Eye On Israel

ARIEL BEN AMI
Travelujah

“Jesus left the temple and was going away, when his disciples came to point out to him the buildings of the temple. But he answered them, ‘You see all these, do you not? Truly, I say to you, there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.’” (Matthew 24:1-2)

During the excavations that took place in the Jewish Quarter after the Six Day War in 1967, archaeologists discovered the ruins of a house that had collapsed and been burnt by a fierce fire.

Welcome to Beit Katros - the home of an important family of priests who served in the Second Temple and are mentioned in the Talmud. Visitors to the restored ancient site are in for a unique experience: a gripping multimedia, sound and light show dramatically recreates the fall of Jerusalem and destruction of the Second Temple against the backdrop of the social strife and fraternal division that undermined the foundations of the Jewish nation.

The drama makes every visitor a part of the Katros family and of Jerusalem during those last tragic days of the city that Jesus knew and loved.

Entering the small museum, as one walks down towards the remains of the house, panels along the stairs bear sobering inscriptions from the Talmud and from the first century Jewish historian Josephus Flavius attempting to explain the destruction of the city and its sanctuary: “Why was Jerusalem destroyed? The first time because of idol worship; the second time because of unqualified hatred. Woe to the children because of whose sins I destroyed my home and burnt down my sanctuary and cast them into exile among the nations of the world.”

The excavations have uncovered the full fury of the catastrophe: collapsed walls, stones seared by fire, charred wooden beams, soot, and shattered household utensils beneath heaps of fallen stones.

An iron spearhead found leaning against the wall in a corner of a room and the bones of a young woman’s arm found in the kitchen are further evidence of the fierce battle that took place here.

Numerous stones vessels remain in the various chambers, as well as stone tables, basalt mortars, cooking pots, measuring cups, weights and containers. As is the case in the houses of the Herodian Quarter, the predominance of stone items is explained by the Jewish laws of ritual purity, which state that stone vessels cannot become ritually impure.

An engraving found on one of the weights says “(de) Bar Katros.” The House of Katros is known to have been one of the priestly families serving in the Second Temple.

In an instant, the scene of destruction comes back to life as a film is projected on a screen lowered over the ruins and we are transported nearly 2,000 years back into the villa of the Katros family.

The story, narrated by a young man by the name of Zadok, begins with a festive Passover meal in the Katros home. Pinchas, Zadok’s father, is the head of the family and a priest. As the family and their guests commemorate the Exodus and their freedom from Egyptian slavery, they are clearly preoccupied by the immediate danger of the siege of Jerusalem by the Roman army. The Jewish revolt that had begun four years earlier has taken a disastrous turn. Like most priests, Pinchas tends to favor conciliation with the Romans. But Zadok is distressed that people are being killed by the Romans down in the lower city while the Jewish zealots are leading active resistance against them.

Pinchas reassures those present: “We have nothing to worry about: we are a family of priests. Who would touch a family of priests?”

He even dismisses his wife’s worries and her suggestion that they leave the city: if worse comes to worse, says Pinchas, they will find refuge in the Temple. When she suggests that even the Temple could be destroyed - as it had already happened in the past - Pinchas is outraged: “The Temple…destroyed? Unthinkable!”

Then Pinchas finds out something about his son Zadok’s role in the resistance against the Romans that makes him livid with anger. He is just about to throw his son out of the house when the housemaid intervenes: “the Temple will not survive if you continue to hate each other!”

As the Romans break into the city, tragedy strikes - first the Temple, and then the Katros family. When Zadok returns home, in the midst of his grief he exclaims: “something tells me that we will one day return here, and that we will again inhabit the streets of Jerusalem.”

These words of hope are echoed by the words of the prophet Zechariah as the film transitions into images of lively families and children in the rebuilt Jewish Quarter of today:

“Thus says the LORD of hosts: Old men and old women shall again sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each with staff in hand because of great age. And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in its streets… Thus says the LORD of hosts: behold, I will save my people from the east and from the west country, and I will bring them to dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God, in faithfulness and in righteousness” (Zechariah 8:4-8).

Revisit and experience the last days of Second Temple Jerusalem with a visit to the Burnt House!

The Burnt House is located at 2 Hakaraim St, Jewish Quarter of the Old City, in Jerusalem. It’s open between 9am-5pm Monday to Thursday, 9am to 1pm Friday, and 10am to 5pm Sunday. The entrance fee is $4.75 per adult, $3.75 per child. Phone 972-2-6287211.

Ariel Ben Ami was born in Canada and is currently a doctoral student at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and writes regularly for Travelujah-Holy Land Tours. He is fascinated by the Jewish roots of Christianity and enjoys writing about Biblical and theological topics. He is the founder and director of Catholics for Israel, a lay apostolate dedicated to building bridges and fostering reconciliation between Israel and the Church.

