what is it that you would like to correct?

David New:

Yes. In the last program I discussed about a word that was first formed and found in the Bible, I said it was the word blessing because I was referring to the preamble to the United States Constitution where it talks about the blessing of liberty. It is not the word blessing. It is the word liberty that first appears in the English Bible. And of course, this has been translated into our preamble, which establishes a spiritual link between the US Constitution and the English translation of the word of God. I am sorry I used the wrong word. I shouldn’t have said blessing. I should have said liberty, but this is what’s called a senior moment. These things will happen. Sorry.

Sam Rohrer:

Well, David, it could be a senior moment, but you know, in the life of most of what we hear in the news, it’s a daily occurrence because they lie intentionally. That was a mistake on your part. Thank you for clarifying that. But you know it is interesting because we’ve talked about, you and I have on this program and I have with other guests, the difference between, for instance, liberty and freedom, and they are different. And our founders understood, but they understood very well that you could not understand liberty as they put on the liberty bell in Pennsylvania, I mean, down here in Philadelphia, proclaimed liberty throughout all of the land from the book of Leviticus. They knew what that meant and they knew that because of that liberty, ultimately through faith in Christ, through what God has done, that ladies and gentlemen, from that can come freedom, but you cannot have freedom unless you have been set free and understand that freedom of Christ.

So that’s just the point, but that’s not our focus today. Our focus is six little known contributions of Judaism to America. And I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised. And some of these will be new, some of these will not be, but stay with us. We’ll walk through them in the next three segments. All right. If you’re just joining us today, thanks for being aboard. David New is back with me again. This is our bimonthly emphasis on what we describe as constitution, US history in the Bible. And generally something about all of these three are worked in. Sometimes a current headline has a connection, sometimes just has a comment like in today’s program. But David, in regard to that, we’re in this Christmas season. It’s a great time to look and we look back on what Christ has done. And as believers, we know that we have much to be thankful for the Jewish people, our support of Israel, because God is God’s covenant promise and his promise to the world was made in Genesis 3:13 that a redeemer would come as a result of that act of sin, the devil, and complicity of Adam and Eve and the garden, and that his plan would be to bring forth a redeemer through the Jewish people.

And that was his promise to Abraham, to Isaac and Jacob. And from that was a promise of a nation, Israel, of a people, the Jews, and of a city Jerusalem. And ultimately that culminated in the first coming of Christ. And so the connection to the Jewish community in that aspect, what God has called out is very, very vital. And that’s why all true believers need to know that understanding. But through time, we’ve often talked about in our country, many people use the phrase the Judeo-Christian world of view. Sometimes they know what that means, sometimes they don’t. But we thought, and you’ve done some work on looking at several specific contributions that have come to America, become a part of our fabric, become a part of a who and what we are in our history that have come directly from the mentality of Judaism one way or another.

So that being the case, let’s get going on these six. Give any preferative comments that you’d want and then lay out and identify that first one that’s on your list. Okay?

David New:

We’re going to do them in chronological order. Let’s do the first one. This is the stone of destiny. This stone comes from an event in the book of Genesis, the 28th chapter and the 18th verse, where it says, “And Jacob rose up early in the morning and took the stone that he had put for his pillows and set it up for a pillar and poured oil on top of it. ” This stone is called the stone of destiny. It is also, according to the British, the foundation for the British monarchy being the throne of David. It’s also the authority for the British divine right of kings. This stone they claim was passed down. The stone weighs 336 pounds. It was passed down for hundreds of years. It finally made its way into Scotland through the prophet Jeremiah, allegedly. He had one of the Kings Zedekiah’s daughters marry into the Scottish royalty, thus continuing the Davidic line.

This forms the basis for the king being on the throne of England by divine right. The throne of David is supposed to be there. And it was there for hundreds of years. King Edward It around 1296 after being the stone in England for hundreds of years and used to inaugurate future kings for the Scottish King Edward I came in, invaded the country, took the stone of destiny from the Scotts, took it to London and put it in Westminster Abbey. Then in 1996, Prime Minister John Major returned the stone to Scotland. The British and the Scotts had been fighting over this 336 pound stone ever since from day one, and they finally agreed to give it back with the understanding that when King Charles or any future King of England is ready to take the throne, that they would let them use this stone. It goes right under the chair.

