Christian Gathering to Take a Stand with Jewish Communities in Judea/Samaria
Despite three years of war in Israel, the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem expects to host about 3,000 local and foreign participants from over 70 nations at its upcoming Christian celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem from 25-30 September. This year’s Feast will take a strong stand in support of the Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria as they face a growing wave of economic sanctions from European nations.
“We are excited to be celebrating the biblical festival of Sukkot once more with Christians from around the world,” said ICEJ President Dr Jürgen Bühler. “Yet our Feast also is taking place amid the series of extremely troubling sanctions being imposed by European nations on Jews living in Judea and Samaria, the Golan and even Jerusalem. These discriminatory measures are intended to choke out the existence of Jewish communities which remarkably came back to life in Israel’s ancient heartland after centuries of Jewish exile among merciless Gentile nations. These acts of economic warfare targeting hundreds of thousands of Israeli Jews are racist and far too reminiscent of past Jewish boycotts for us to remain silent.”
ICEJ Feast to Highlight Support for Israeli Communities
The ICEJ will counter these measures at the Feast by inviting Yesha community leaders to address the gathering, offering products for sale from Judea and Samaria in the exhibit hall, and arranging tours for Christians from Europe and elsewhere to visit shops, wineries and Bible sites in the Judea and Shomron regions.
In addition, this year’s Feast will highlight the ICEJ’s extensive efforts over recent years to help the Israeli communities along the Gaza border recover and rebuild their homes and villages following the October 7 terror invasion. The Christian Embassy currently has nine major rebuilding projects completed or underway in the Gaza envelope, and a tenth will be unveiled at the Feast to help the hard-hit kibbutz of Nir Oz restore the central facility of its communal life.
“This year’s influx of Christian pilgrims at Sukkot are coming from all over the world to deliver a strong message of their unwavering solidarity with Israel, and especially those deeply impacted by October 7 and the emerging threat of European sanctions”, Dr Bühler stated. “I am thrilled that our Feast pilgrims will include delegations from Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, the United Kingdom, and other countries now targeting Israel. The presence of these Christian supporters of Israel is also vitally important in light of the unrelenting surge of global antisemitism.”
Six Days of Feast Events in Israel
The Feast will begin at the Kfar HaNokdim oasis in the Negev desert on Erev Sukkot, and then move up to Jerusalem for five days of events, including the popular Jerusalem March, the Roll Call of the Nations, Israeli Guest Night, Communion at the Garden Tomb, and a Prayer Vigil in the Rose Garden overlooking the Knesset.
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