GIL ZOHAR
via Travelujah

In 1918, towards the end of the First World War, when the British army’s advance precipitated the collapse of the tottering Ottoman Empire, the Samaritan population had been reduced to 146 souls. It seemed this ancient culture was on the brink of extinction.

The custom of endogamous marriage had led to dangerous inbreeding, resulting in a high percentage of genetic defects including colour blindness, congenital respiratory deficiency and deaf-mutism. Moreover, male births outnumbered females two to one, resulting in an acute shortage of potential spouses.

The Samaritans were rescued from ultimate oblivion by Zionism and the beginning of large-scale Jewish immigration to Palestine in the early 1920s. At that time, some 54 Samaritans left the primitive conditions of the Nablus ghetto to live in Holon, a new Jewish settlement near the then predominantly Arab port city of Jaffa and the newly-founded Jewish town of Tel Aviv.

Most of the settlers were members of two clans - the Tsedakah and Marhib. In 1924 one of these settlers - Yefet Tsedakah, met and married a halutza (a Zionist pioneer) who had recently immigrated from Russia.

Their union was the first between the lines of Israel and Judah since the time of King Solomon. A number of such marriages have taken place in the ensuing decades, all between Samaritan men and female Jews. There is no male conversion procedure.

Throughout the years of British rule, the enclave in Holon remained static numbering between 40 and 50. Following the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, the War of Independence and Jordan’s annexation of Judea and Samaria (renamed the West Bank), the Samaritans were divided in two. Families left Nablus to join their kin in Holon, making the two communities roughly equal in number.

The Samaritans of Holon were recognised as Children of Israel under the Law of Return, Israel’s repatriation act, and became full-fledged citizens of the nascent Jewish state.

Yitzhak Ben-Zvi, Israel’s second president, took a personal interest in their integration. Due to his efforts a self-contained neighbourhood- Shikun ha-Shomronim - was built in Holon in 1954. Nine years later a kinshah or synagogue and community centre were added.

The Samaritans of Holon gradually adjusted to the ethos of a modern Westernised society. The younger generation has become progressively more acculturated though so far resisting religious assimilation. In external appearance, the Holon Samaritans are indistinguishable from their Jewish neighbours and serve together with them in Zahal (the Israel Defence Force).

The 1949 truce secured in Rhodes, ending hostilities between Israel and its Arab neighbours, contained a proviso guaranteeing the Israeli Samaritans the right to visit their relatives in Nablus and to participate in the Passover pilgrimage to Mount Gerizim. However, the Jordanians honoured this agreement mainly in the breach, claiming it would infringe on security.

For the next 18 years, the Passover celebration was the sole occasion when most of the community was united. The paschal lamb sacrifice became an annual assembly for matchmaking. In consultation with the High Priest, prospective couples decided which partner would join the other to live in Israel or Jordan.

During this period the Holon community became progressively more established and prosperous, and the Nablus community more impoverished and persecuted.

With the Israeli victory in the 1967 Six-Day War, the two communities were free to meet all year long. A feeling of national renaissance took hold. Never faltering in their belief that they are God’s Chosen People and that the day will come when Providence will again favour them, the Samaritans interpreted the reunion of their divided community as a divine omen.

Israel’s Civil Administration has indeed proven to be a blessing. The Samaritan presence in Nablus dovetails with rightist Israeli desires to settle the biblical heartland of Judea and Samaria, notwithstanding Israel’s 1996 withdrawal from the city of 130,000. That year the Nablus Samaritans were granted Israeli citizenship.

A settlement called Qiryat Luza has been built on Mount Gerizim, strategically overlooking Nablus, an-Najah University and the Balata refugee camp, all hotbeds of Palestinian nationalism and scenes of rioting during the first and second Intifadas. The settlement, now home to the entire community, provided a housing alternative to the hopeless overcrowding of the medieval ghetto. There are 72 families in Holon. Two synagogues have been constructed, one in Holon and the other at the ceremonial site of the Passover sacrifice. A community centre come museum and kindergarten have also been built with the assistance of a $US185,000 donation from the Vatican’s Pontifical Mission to the Holy Land.

A water pipe has been laid and a road paved to serve the new community on the holy mountain. The settlement has been connected to Israel’s national electricity grid.

Archaeological excavations were carried out for 18 years beginning in 1982, led by Yitzhak Magen - the Israeli Civil Administration’s chief archaeologist for the West Bank - as if to further strengthen the connection between past and present. In 2000 the Israel Antiquities Authority dedicated a 100-acre archaeological park comprising the Samaritan temple and other remains that reveal the ancient city had a population of 10,000 living in a sophisticated urban environment.But few tourists venture deep into the West Bank to see the ruins.

The once fierce controversy over the true Temple Mount has been put aside. Israel’s past president, Chaim Herzog, has assured Samaritan leaders, “Whatever the political settlement, I promise that the Samaritan community will never again be separated.”