When you see where King Charles took his oath to become the King of England, there was this stone of David right underneath his chair. The divine right of Kings is established because of this stone, because of Jacob sleeping on it. So in an indirect way, Jacob is responsible for one of the slogans of the American Revolution, “No King but King Jesus because we rejected the whole legend.” And of course that’s all it is, ladies and gentlemen, is a legend.

Sam Rohrer:

That’s an interesting one, David. It really is. And I’m sure most people say, “Wow, I never heard that before.” But the fact that that stone is still in existence, it’s a big stone and that it has that history that you have talked about, the wise of it is alleged, but the fact that there is a stone is real and the fact that it has that connection is interesting and the fact that it kind of gave way to that early commentary of those that were in this country. Again, that is an interesting goes all the way back. So let’s just let that … I’m sure people listening would say … If I could raise my hand, I’d like to ask David a question, but can’t do that right now, but let’s go on to the next one here. There’s a second one as well that you’ve found, again, taking, as you’re saying in chronological order, so what you just said, that stone of destiny goes way, way, way back.

What about this next one?

David New:

The second one involves Christopher Columbus. Christopher Columbus accepted an interpretation of the Bible that was very popular with Augustine and many, many people who studied the Bible. The idea being that the world is going to last 7,000 years, and when the 7,000 years are up, Jesus is going to return. And so Christopher Columbus predicted the second advent of Jesus Christ. He believed it was going to occur approximately 155 years from his time. He used a chronology by King Alphonso the 10th that said from Adam to Christ, there were 5,344 years. Then he calculated from Christ to Columbus Day of 1501 years to get a total of 6,845 years. You subtract that from 7,000 and you get 155 years. That’s what motivated him to take his trip to the New World. He was looking for a way to evangelize China and Japan and the East. The land roots were all blocked by the Muslims, so he sailed west.

Now, our Lord and Savior said, “Nobody knows the time of the day or the hour. Only the Father knows.” This is Matthew 24:36. “And there have been great men. William Miller, our Jehovah Witness friends in 1914 predicted Jesus would return. Then there’s that book, 88 Reasons Why the Rapture Will Occur in 1988. And of course, you’ve got Harold Camping who made all kinds of dates for when Jesus is going to return. The irony of ironies, all these secularists, every one of them, all the atheists, all the evolutionists, all the people who are on this Western hemisphere, as we have defined it, the Western civilization are here because of a date center, a date center who incorrectly calculated for what Jesus Christ would return. It is an amazing story about Christopher Columbus. He wrote a book called About It called the Book of Prophecies. He quoted Matthew 24:15, where the gospel will go to the whole world before the end comes.

And here he is getting ready to take the gospel to the new world. It’s got to be done. He’s only got 155 years to get it done.

Sam Rohrer:

That’s a very interesting thing because he was motivated and he did come, Columbus did, with a motivation for the gospel. I’ll have to tell you that I did not know about that 155 year thought in his mind, but as believers, we are to live in the mindset that the Lord may come back in the next breath, right? So the motivation was good, but his dates were wrong. It’s what you’re saying.

David New:

And people say,” Well, he came for gold, gold, gold, gold. “What they don’t know about Columbus, he wanted to find gold in the new world. That is true, but what they don’t know is he wanted his gold to finance a crusade, free Jerusalem from the Muslims and get ready for the return of Jesus Christ. That they don’t tell you in secular history.

Sam Rohrer:

And it’s interesting that that part is left out, but ladies and gentlemen, again, a connection to the Old Testament, Judaism, yes. Well, Old Testament, that is Judaism. The New Testament, the gospel, all of these things, they just keep impacting different points along the way that was all a part of America becoming from what it became. So again, when we come back, then we’ll continue into the third and then we’ll move all the way through. And by the time we’re done, we’ll identify six of these little known contributions of Judaism to America. All right, David, before we go into the third contribution, let’s just revisit this man. We talk about Christopher Columbus in the last segment. Well, another reality of which a lot of people may not be aware that definitely ties into a contribution from Judaism from that perspective is that Christopher Columbus himself was born a Jew, wasn’t he?

