During the week covered by this review, we received 13 articles on the following subjects:
Christian Zionism
Christian Organizations
Zionism
The Pope and the Vatican
Christian Tourism
Archaeology
Christian Zionism
Haaretz, October 13, 2014
The International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (ICEJ) has launched a worldwide purchasing campaign “as a counterweight to the boycott movement against Israel.” As part of the campaign, information about relevant businesses will also be available. The first to receive the purchasing guide were some 4,500 tourists in Israel for the ICEJ’s annual Feast of Tabernacles celebration. Dr. Jürgen Bühler, executive director of the ICEJ, said, “The Christian friends of Israel in the world must stand at her side, in opposition to the de-legitimization attempts against her.”
The Jerusalem Post, October 14, 2014
President Reuven Rivlin addressed the delegates at the Feast of Tabernacles on Monday, October 13. He thanked them for their support of Israel, saying, “Thank you for your friendship. Thank you for your dedication. Thank you for your consistent trust and support.” World Jewish Congress president Ronald Lauder also spoke at this session, “decrying global silence on the fate of Christians in the Middle East.” Canon Andrew White, the “Vicar of Baghdad,” spoke on this occasion as well, thanking Lauder and the ICEJ for their efforts, but emphasizing that “words are not enough to alleviate the situation” and stating that he “did not see a future for Christians in the Middle East.” White left Iraq some ten days ago, after being warned by the Church of England and the British government that he was at risk of being kidnapped by the Islamic State.
Israel Hayom, October 15, 2014
The Jerusalem March took place on Tuesday, October 14. It passed through some of Jerusalem’s main streets and was attended by some 60,000 people.
Additionally, a mass took place in the port of Ein Gev, on the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee. It was attended by approximately 2,000 people, and is of particular interest as the audience prayed for the peace of Israel as well as sailing on the sea in 13 boats and holding a flag and torch procession.
Makor Rishon, October 10, 2014
During Sukkot week, evangelical Christians – particularly the 4,500 Feast of Tabernacles attendees from 80 different countries – reaffirmed their conviction that “the united Jerusalem should remain under Israeli sovereignty” and that “they are committed to defending Israel, regardless of the politics of the government of the time.” Evangelical Christian leaders also “deny that they intend to convert the Jews at Jesus’ second coming.”
However, David Brog, executive director of Christians United for Israel (CUFI), has warned that “traditional” evangelical support for Israel is changing, as the younger generation is questioning this support and is receptive to the Palestinian narrative as well. Others are convinced that “the situation is not serious,” particularly due to the support for Israel in Latin America and Africa.
The article closes by expressing the hope that the evangelical defense of Israel will be galvanized.
Christian Organizations
The Jerusalem Post, October 13, 2014
This article presents two letters to the editor on the subject of the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (ICEJ).
Shoshana Appleton of Netanya, responding to two previous letters (“Wrong Move” and “Right Move,” from October 3), presents her support of the ICEJ based on her contact with them during her tenure as co-chair of the Council of Christians and Jews in Belfast. Appleton particularly stresses that the ICEJ in Ireland and Northern Ireland, together with the Jewish communities in Dublin, Belfast, and Cork, were able to present Magen David Adom with three ambulances, as well as stating that “she has more than once been told how lucky she must feel to have been born Jewish.”
Sha’i Ben-Tekoa, responding to a letter by David Parsons of the ICEJ (“Wrong for Sure,” October 6), presents his opposition to the ICEJ. On July 12, 2007, Ben-Tekoa was interviewed at the ICEJ by David Parsons on Parsons’ radio program. As he was leaving, Ben-Tekoa was presented by Parsons with materials which “he judged to be missionary,” and he felt “used, ambushed and deceived.” Ben-Tekoa stands by his letter titled “Right Move” from October 3.
Zionism
Israel Hayom, October 15, 2014
This four-page article is a survey of the support for Israel common among South Koreans, which comes not from a desire to convert but simply from admiration of “the Jewish brain.” The “Jewish genius” – as exemplified by the number of Jewish Nobel Prize winners – is an inspiration to Korean society, to the extent that every university has a Jewish studies department. In addition, various titles in Jewish and Israeli literature have been translated into Korean, and some 300 titles in Korean deal with the Talmud.
There are many reasons for this feeling. One is that the Talmud teaches respect for parents and older people and other family values, which are important in Korean culture as well. Another is that Korean education teaches compliance, but Jewish curiosity is an inspiration to their own competitiveness. Koreans also see themselves as an ancient people, historically persecuted by their neighbors, and the Christian population identifies with the Jews for biblical reasons.