The 3,000-year-old rift between Jew and Samaritan has been healed. The Samaritans today may be seen as the remnant of a once-sovereign nation whose system of religious beliefs has been seemingly arrested in time. But they are also an illustration of how ethnic and religious conservatism can safeguard a minority group that would otherwise have vanished almost without a trace.

If you go:
There are no regularly scheduled group day tours to Mt Gerazim, however, a tour to the area can be arranged using a licensed Israeli tour guide. The site is proximate to other Biblical sites such as Shilo and Nablus, all of which could be included in a private day tour of the area. For more information please contact info@travelujah.com.

Gil Zohar is a licensed tour guide and journalist and he blogs regularly for Travelujah - Holy Land Tours, the leading Christian social network focused on travel to the Holy Land. People can learn, plan and share their Holy Land tour and travel experiences on Travelujah. Gil can be contacted at gilzohar@rogers.com

GIL ZOHAR
via Travelujah

On 4th May, 2012, the Samaritans of the Holy Land will celebrate the annual Passover sacrifice. But who are the Samaritans? And how is it that this community continues to survive in the Holy Land?

In 722 BCE, 200 years after the split between Solomon’s sons Jeroboam and Rehoboam, the Kingdom of Israel was destroyed by the Assyrians. Much of the vanquished population were deported as slaves to Mesopotamia (present day Iraq). Vassal peoples living in what is now Syria and the border between Iran and Iraq were brought in their stead to settle the barren land.

Jewish tradition maintains that the Samaritans are the descendants of these colonizers who adopted some Israelite rituals (II Kings 17:24-29), a charge adamantly denied by Elazar and his fellow Samaritans.

The enmity between the Jews and Samaritans continued for centuries. The Hebrew prophets continually upbraided the northerners for their sins. Isaiah delivered a tongue-lashing against “the drunkards of Ephraim” (Isaiah 28:1) and the name Jezebel, the wife of King Ahab, has become a synonym for impudence and licentiousness.

The parable of the Good Samaritan in the Gospels (Luke 10:2-37) obliquely refers to the acrimonious relations between the rival faiths. Jesus uses the Samaritans as a metaphor of despised, yet helping people, that is, the good Christian.

In the Talmud, the Samaritans are disparagingly called “Cutheans” after the Babylonian city of Kuthah, one of the places from which the Assyrians relocated settlers.

At the beginning of the Christian era, upwards of one million Samaritans were living in the hill country and plains of central Palestine, and Shechem had developed into a major city. The first-century Jewish historian Josephus recounts the ancient love story which led to the construction of the Samaritan Temple on Mount Gerizim in 332 BCE. According to Josephus, a Jerusalem high priest named Menashe flouted Jewish law by marrying a Samaritan woman named Nikaso. Menashe was given the choice of leaving his wife or the Temple cult. Nikaso’s father Sanballat, leader of the Samaritans, promised to build him an exact replica of the Jerusalem Temple and make him high priest there.

In 170 BCE the Seleucid ruler Antiochus I converted the Temple into a shrine to Zeus. Both the pagan sanctuary and the city below were razed by John Hyrcanus in 113 BCE. (The zealous Hasmonean king also conquered Idumea to the south, the homeland of the biblical Edomites, whom he forcibly converted to Judaism.)

This tradition of persecution was continued by the Christian Byzantines - who built the Church of Mary Theotokos atop the ruins starting in 484 CE. Throughout the centuries the Samaritan population gradually dwindled, decimated by invasion and forced conversions.

With the conquest of the Holy Land by Islam in CE 632, the Samaritans became a pariah people restricted to their ghettos and compelled to wear distinctive dress.

By the time of the Crusades, they were reduced from a great nation to a scattered and broken sect - one segment in their ancient homeland, another in Damascus, and a third spread thinly along the coastal towns between Jaffa and Egypt.

By the middle of the 19th century, all settlements other than Nablus had been abandoned and their remaining members concentrated in the enclave at the foot of Mount Gerizim.

Gil Zohar is a licensed tour guide and journalist and he blogs regularly for Travelujah - Holy Land Tours, the leading Christian social network focused on travel to the Holy Land. People can learn, plan and share their Holy Land tour and travel experiences on Travleujah. Gil can be contacted at gilzohar@rogers.com

Almost 80 per cent of Israeli Jews say they believe in God according to a recent survey, up from 76 per cent in 1999. The survey results reflect a marked move away from the socialist-secular ideals of the Eastern European Jews who were the driving force behind the founding of modern Israel.

The survey result “gives an answer to all those who said secular Zionism (support for a Jewish state) had…made a secular religion. It shows that there is a tendency towards religiosity,” said research analyst Ayala Keisser-Sugarmen.