David New:

Yes, he was. And when he went before King Isabella and King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, when he was arguing for financing of his trip to the new world, he was quoted scripture. He quoted Isaiah 11 to make the argument we’ve got to get going. We have just so many years left. Now the other thing is, Christopher Columbus was a forced conversion, a forced convert. And that means he was Christian, but his parents were forced to become Christian. Now, the other thing is he was Jewish, no doubt about it. And when he left this Spain, he took along with them Jews who spoke fluent Hebrew. And the reason he did this is because when he came to the new world, either China or Japan or both, he believed he was going to find the lost 10 tribes of Israel.

Sam Rohrer:

Yeah. It’s amazing. We could go so deep. So ladies and gentlemen, isn’t it interesting? Well, it’s going to have to leave it though because of time, David, but wanted to get that in. Let’s go to the third contribution that you’ve identified. What is that?

David New:

That concerns why America naturally by its DNA is pro- Jewish. If you want to see how pro- Jewish America is, you need go no further than John Adams, the second president of the United States. In a book called In God We Trust by Norman Cousins, Adams is quoted as saying this in 1809 in a letter. “I will insist that the Hebrews have done more to civilize men than any other nation. If I were an atheist and believed in blind eternal fate, I should still believe that fate has ordained the Jews to be the most essential instrument for civilizing the nations. Ladies and gentlemen, in 1654, when the Jewish population came from South America to a city called New Amsterdam, you may have heard of it called New York. That triggered, and they were allowed to stay, and that’s where they started to grew the Jewish community in America.

1654 in New York City, that triggered the blessing of Genesis 12: three. “And when John Adams comes along and talks about how important the Jews are to civilizing the Western world, the whole world, they sealed Genesis 3:12: three for America. Look at this. In 1790, President George Washington wrote to the Hebrew congregation in Rhode Island. “This is, in my opinion, the most beautiful president, most beautiful letter by any president, and look what George Washington said about the freedom the Jews will enjoy in this country.” He said, “Happily, the government of the United States, which gives to bigotry no sanction to persecution, no assistance requires only that they who live under his protection should demean themselves as good citizens in giving it on all occasions their effectual support.” And he ended this letter with these words and these words are the foundation far more than the First Amendment for Jewish freedom in this country.

Look what George Washington said. “May the children of the stock of Abraham who dwell in this land continue to merit and enjoy the goodwill of the other inhabitants while everyone shall sit in safety under his own vine and fig tree, and there should be none to make him afraid. “And of course, the president is quoting Micah four verse four,” The foundation for Jewish freedom far more than the First Amendment is this verse in Micah four verse four. That’s why this country is a haven of rest for the Jewish people. God bless America.

Sam Rohrer:

“And that’s also, David, it goes to the heart of our nation’s history of firm, firm support of private property, right? Being able to sit under our own vine. That promise there in Micah, that’s one of the great references to private property and the fact that you could have that. So anyways, so much further we could go on that, but we got to move into the next one. The fourth area. What about the fourth area of contribution?

David New:

Now the fourth area concerns a prophetic book by William E. Blackstone. There are two names I want you to associate that book with. First, President Harrison. Second, President Woodrow Wilson. Now, some Bible books have enormous influence. You take how Lindsay’s the late great planet Earth that had an enormous influence throughout the United States. It was just a wonderful book and people were all excited. I remember those days. Now, this is something people don’t know about. William E. Blackstone wrote a book and he argued for the return of the Jewish people back to Israel, then called Palestine. And he approached President Harrison. Listen to this. He wrote a memorial asking President Harrison to support the return of the Jewish people based upon his prophecy book. Jesus is coming. If you don’t have a copy, get it. It’s not a very big book, but it’s a great book.

