Israel MK Yehudah Glick to Christian Supporters of Israel: We Never Take Your Friendship for Granted By JNS - BREAKING ISRAEL NEWS

Likud parliament member Yehudah Glick speaks at the Knesset assembly hall during his swearing in as a member of the Knesset, July 25, 2016. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

MK Yehudah Glick to Christian Supporters of Israel: We Never Take Your Friendship for Granted

By JNS July 26, 2016   BREAKING ISRAEL NEWS

“Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil; neither shalt thou bear witness in a cause to turn aside after a multitude to pervert justice.” Exodus 23:2 (The Israel Bible™)

At an event on Monday coordinated by two parliamentary groups within the Israeli Knesset, the Christian Allies Caucus and the Delegitimization Caucus, Israeli lawmakers and other supporters of Israel gathered to discuss how to defeat the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement. The event was also held to thank the Israeli-Christian community for its support of the Jewish state.

The two caucuses have supported “Defeat BDS,” a campaign that has helped pass anti-BDS legislation in 12 U.S. states.

“The Delegitimization Caucus is here to fight the threats that generations and generations have brought against us, but the Christian supporters are here because they realize it’s God that has defended Israel and delivered us from their hands,” said Josh Reinstein, director of the Christian Allies Caucus.

“We seem to take things for granted. Your friendship is not something to take for granted. We should never take it for granted,” Member of Knesset Yehudah Glick told Christian attendees of Monday’s Knesset event, the Jerusalem Post reported.

Knesset Renews Ties to Worldwide Christian Lawmakers

Wednesday, July 29, 2015 |  Israel Today Staff

RELATED STORIES

• Lebanese Christians want end to armed Palestinian gangs
• Peace in Our Time - in Jerusalem!
• Nazi Nightmare Ends for War Criminal's Son

Topics:

Christians

Israel’s Knesset last week renewed its Christian Allies Caucus, something that must be done after each election. The fact that the Knesset continues this trend is evidence that it views relations between Israel and the Christian world with increasing importance.

The event, chaired by Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein, was attended by no fewer than 25 Knesset members from eight different factions, including three government ministers.

New caucus chairman MK Robert Ilatov (Israel Beiteinu) said he would work to further strengthen ties to the 32 sister caucuses in parliaments around the world in a broader effort to combat global boycotts of the Jewish state.

“There are many challenges that lie ahead, but I have no doubt that together, we will succeed in defending and blessing the State of Israel and the well-being of its people,” Ilatov told his fellow Israeli lawmakers and the numerous Christian leaders at the gathering.

Former Israeli Ambassador to the US Michael Oren, who today serves as a Knesset member with the Kulanu Party, also addressed the gathering, noting that as a Christian nation “US-Israel relations go back to spiritual ties. …We are on a holy mission to ensure the Jewish state remains strong and beloved.”

Oren further pointed out that were Jesus to come today to Bethlehem (or any number of other places he ministered, like the Temple Mount) he’d be labeled a “Jewish settler.”

Caucus director Josh Reinstein summed up the event by stating that “Israel is now dependent on Christian support. We will be tested like we never have before.”

Want more news from Israel?
Click Here to sign up for our FREE daily email updates

Israel Honors Foreign and Local Christians

Thursday, January 30, 2014 |  Ryan Jones - ISRAEL TODAY

Share on bloggerShare on facebookShare on twitterShare on gmailMore Sharing Services

Related Stories

• The faces of Christian Zionism
• Time to Upgrade Status of Christian 'Arabs,' Says Israeli MK
• Knesset Christmas Tree for a Palestinian Jesus

Topics:

Christians

The Israeli Knesset's Christian Allies Caucus and the World Jewish Congress on Wednesday jointly hosted the eight annual Night to Honor Israel's Christian Allies.

After various Israeli politicians and Christian leaders spoke about the shared roots and shared destiny of Christians and the Jewish people, the organizers got to the meat of the evening, the honoring of two Christians who have done much to advance Jewish-Christian relations in recent years.

One of those Christians is a known quantity. Jane Hansen Hoyt has, through her international ministry Aglow, done much not only to support Israel, but also to advance women's rights around the world.

The other honoree is an anomaly. Just over a year-and-a-half ago, a previously unknown Greek Orthodox priest from Nazareth began to publicly call on fellow Arabic-speaking Christians to join the Israeli army and fully integrate with Israel's Jewish society.

Father Gabriel Nadaf has been slandered and threatened much for his troubles, but very rapidly, the anomaly he represents has become a movement.

The nation of Israel today, thanks to the efforts of Father Nadaf and others in this movement, is very much aware of not only the Christian ally that exists out there in the world, but the one that lives right here in the Land of Israel, as well.

Nadaf told the gathering that the budding relationship between local Christians and their Jewish countrymen is "a cause of great pride for me," but noted that much more needs to be done.

"I am here to open the eyes of the community," Nadaf stated. "It is up to us to say ‘enough.’ The Christian community wants to integrate into Israeli society and opposes the stances of its leadership, which is not interested in doing so."

But the Israeli government representatives said there is also much that needs to be done on their end to fully bring local Christians into the fold.

"It is about time that we accept you as partners in everything," Member of Knesset David Rotem told Nadaf. "We [the Jews] are more your brothers than anyone in Jordan, Lebanon or Egypt."

Rotem was alluding to another campaign being led by Nadaf and his associates to have the Israeli government recognize them as a minority separate from the Arab Muslims. Many, Nadaf included, argue that local Christians are not truly Arabs, even if they do speak the language. Christians, they point out, have been in the land since long before the Arab Muslim conquest.

Shai Hermesh, a former Knesset member and current head of the Israeli branch of the World Jewish Congress, further encouraged Nadaf, insisting that "you are with us, but more importantly, we are with you [the Christians]."

Member of Knesset Gila Gamliel, who co-chairs the Christian Allies Caucus with MK Rotem, told Nadaf, "For us, you are an Israeli hero!"

Want more news from Israel?
Click Here to sign up for our FREE daily email updates from ISRAEL TODAY