Kim Il-Soo, the Korean ambassador to Israel, says, “You lived without a country for many years and were proud to be Jewish. That is your secret.”
The Pope and the Vatican
The Magazine, September 22, 2014
This four-page article is a detailed description of Pope Francis’ June visit to Israel, with particular emphasis on the sites visited by the pontiff and the persons he met with. The article also mentions Pope Francis’ meeting with President Shimon Peres, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, and other Jewish and Muslim leaders, and particularly the historic meeting with Greek Orthodox Archbishop of Constantinople, New Rome and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I.
Christian Tourism
The Magazine, September 22, 2014
Sharona, the new lifestyle complex in Tel-Aviv, is a “delicate balance” between catering to consumers’ needs and the restoration of the 33 structures, originally a village of German Templars who came to Israel some 140 years ago “to wait for Jesus’ return.”
The German group lived in harmony with their Jewish and Arab neighbors until the beginning of World War II, when the British authorities, seeing them as “subjects of an enemy country,” exiled them from Israel. With the founding of the state the Templar lands became a government and military area.
The Sharona project was initially begun in 2006, but it took eight years before it opened to visitors. Today, an “urban development plan” for the vicinity includes markets, festivals, art vending, and open air films.
The Magazine, September 22, 2014
Old Jaffa, for 6,000 years the “maritime gateway to Israel and Jerusalem,” offers visitors a multifaceted experience. One can roam the alleys on foot; visit galleries, design shops, and studios; go to restaurants and coffeehouses at sunset; visit the 4000-year-old Egyptian Ramses Gate; or make a pilgrimage to St. Peter’s Church and the home of Simon the Tanner.
The “Images of Jaffa” visitors’ center offers tours for families in Hebrew, English, Arabic, Russian, Spanish, French, and German.
Yediot Ahronot, October 14, 2014
The city of Ramla, founded in 705 BC and originally a major city on the route between Cairo and Damascus, boasts a variety of sites for the modern visitor. These include the Pool of Arches, built in AD 789 as a water reservoir, on which visitors can still row in wooden boats; the Franciscan church, with its 500-year-old painting by Titian, whose oldest section was built in the 15th century as a hostel (where Napoleon stayed in 1799) and afterward recognized as the house of Joseph of Arimathea; the 14th-century-era White Tower, originally either a minaret or a military shooting post; the local market; and the local museum in the British-era municipality building, which exhibits one of the largest coin collections discovered in Israel.
Archaeology
BaKehila, October 7, 2014
A variety of unique archaeological artifacts are currently being exhibited in the Israel Museum: the famous Rehov Inscription mosaic, detailing the boundaries of Israel within which one must observe shmitta (the agricultural sabbatical year); a unique golden medallion decorated with a menorah, recently discovered near the Temple Mount; the painted sukkah from Fischach, raised annually by the Deller family in Fischach until the Nazis rose to power; and historical Jewish garments, including the robes that inspired the current robes of the Sephardic chief rabbi.
Israel Hayom, October 15, 2014
The Bible Lands Museum is currently exhibiting a rare Bible, called the “Paris Bible,” as part of the famous Book of Books exhibition. This Bible, named after the place where it was written, is dated to 1250. It is a palm-sized copy of the Old and New Testaments, written on vellum and bound in leather. This copy is unique, as it is divided into chapters, rather than weekly portions – a division that was relatively new at that time.
Stephen Langton, then Archbishop of Canterbury, was the first to divide the Bible into chapters in the 13th century, but this Christian innovation was introduced into Judaism only in 1448. The first Jewish Bible divided into chapters was printed in Venice in 1516; it is thought that Jews received this innovation in order to facilitate theological arguments with Christians, who “used this division in their quotations.” Amanda Weiss, director of the museum, said, “The uniqueness of the Paris Bible is in that it teaches us an important lesson on the way in which the Bible’s format crystallized into the form we know today.”
The Jerusalem Post, October 17, 2014
The recently opened site of ancient Magdala was first discovered in 2009. Father Juan Solana, director of the Notre Dame Center in Jerusalem since 2004, had planned a Pilgrim Spirituality Center on the site, but when the importance of the findings was determined, decided to defer his plans. A variety of artifacts from the site are a testimony to the city’s importance, but of particular interest are the first-century synagogue, complete with stone benches, mosaics, and frescoes; a coin dated AD 29; and most especially the stone altar from the synagogue, believed to be a model of the temple carved by a firsthand witness, and the first of its kind to be discovered so far.
A beautiful spiritual center has meanwhile been opened as well; it overlooks the sea and has a 250-person capacity as well as four side chapels (50-person capacity) with a Byzantine inspired design.