Kathy Ireland. Photo: PD.

WASHINGTON, DC—Kathy Ireland’s attachment to Israel has a biblical basis and an almost 6,000-mile-journey to a city that brought her a special revelation.

Paris will always hold a special place in Ireland’s heart. While in the “City of Lights” to pursue her modeling career (which eventually included 13 appearances in the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue), Ireland experienced a new sense of enlightenment, she recalled in an exclusive interview with JointMedia News Service. Living at the end of a long, dark hallway in a place she describes as “uncomfortable,” the Santa Barbara, Calif., native turned to a bible her mother had placed in her suitcase. Turning to the text “for a bit of solace,” she recalled that, “As I began to read, I knew the truth. The Lord found me…I became crystal clear about God.”

Asked how, as a Christian, her personal connection to God translated into a connection and concern for Israel, Ireland said “the Mosaic covenant could not be more clear: God loves the Arab people, but was very specific that possession of this land of Israel will be through Isaac, that the Jewish people are His first born, His diadem, the Apple of His Eye. God’s love and heart for Israel is unconditional.”

Ireland spoke at the Monday morning plenary of the 2012 American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) policy conference in Washington, DC.

Telling the crowd she was “honored and humbled,” Ireland called her participation in the conference a “responsibility” she did “not take lightly.” Speaking with JointMedia News Service following her speech, she said, “Israel is fighting for its very existence…I don’t understand how anyone can think Israel can give up any of its land.”

The entrepreneurial Ms. Ireland noted the similarity of values shared by Israel and the U.S. “Standing beside Israel is something every American must do,” she said.

Asked what her most important message to Israel would be, she said, “Tell the Israelis they are heroes and that people in America love them and are praying for them. America’s support is personal and will never leave them.”  Quoting a bit of Old Testament, she said God declared, “I will never leave or forsake you.”

Ireland called the lack of knowledge about the history of the land of Israel problematic.

“The facts and the truth and what some of the leaders in neighboring countries say, coupled with their unwillingness to absorb ‘refugees’ creates a real problem,” she said.

“We need more people telling truth about the history of the land of Israel,” she added. Ireland noted that Israel has granted citizenship and absorbed all who have immigrated there, asking: “Why will the Arab countries not absorb and care for their people?”

Speaking about the treatment of women in the Arab lands, this successful businesswoman said it is “heartbreaking to see how women are treated.”

“I don’t understand how anyone with any sense of humanity can stand by and let this happen,” Ireland said.