The survey, released earlier this year, was conducted by the Israel Democracy Institute’s Guttman Center for Surveys and the Avi Chai Foundation, a private foundation committed to the perpetuation of the Jewish people. Researchers say the results of the survey reflect the highest percentage of people who say they believe in a higher power since the same survey was taken previously in 1991 and 1999.

In the latest survey, 80 per cent of respondents also said they believed they would be rewarded for good deeds and punished for misdeeds and said they believed in the power of prayer. Two thirds of the respondents said they had a strong belief in the unique character of the Jewish people and the Torah. About half expressed belief in the Messiah and the world to come and one third said they believed that a Jew who does not observe the precepts of his religion endangers the entire Jewish people.

Only 46 per cent of Israeli Jews defined themselves as secular, down from 52 per cent in 1999, while 22 per cent defined themselves as either Orthodox or ultra-Orthodox, up from 16 per cent in 1999. The remaining 32 per cent termed themselves “traditional,” virtually unchanged from 1999.

The survey results found a strong correlation between a person’s ethnic background and level of religiosity, with 67 per cent of Ashkenazim (Jews with mostly European heritage) considering themselves secular, compared to 73 per cent of Jews with Mizrahi, or Eastern heritage, who identify as traditional, Orthodox or ultra-Orthodox.

Bar Ilan University Sociology professor Menachem Friedman said this trend in increased belief is part of a growing global tendency.

“Most people believe in God, but the question is what does that mean?” he said. “Here it certainly does not mean they behave as a religious Orthodox Jew.”

As for the 20 per cent of Jewish Israelis who said they do not believe in God, Friedman noted that “Judaism is a religion but it is also a national feeling. To be Jewish doesn’t necessarily mean to be a believer. It is a national identity.”

- JUDITH SUDILOVSKY, ENInews

RYAN JONES
Travelujah

One of the central themes of Jesus’ ministry on earth was unity. Prior to His crucifixion and resurrection, Jesus prayed that those who followed Him “may all be one; even as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be one in us; that the world may believe that you sent me.” (John 17:20). But unity has often proved elusive, especially for the many Christian denominations represented in the small, but holy city of Jerusalem.

While all Christians may be united in faith, they are typically divided by doctrine. So fierce are those doctrinal divisions at times that they erupt into physical confrontations, such as the annual inter-denominational scuffle during the ceremony marking the Miracle of the Holy Fire on Easter Eve at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem’s Old City. Opponents of the Church like to point to such conflagrations and the divisions that spawn them in order to criticise our faith.

But too often overlooked are genuine efforts toward unity, like the upcoming Week of Prayer for Christian Unity in Jerusalem. From 22nd to 29th January, members of various Christian denominations from Catholics to Orthodox Christians to Anglicans to Protestants will visit one another’s churches and pray together.

Each day, participants will visit a different church in order to become better acquainted with their Christian brothers and sisters and to seek God’s blessing as they strive for unity. It is an unprecedented gesture aimed at reversing a shameful history of inter-denominational hostility.

The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity was birthed by Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant church leaders in Poland. It was decided that Jerusalem should be the focal point of their effort, as this is the place where Jesus prayed for the unity of is followers in all generations.

“As (Jesus) awaited the suffering and death that was to come, he prayed that his disciples might be one so that the world might believe,” wrote the event organisers. “As we pray for and strive towards the full visible unity of the Church we - and the traditions to which we belong - will be changed, transformed and conformed to the likeness of Christ.”

Those behind this effort recognise that success may require Christians of different denominations to open themselves up and reform their practices in ways that are not always easy. But they also stress that only by doing so can they “truly enter into the new life in Christ, which is the only true victory.”

Ryan Jones writes for www.travelujah.com, the only Christian social network focused on travel to the Holy Land. Travelujah is a vibrant online community offering high quality Christian content, user and expert blogs, travel tours and planning services for people interested in connecting with or traveling to the Holy Land.

Travelujah

Tuesday morning, after 1941 days in captivity, Israel welcomed home IDF soldier Gilad Shalit.

Gilat arrived by helicopter at Israel’s Tel Nof Airforce Base where he met Prime Minister Netanyahu just before meeting his parents and family for the first time after five years.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in his first public announcement after greeting Gilad and escorting him to see his parents spoke about the fact that Israel pardoned and released over 1,000 prisoners in exchange for Gilad, a price some believe may be too high.

“I would like to make it clear: We will continue to fight terrorism. Any released terrorist who returns to terrorism - his blood is upon his head. The State of Israel is different from its enemies: Here, we do not celebrate the release of murderers. Here, we do not applaud those who took life. On the contrary, we believe in the sanctity of life. We sanctify life. This is the ancient tradition of the Jewish People.

Netanyahu concluded his remarks by pointing out the fact that on Wednesday night the feast celebration of Simchat Torah will begin and that how, on this coming Sabbath, people will begin to read the words of the prophet Isaiah (42: 7).

