Message from H.E. Daniel Taub, Ambassador to the Court of St James’s
Welcome to the first edition of our Embassy’s newsletter, Christian News from Israel. This e-publication seeks to provide regular updates and news relating specifically to Israel’s Christian population, for Christians in the UK.
In last week’s Torah reading, it required the thoughtful insights of Yitro, Moses’s father-in-law, and the archetype of the sympathetic supporter of the Jewish people, to help the Children of Israel recognise the remarkable nature of the events of the exodus and their deliverance from slavery. Sometimes, it seems, it takes the perspectives of our non-Jewish friends to assist us in appreciating the unique and miraculous occurrences surrounding the history of the Jewish nation.
In the spirit of Yitro’s rejoicing over the blessings that G-d bestows on the Jewish people, we hope that by giving greater profile to Christian developments in Israel, we can in turn convey our sense of the many blessings that Israel’s Christians bring to the country, and to emphasise their treasured place in Israeli society. Similarly, our hope is that this newsletter will help the Embassy continue to build positive, meaningful connections with Christians in this country.
I hope you find this update interesting, and please do be in contact with us if you would like any more information about the news it contains.
B’shalom,
Daniel Taub
Ambassador of the State of Israel to the Court of St James’s
Christian population in Israel on the increase according to Israel Central Bureau of Statistics
As thousands of Christians across Israel prepared to celebrate Christmas, Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics issued its annual statistical breakdown of the Christian population on Christmas eve, which showed that there are currently 158,000 Christians living in the country, representing 2 percent of the total population.
According to the report, approximately 80% of Christians in Israel are Arabs with the remainder mostly immigrants from the former Soviet Union who came to the country under the Law of Return, which provides for Israeli citizenship if a person has a Jewish grandparent.
Christian population growth stands at 1.3%, compared to 1.8% for Jews and 2.5% for Muslims.
Among other notable figures, the report highlighted the high level of educational achievement in the Christian community, with 64% of Christian high school students earning a high school diploma, compared to 59% for Jewish Israelis and 48% for Muslims.
Picture: Mass in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre – Credit: Noam Chen for the Israeli Ministry of Tourism –
www.goisrael.com
Israeli Tourism Ministry hosts annual Christmas reception for Christian leaders, Prime Minister Netanyahu offers seasons greetings to Christians around the world
Israel’s Minister of Tourism, Stas Misezhnikov, hosted leaders of the Christian community in Israel on 17 December for the ministry’s traditional pre-Christmas celebration in the capital’s Mishkenot Sha’ananim neighbourhood across from the Old City of Jerusalem.
“The Christian community in Israel in its various denominations, together with the hundreds of millions of believers worldwide, represents one of the central anchors in incoming tourism, a bridge for peace and for the promotion of pilgrimages to the Holy Land,” Misezhnikov said at the reception.
Bishop Gregor Peter Malki of the Syrian Catholic Church, said that the event was” an excellent opportunity to meet not just religious leaders but also people from the Tourism Ministry, which enhances the cooperation between us and the State of Israel.”
2012 was a record year for tourism in Israel, with approximately 3.4 million visitors arriving in the country during the course of the year. Of those, 60% were Christian tourists, according to the Tourism Ministry’s figures.
Over the Christmas period, about 75,000 tourists visited Israel, 25,000 of whom were Christian pilgrims.
To assist Christian visitors in Israel wishing to visit Bethlehem for Christmas itself, the Tourism Ministry provided free, non-stop transportation for pilgrims from the Mar Elias Monastery in south Jerusalem to the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem and back again, from mid-day on Christmas Eve through to noon Christmas Day.
On Christmas Day, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu issued a video message wishing Christians around the world a merry Christmas and vowed to protect Christian holy sites.
“Today, Christian communities throughout the Middle East are shrinking, and many of them are endangered. This is, of course, not true in Israel,” the prime minister said.
“Here there is a strong and growing Christian community that participates fully in the life of our country,” he continued, and called on Christians to come the region and visit the holy places.
Click here to watch the videoAs it is accustomed every year at Christmas, the Jewish National Fund once again distributed free Christmas trees to churches, monasteries, convents, embassies and foreign journalists around the country.
Picture: Christmas in Nazareth – Credit: Dana Friedlander for the Israeli Ministry of Tourism -
www.goisrael.com
International Christian Embassy Jerusalem helps bring ‘Lost Tribe’ back to Israel
In the past two months, the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem, an organisation associated with the Evangelical movement, helped bring to Israel hundreds of people from what is believed to be one of the lost Ten Tribes of Israel.
Close to three hundred members of the Bnei Menashe tribal group from India and Burma arrived in Israel in late December and early January, to join the 1,700-strong community already living in the country.
The tribe of Mannaseh was one of the ten tribes of the Kingdom of Israel exiled from the land by the Assyrian Empire in the 8th century BC.
According to the oral tradition of the Bnei Menashe, the tribe journeyed through Persia, Afghanistan, China and on to northeastern India, where it ultimately settled.
Throughout its history the group continued to observe Jewish law pertaining to the Sabbath, celebrated the Jewish festivals, adhered to Jewish dietary customs and followed the laws of family purity.
In March 2005, Israeli Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar ruled that the Bnei Menashe’s roots in the Jewish people were authentic, paving the way for their immigration to Israel.
The project to bring the Bnei Menashe was undertaken by the Shavei Israel organisation which reaches out to lost and hidden Jews around the world.
The ICEJ sponsored the first flights from India of the Bnei Menashe who arrived in Israel in recent weeks.
“Our support for the return of the Bnei Menashe is based on God’s promises to Israel to ‘bring your descendants from the east’, as we read in Isaiah 43:5”, said Dr. Juergen Buehler, the ICEJ Executive Director. “We are thrilled to partner with Shavei Israel in making this dream come true for these precious sons and daughters of Zion.”
“This is one of those moments where you really feel the hand of God at work in history”, said Michael Freund, founder and chairman of Shavei Israel. “Despite the long exile and wanderings of the Bnei Menashe, they never lost sight of who they are or where they came from, or where they one day dreamt of returning.
“Another thing we cannot overlook is that Jews and Christians are joining together to make this happen, just as the Hebrew prophets foretold”, Freund continued. “This is a miracle as well. We deeply appreciate the assistance of the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem and our other Christian friends.”
There are still close to 7,000 members of the Bnei Menashe who remain India, who Shavei Israel plans to bring to Israel.
Picture: A Bnei-Menashe boy and his friends and family at the airport – Credit: Michael Freund for Shavei Israel -
http://www.shavei.org
Symposium on Christian future in Middle East held in Jerusalem
The B’nai B’rith organisation along with The Ecumenical Theological Research Fraternity in Israel conducted a joint symposium in Jerusalem in November entitled “The Present and Future of Christians in the Middle East.”
The conference dealt with the current situation of Christian minorities in Iraq, Egypt, the Palestinian Authority, Pakistan, Lebanon and other countries in the Middle East. Delegates at the gathering heard testimony of dislocation based on religious affiliation, and violent attacks targeting Christians in the region, which have been on the increase since the beginning of the Arab Spring.
Juliana Taimoorazy, an Assyrian Christian and Founder and President of the Iraqi Christian Relief Council, said that violent attacks against Christian minorities in Iraq and others countries in the Middle East must be brought to world attention and called on Jews and Christians to strengthen their ties in the face of these challenges.
Picture: Via Dolorosa Ecco Homo Basilica – Credit: Noam Chen for the Israeli Ministry of Tourism -
www.goisrael.com