Jacob was the son of Isaac, who was the son of Abraham. Jacob had 12 sons, who formed the 12 tribes of the nation of Israel. In the Bible, there is a unique time of distress that is described as "Jacob's trouble".

"How awful that day will be!
     None will be like it!
It is the time of Jacob’s distress,
     but he will be saved out of it."
Jer 30:7

This period of distress is described in the major and minor prophets, the synoptic gospels (esp. Matt 24), and the Revelation to John. The alternate term for this period is known as "the great tribulation". While the impact of this period of time is global, the eye of the storm is in the middle east - specifically Israel.

There are a lot of distorted theories about the modern iteration of Israel and its relationship to the Israel of the Bible. At a very minimum, it should strike you as being a bit odd that Israel became a nation again in May, 1948 - after 2000 years. Reactions to this event range from miraculous "super sign" to "indifference" to "a rude disruption in history".

- If you think that the modern iteration of Israel is an apartheid state with a vendetta towards the Palestinian people, you're probably missing something.

- If your zeal for Israel is not producing a compassion for those in conflict with her (like the Palestinian people in Gaza or the West Bank), you're probably missing something.

A plain reading of the biblical text, without the filters of someone else's opinions, should lead you to some conclusions about what the Bible says about God's relationship to Israel and Israel's relationship to the nations.