“‘To bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison-house.’ Today, I can say, on behalf of all Israelis, in the spirit of the eternal values of the Jewish People: ‘Your children shall return to their own border (Jeremiah 31: 17).’ Am Yisrael Chai! (The People of Israel live!).”

In the meantime, celebrations continue in Jerusalem with the annual Jerusalem March, though this year’s parade promises to be much more celebratory than years past. Thousands of Christians from some 80 nations will join the Jerusalem March, an annual parade during the holiday of Sukkot, which has become an expression of solidarity with Israel.

The Christian marchers are in Israel participating the annual Christian celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles, sponsored by the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem.

“It is good for our Feast pilgrims from around the world to be here to express our solidarity on such a momentous day, as they will also see and experience first-hand what Israel is going through as Gilad Shalit returns home,” said ICEJ executive director Dr Juergen Buehler.

“We share the relief and joy of the Shalit family and all Israel that Gilad has come back alive. We also share the disgust of so many that the price for his return has meant having to set ruthless murderers free. These are the paradoxes which Israel constantly lives with, and our pilgrims will no doubt return to their own nations with a deeper appreciation of Israel’s unique struggles and an even stronger commitment to standing with the Jewish state and people.”

The ICEJ’s feast pilgrims is the largest and most colourful of the delegations in the Jerusalem March.

The Christian Embassy’s week-long Feast of Tabernacles celebration continues to be the largest solidarity mission to Israel this year, and the nation’s largest annual tourist event. Approximaely 6,000 Christians from more than 80 nations are participating in the festivities, which will conclude tonight at the Jerusalem Convention Center. Israel’s deputy Foreign Minister, Daniel Ayalon, will give the farewell address.

Travelujah is the only Christian social network focused on travel to the Holy Land. Travelujah is a vibrant online community offering high quality Christian content, user and expert blogs, travel tours and planning services for people interested in connecting with or traveling to the Holy Land.

NICOLE JANSEZIAN
Travelujah

At a time when Israel faces caustic criticism and a rising tide of anti-Semitism from nations around the world, Christians gathered in Jerusalem - and thousands more tuned into a live broadcast - to pray during the Global Day of Prayer for the Peace of Jerusalem on Sunday.

This year’s attendees included an array of Christians including Palestinians taking part in the Jerusalem event. Around the world, 300,000 churches had signed up to host their own gatherings to pray while the event was broadcast live on God TV, a Christian satellite channel.

“It is incredibly moving to see so many Christians who have come together for the purpose of praying for the peace of Jerusalem,” columnist Michael Freund, director of Shavei Israel, told Travelujah. “These people sincerely love Israel and they believe it is part of their obligation to bless Israel. We gladly welcome them.”

Christian leaders from Jerusalem and around the world called for prayer including Rebecca Brimmer, director of Bridges for Peace, who noted that the supplication was originating from and were prayed for the city where God chose to put his name. This was the first time that a Catholic priest joined the line up in the Global Day of Prayer for the Peace of Jerusalem. A pastor from Indonesia, the country with the largest Muslim population in the world, also prayed for Israel.

Robert Stearns, executive director of Eagles’ Wings, and founder of the global prayer day, said this year’s prayers for the city were especially poignant and timely.

“The need has never been greater,” he told Travelujah. “The whole world is taking sides regarding Jerusalem.”

Stearns also noted that in his 10 years organising this event that cooperation between believers has never been stronger. Palestinian Christians prayed for the peace of the city alongside Jews and international Christians. Prayer was also lifted up for persecuted Christians around the world and for Israel’s neighbors, including the Palestinians.

“We are not praying because we have all the answers,” Stearns said. “We are praying because we need God’s wisdom.”

Gidon Ariel, an Orthodox Jew who runs Root Source, which promotes understanding and cooperation between Jews and Christians, said that Israel gets to know who her friends her during the tough times.

“This (event) speaks to Israel that you have friends and you are not alone,” he told Travelujah. “These Christians are taking up what they believe to be their responsibility as believers in the God of Israel as He wrote in his Bible to (pray for the peace of Jerusalem).”

Knesset Member Gila Gamliel, deputy chair for the Knesset Christian Allies Caucus, and Naomi Tsur, deputy mayor of Jerusalem, were some of the Israeli dignitaries who addressed the event.

Nicole Jansezian writes for www.travelujah.com, the only Christian social network focused on travel to the Holy Land. Travelujah is a vibrant online community offering high quality Christian content, user and expert blogs, travel tours and planning services for people interested in connecting with or traveling to the Holy Land.

NICOLE JANSEZIAN
Travelujah

Last Friday ushered in the first of several consecutive Jewish - or Biblical - holidays, celebrated in Israel in the autumn in highly festive fashion, beginning with Rosh HaShanah and ending with the Feast of Tabernacles.