Let me read to you how many people supported this memorial by this prophetic writer of Jesus is coming. Let me read this to you. “The memorial was signed by 413 prominent Americans. Business leaders such as JP Morgan, John Rockefeller, prominent congressional leaders, including the Speaker of the House of the United States. Also, William McKinley laid to be President of the United States. Christian and Jewish editors and publishers of major American print media. Even the Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court, Melville Fuller. Have you ever heard about this book Jesus is Coming? It is an amazing book. He had all this influence. He wrote to President Harrison on William Blackstone did on March 5th, 1891, and he asked the president to back a homeland for the Jewish people. He didn’t get it because there were other concerns for Christians in the Arab world that the president was worried about, and I think that was one of the reasons.

25 years later, William E. Blackstone is in business again. President Wilson was a Presbyterian. William E. Blackstone went to the Presbyterians and got them to endorse his book for a Jewish homeland. And of course, he wrote to the president himself. On June 14th, 1917, he said to President Woodrow Wilson,” Dear sir, in God’s providence, it has been my privilege to secure a remarkable endorsement of the memorial on behalf of the Jews, which is presented here with. It, as you will note, incorporates a former memorial of the same character, which it was my privilege to present the President Harrison 26 years ago. Ladies and gentlemen, as great as the late Great Planet Earth was, and I love that book, I read it several times. This book also ranks up there with him with that book because it had a profound influence on the politics of the United States.

Now, Blackstone did not live long enough to see the restoration of Israel. He died in 1935 and on his marker it simply reads William E. Blackstone 1841-1935. Jesus is coming in loving memory.

Sam Rohrer:

“And David, isn’t that remarkable? And we’re not going to get into the next one just because of time closeness to the break. But ladies and gentlemen, again, these items that David is citing, they’re in chronological order. That first one was the stone of destiny went way, way back to Jacob putting his head on a rock and all of that. And now all the way up to here with the Jesus is coming and the goal of Pastor William Blackstone approaching governmental leaders and business leaders and economic leaders in order to push forward the emphasis and desire to get a homeland for Jews because he said Jesus is coming. Why is that? Because that’s what the Bible says. In It is interesting that the Lord used him. He didn’t get to see it, but it did come about. When we come back, we were going to conclude with number five and number six of these contributions.

One of them ties in directly with this one that we just talked about in Wine Me Blackstone’s goal for a homeland for the Jews. Well, as we go into our final segment, I hope that you’ve found this program to be interesting today. I know I have, and even putting this together and talking with David about these points, and certainly it’s a timely thing as we approach Christmas and we consider the coming of Christ who was born of a Jew tracking the history Matthew does in Luke back to the, well, all the way back proving that he was of the promised lineage in genealogy, Jewish. And that was God’s plan. It’s incredible that there can be such hatred to Jewish people. Ultimately, these people’s anger is at God because it’s God’s plan that he’s written in the word. But Jesus said, “Don’t be surprised because they’re going to be angry at you, Jewish person, or Jewish believer if the first Christians were Jews.

Or Gentiles now, most listening to this program would be born Gentile and believers.” He said, “Don’t be surprised. They persecuted me. They’re going to persecute you too.” All right, keep that in mind. But the contribution down through history at the hand of those who are of Jewish descent, of the Old Testament, Jews called the Torah, we call it the Old Testament, the Bible complete Old and New Testament. Christians, Judeo-Christian concept, those biblical principles that are brought to bear. The world is replete. You cannot point to anything in scripture. I mean, anything in history of significant positive nature and or growth, discoveries that do not have a foundation, a biblical foundation. It is pretty amazing. It’s appropriate we do this. David, let’s get right into this here right now because we have two left to go. And this next one builds right off of Pastor Blackstone’s Jesus’ coming concept, doesn’t it?

