It's May, and a group of 70 or so African-Americans teenagers have been called together to receive their draft notices from the Israeli Defense Forces. That day, some 100 miles away from the ceremony, Operation Rainbow is in high gear, as the IDF plows under homes in the Gaza Strip to destroy tunnels to Egypt it says are supplying militants with weapons. How did come to pass that these young people could be soon joining that crackdown? Why are they picking up guns in defense of Israel, taking sides in a struggle they seemingly could best watch from the sidelines? Ironically, they are members of a peace-loving group who left America to build a Biblically-inspired Kingdom on Earth in Israel. Their parents chose to leave inner-city Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, Atlanta decades ago for desert Israel, led by their messiah who was visited by the Angel Gabriel in 1967 in Chicago. To the leaders, the 2004 induction ceremony was no detour but a critical success on the appointed path to the kingdom. After decades of living in Israel, marrying and raising families there, they were until recently treated like tourists who had overstayed their welcomes. Finally, they and their children have been recognized as neighbors, fellow citizens who must defend the land. Yes, the earth can be unfriendly to the kingdom builders. Along the way, you have to earn a living, learn a language, and, like the founder of the three major religions, you may have to put your children in harm's way. But when you try for the kingdom, you may end up with a community.