During this time, residents of the Jewish country partake in the observations of these holy days, but what about Christians? Many evangelical Christians who live in the Holy Land, and even some who don’t, make it a point to come to Israel, and specifically to Jerusalem, to celebrate these feast days as the Lord commanded in the Bible.

“We recognize that the feasts are not really the Jewish feasts - in the Bible they are called the feasts of the Lord,” Jim Schutz, a Christian who lives in Israel, told Travelujah. “They have a special significance for both Jew and Gentile.”

Christians can relate to the Feast of Tabernacles through its prophetic New Testament meaning, including the return of the Lord, Schutz said. The metaphor of living in tabernacles symbolises believers being strangers in this world, living in temporary tabernacles awaiting another kingdom. Also, the days of repentance and Yom Kippur are symbolic to the Christian of the sacrifice of Yeshua, Schutz outlined.

“The feasts should intensify the whole message, the whole meaning of what our lives are like in Yeshua,” he said.

Schutz, the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem liaison to local congregations and international speaker, offered another aspect of celebrating the Biblical feasts: to encourage Christians to identify with the Jewish people and to better grasp the mystery of Israel as explained in Romans 11.

“The whole point of Romans 11 is for the non-Jewish believer to understand God’s heart for the Jewish people,” Schutz explained. “It is so that Gentiles can understand this mystery from the heart of God’s perspective.”

Observing the feasts, though not a requirement, helps a Christian gain that perspective, he said. Schutz and his family will celebrate Rosh HaShanah on Wednesday evening with Jewish friends.

This year thousands of Christians from the nations will join Jews from around the world in “coming up to Jerusalem” during these appointed festivals. Michael Onifer, a leader of the Eagles’ Wings’ Israel tour, is one of them.

“Something that has been lost (among Christians) is the sacredness of space, the holiness of actual geography,” Onifer told Travelujah. “God was very specific about places and certainly about Jerusalem. He had a purpose for choosing the city of Jerusalem and the land of Israel. The feasts can be celebrated here in a different way than any other place in the world and were originally intended to be celebrated in Israel.”

Onifer said he makes it a point to be in Israel to observe these holy days. Some 35 Christians joined the Eagles’ Wings tour, purposely scheduled to coincide with the fall feasts.

“There is the very prophetic promise of the nations in coming to worship in Jerusalem and we feel it is in our hands to begin doing that now in anticipation of what the scripture promises,” Onifer said.

Onifer maintains that the feasts are more than a religious activity given to the Jewish people, but an “invitation” for believers to understand God’s heart, times and the places He has chosen.

“This is an invitation to deepen our knowledge of God and to understand how to cooperate with Him and his purposes,” Onifer said.

Rosh HaShanah is known in the Bible as the Feast of Trumpets and was mandated in Leviticus 23: 23-25. The following 10 days leading to Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, are known as the days of awe and are a time of repentance. A single Sabbath, known as the Sabbath of Repentance, occurs between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur (this year on October 1st) and is marked by a special reading from Hosea 14: 2-10, urging the nation to: “Return, Israel, unto the Lord your God.” Yom Kippur begins at sunset on 7th October. This is considered the holiest day of the year on the Jewish calendar and is a full fast - no food or water.

And finally, the seven-day Feast of Tabernacles, or Sukkot, mandated in Leviticus 23: 34-35 and 23: 39-43, begins at sunset on 12th October and concludes at nightfall on 19th October. During Sukkot, Jews build tents or tabernacles in which they eat their meals and sometimes even sleep.

Nicole Jansezian writes for www.travelujah.com, the only Christian social network focused on travel to the Holy Land. Travelujah is a vibrant online community offering high quality Christian content, user and expert blogs, travel tours and planning services for people interested in connecting with or traveling to the Holy Land.

ELISA MOED
Travelujah

As an Israeli living in Israel, I don’t often have the opportunity to visit the Palestinian Territories. So, when I received an invitation recently to accompany former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, now Middle East Quartet Representative, on a visit to Christian holy sites in Israel and the Palestinian Territories, I immediately said “Yes!”

I believe it’s critical for Israelis and Palestinians to further cooperation, especially when it comes to joint tourism. After all, we share the holiest sites on earth!

And for me, as a tourism professional, it’s essential to experience, first hand, the beauty and history of the ancient cites in Israel and the Palestinian Territories. How can I recommend to Christians worldwide what the Holy Land has to offer if I haven’t experienced the sites myself?

So, travel pass in hand, I joined Mr Blair on a day tour of the Nativity route from Nazareth to Bethlehem, an ancient trail which literally winds through the pages of the Bible. We planned to learn about joint Israeli-Palestinian tourism efforts. Logistics, after all, is one of the most critical issues facing tour operators.