David New:

It does. This fifth one refers to the Balfour Declaration that was approved on November 2nd, 1917. And this declaration calls for the Jewish people to have a homeland in Palestine, to have a Jewish homeland in Palestine. And this is 1917. Now you’ll see the Balfour Declaration. If you read prophecy books, you’ll see it in many, many, many prophecy books. Now’s what you’re not going to see. Resolution three, two, two. Resolution 322. What is resolution 322? It is the American version of the Balfour Declaration. The American version. And it was introduced in 1922 by one of the members of Congressman Frank Applebee of New Jersey. He spoke in favor of it. And he said that this resolution is very important because he said that both President Harding and Wilson supported a return of the Jewish people to Palestine. President Harding, according to the Congressman, said the land quote was given by Jehovah to Abraham.

And then it goes on and he quotes him saying, “Look, fellow members of Congress, this resolution before you embodies the faith of the Jewish people. It should be the privilege of the House of Representatives to pass this resolution. It should be the privilege of any Christian nation to help. Any nation which attaches itself to this act of redemption is a party to the epic events in Jewish history.” Congressman Walter Chanla of New York, he spoke in favor of this resolution. He said this, “When the chaplain offers prayers each day opening of this house, he invokes upon its members the benedictions of a Hebrew God and the intercession of a Hebrew savior.” Then he goes on and he says, “The time has come for the fulfillment of divine prophecy.” He says, “I shall now attempt to explain why the Jews are entitled for the help of the Christian nations of the world.” The Senate and the House approved the resolution 322 on June 30th, 1922.

President Harding signed it on September 21, 1922. You need to know the other name for this resolution so you can look it up. It’s called the Lodge Fish Resolution. Lodge as in Henry Cabot Lodge, the Lodge Fish Resolution. So here, Christian nations not being prejudiced against the Jewish people, but are helping to get them back into the land,

The promised land.

Sam Rohrer:

What

David New:

A difference it makes when you see the actual history of America.

Sam Rohrer:

David, it absolutely does. And you can also see the knowledge differential between so many in the past, the fear of God and the depth of a lot of what they put together on here. For someone to stand up and say on the floor of Congress about the Hebrew God and the Hebrew savior and biblical prophecy and Jesus is coming and the responsibility and the duty and the opportunity of Christian nations to be a part of that. David, that is an incredible thing. And in part, ladies and gentlemen, that’s why God did pour out his blessing on our country. And we are in desperate straits now because we are not observing nor fearing God. David, there’s one more that’s left here. We only have a couple minutes left. Why don’t you explain and identify number six?

David New:

A lot of this information about resolution 322 is in my upcoming book titled A History of a Christian Nation: Is the United States a Secular State? It’s at the printers right now. Our last one is a very interesting one. There’s a famous song made famous by Bing Crossby called White Christmas. Irving Berlin did not like religion. He didn’t like any religion. He was Jewish. He had no more use for Judaism than Christianity, and yet he had to write this Christmas song. So what does he do? He doesn’t write about Jesus. He doesn’t write about anything about religion. He decides to write about the weather. You read the songs White Christmas, nothing about Jesus, all about the weather. It was his escape valve not to be talking about Jesus. Now, he wrote the song God Bless America. He loved America, but as has been said by one commentator, the words of that song to him were about America and not about God.

Sam Rohrer:

And that’s interesting, ladies and gentlemen. Be with us tomorrow on this program. Isaac Crockett and I’ll be talking to Dr. George Barna and the last of the reports upon which he’s been working this year. And we’re going to share some dynamic, incredible. I’m going to say not in the good sense, but the view of American Christianity today towards Jesus Christ. You know that more than half of those who say in America today that they are born again think that there’s another way beside Jesus? How things have changed. So David, our time is up here. But ladies and gentlemen, join us tomorrow. We’ll continue on that part of it, but thanks for working on putting these things together. And David, that book that you’re writing on, you and I’ve talked privately about it. When the time comes next year, when you can give more information about how and when it will be available, we’re going to let people know about it because I know they will be very interested in getting it.

So David, officially from me to you and our team to you, Merry Christmas to you. Ladies and gentlemen, this will be the last time, David, I’ll be together this year, but we’ll beginning the very first part of January when we’ll come back after Christmas and New Year. So thanks for being with us. May God bless you. Remember us in your prayers, remember us in your giving here at the year end. I think God will bless you for that.