Our first stop was Nazareth, the childhood home of Jesus. Known today as “The Arab capital of Israel,” the population is made up predominantly of Palestinian Arab citizens of Israel of mixed Christian and Muslim heritage and is a center of Christian pilgrimage. We took in the many shrines commemorating Biblical events and Mr Blair met with the mayor and other local leaders to discuss tourism and the city’s request for designation as a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Nazareth’s private sector, along with the Israeli Government, is investing in the city’s tourism infrastructure. Nazareth now boasts several excellent restaurants, new hotels, and improved signage and roads. In May 2011, Israel’s Minister of Tourism, Staz Meseznikov, announced plans to invest an additional $US3.5 million to enhance the tourist infrastructure in Nazareth and boost the cultural and leisure offerings in the Galilee city. It is an important beginning.

The ancient walkways of Nazareth’s Old City are clean and friendly. We walked the old market streets and were treated to the beauty of the Church of the Annunciation, the Church of St Gabriel and the White Mosque. The Old City has a variety of tourist accommodations, including an Arab Christian home known as the Fauzi Azar Inn, now a guesthouse catering primarily to younger travellers.

Next we were off to the new Jalameh checkpoint, which opened in October 2009 and serves the Gilboa-Jenin area. It is essential to facilitating much of the area’s trade. Jalameh has spurred economic development in the area. Traffic is up over 500 per cent and over 2,000 vehicles cross daily. Tourism officials are very eager to facilitate access and tourism; tour buses can pass through very quickly, provided they coordinate their route a day ahead. Currently, however, only some 70 buses use the crossing each month, most of them transporting Arab Israeli visitors.

From Jalameh we drove south into the Palestinian Territories to the Haddad Resort Village outside of Jenin. The 80 room property lies about 3 kilometres from Jenin in a picturesque area surrounded by olive trees. The expansive resort boasts a large pool, an amusement park, conference facilities, a museum, and first class hotel rooms. The governor of Jenin welcomed us and joined us for lunch. Speaking with the owner I learned that the resort was frequented by many Israeli Arabs. His hope is that his clientele will come to include visitors from all over the world as well as international NGOs and other organizations looking for a unique venue for their seminars and annual meetings.

By far the most exciting part of the day occurred as we continued to the village of Burq’in. The small historic Palestinian town is situated west of Jenin and has about 7,400 residents, most of them Muslim. The hilly agricultural village is home to the Greek Orthodox Church of St George, considered the fourth or fifth oldest church and one of the holiest in the country and the world.

According to Christian tradition, Jesus came through Burq’in on his way to Jerusalem from Nazareth when he heard cries coming from within the village. The pleas for help were coming from 10 lepers who were quarantined in an underground cave, a common practice for people afflicted with this disease. According to Luke 17: 11-19 Jesus encountered them, passed his hand on their faces and they were immediately healed.

“Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance and called out in a loud voice, ‘Jesus, Master, have pity on us! When he saw them, he said, ‘Go, show yourselves to the priests.’ And as they went, they were cleansed.”

Because of this miracle, the church, which was built by St Helena in the 4th century AD, became a station for Christian pilgrims en route to Jerusalem and Nazareth. According to the local guardian of the church, who led us around the newly renovated holy site, the church is also a place of worship for the village’s Christian Greek Orthodox community and holds a weekly mass. Groups are welcome to visit the newly renovated church and to hold mass there. Access can be arranged by advanced notice.

Tourism development is crucial for both the Israeli and Palestinian economies, as it provides livelihood to tens of thousands of people and stimulates economic development opportunities. As the Quartet representative, Mr Blair is focused on furthering tourism development to provide an immediate and direct economic benefit for both Palestinians and Israelis.

Despite the record numbers of tourists to Israel last year - some 3.45 million - Israel and the Palestinian Territories lagged well behind Jordan (six million tourists), Syria (6.5 million) and Egypt (some 15 million). And this, despite the fact that the Holy Land is the cradle of faith and offers numerous unique travel experiences.

The Office of Quartet Representative Tony Blair has created a Holy Land tourism committee (of which I am a member). The committee is engaged in furthering the overall tourism experience, from improving access to creating programs and joint marketing activities that will benefit both Israel and the Palestinian Territories.

In a meeting in Jerusalem late last week, our Holy Land tourism committee agreed that regardless of what happens in the UN we will continuing moving forward with our cooperative efforts on the ground here promoting tourism to both Israel and the Palestinian Territories. The reality which people around the world do not realize is that the private sector is successfully working together and we are determined to continue our efforts to do just that. Traveling here is quite safe and there is no doubt that a pilgrimage to the Holy Land is a life-changing spiritual experience.

I spoke with Mr. Blair outside the church in Burq’in about the importance of travel and specifically the faith-based travel segment, which represents an $18 billion industry and the fastest growing segment in travel. I shared my concern that many prospective visitors don’t realize that, with proper coordination, a visit to the Holy Land is perfectly safe. He agreed - and promised to do his best to encourage more people of faith to travel here.

“We have to do a better job at promoting this,” he agreed. “We have to get the word out.”

Elisa Moed writes for www.travelujah.com, the only Christian social network focused on travel to the Holy Land. Travelujah is a vibrant online community offering high quality Christian content, user and expert blogs, travel tours and planning services for people interested in connecting with or traveling to the Holy Land. This article was first published by Assist News Service.

GILA ROSE
Travelujah

Israel is the homeland of Jesus of Nazareth and most of His life - birth, ministry, crucifixion and resurrection - happened right here. Wherever you turn, you find remnants of eras past, bearing silent witness to the beginnings of Christianity. Though of the three Abrahamic religions, the Christian population in Israel is the smallest, but still Israel is indeed home to thriving pockets of Christians.

Scattered throughout Israel, especially in the northern section, the Galilee, are small enclaves of Christians, some even living in their own Christian villages. To lead a Christian life in the land of its birth is truly a unique experience. And, in fact, Israel is the only Middle Eastern country in which the Christian population is actually growing.

The kibbutz of Nes Ammim is one such Christian village. Located in the Western Galilee, near the city of Nahariya, Nes Ammim was created in the wake of the Holocaust. Christians in Europe, horrified by the atrocities of the war, decided to do more than offer sympathy. They wanted to lend a hand in building a homeland for the Jewish people. In the early 1960s, the movement settled in Israel.

Like inhabitants of all of the early kibbutzim, the first few years were filled with hard physical labor, as they built the land, literally. They planted avocado orchards, and started a thriving flower industry. Nes Ammim became a popular spot for Christian pilgrims to volunteer, whether for a few weeks, a few months, or even longer. A youth hostel and guesthouse sprung up. But the Intifadas hit the Christian tourism industry hard, and the numbers of guests to Nes Ammim dwindled. The flower industry, too, was hit by rising production costs and withered.

However, the Christian community of Nes Ammim did not simply close up shop. Today, Nes Ammim is synonymous with reflection and peace, offering a neutral arena for dialogue between Jews and Arabs. The volunteers at Nes Ammim facilitate constructive talks between the two sides, and many of them then return to their own homelands as ambassadors for peace. Nes Ammim also runs a guesthouse, which offers modern amenities, as well as guided tours, access to local sites, and a Museum of Jewish-Christian Relations. Come as a guest or stay to volunteer - it’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience for the Christian traveler.

Shfar’am, also known by its Arabic name, Shefa-Amr, is another, predominately Arab, village in the Galilee which is home to a large Christian community. Located northeast of Haifa, Shfar’am is mentioned in the Talmud and was once the seat of Sanhedrin (the Jewish high court). Today, the population consists of Druze, Christian, and Muslim residents. There are many fascinating Christian sites in Shfar’am, including an ancient Crusader fort. Byzantine tombs indicate a strong Christian presence here in the 5th and 6th centuries, and on the entrance to the graves are inscriptions which mention Jesus. Another highlight of Shfar’am is an ancient synagogue, recently renovated. St. Jacob’s Church was an active church in the 4th century; now, it is it the site of the Sisters of Nazareth Convent. And the Greek-Catholic community of Shfar’am still prays at St Peter and St Paul’s Church.

In addition to the Christian holy sites, Shfar’am is famous for its mastic-flavored ice cream. (Mastic is a member of the pistachio family). It is also home to the Bet al-Musica Conservatory. The conservatory offers courses in various instruments, and holds concerts and performances throughout the year. There is also the yearly “Fort Festival,” an event fwhich draws people from all over as Arab children compete in a singing contest. The Nakhleh Coffee Company, the leading coffee producer in the Arab world, is based in Shfar’am. More cafes are opening up, drawing tourists and locals alike.

Of course, no mention of Christian communities in the Galilee would be complete without talking about Nazareth. After spending some time in the city proper and visiting the churches, spend a day in “Nazareth Village,” - as its website says, “The Nazareth that Jesus Knew.” The village is a full-scale, authentic reproduction of life in a 1st century Holy Land village. Visit 1st century homes, synagogues, olive presses, and more, all based on archaeological evidence.

Many of the North’s large cities, like Nazareth, Haifa, and Tiberias, have sizable Christian presences. Visit the Scot’s Hotel in Tiberias, run by the Church of Scotland. Haifa is home to a Maronite church, a Carmelite church, and St Mary’s Greek Orthodox Parish Church, in addition to the Stella Maris Carmelite Monastery.

While touring the Holy Land, make sure to visit the villages and enclaves of fellow Christians, to see first-hand that Christianity, a strong presence in the land hundreds of years ago, is still a vibrant - and growing - presence today.

Gila Rose writes for www.travelujah.com, the only Christian social network focused on travel to the Holy Land. Travelujah is a vibrant online community offering high quality Christian content, user and expert blogs, travel tours and planning services for people interested in connecting with or traveling to the Holy Land. This article was published on Assist News Service.