Joel C. Rosenberg's Blog: We didn’t always celebrate Easter. Here’s how my parents & I became followers of Jesus Christ.

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We didn’t always celebrate Easter. Here’s how my parents & I became followers of Jesus Christ. by joelcrosenberg What a joy and undeserved honor it is to celebrate Easter in the Holy Land, where Jesus of Nazareth traveled and taught and healed and loved His neighbors and His enemies. Unfortunately, too few Jews and Arabs in this region get as excited about Easter as I do. Amongst six million Israeli Jews, about two million Israeli Arabs, and another four million-plus Palestinian Arabs, only about 30,000 are born again believers that Jesus is the Messiah who died on the cross and rose again from the dead on the third day, according to the Scriptures. The good news is wonderful news -- but not enough people in this part of the world know it or believe it. Then again, my family and I weren't always excited about Easter. There was a time when we hadn't heard the Gospel. And even when we did hear about God's free gift of forgiveness and hope and eternal life, we didn't all immediately believe it. My parents and I understand what it's like to be lost, and to feel lost, and to genuinely have no idea that God loves us and wants to adopt us into His royal family. Today, I'd like to share with you our spiritual journey. In this hour-long audio message (divided up in 5 to 10 minute segments on YouTube), I explain the process my parents went through to come to faith in Jesus Christ, how I later came to faith in Christ myself, and later how I experienced a powerful spiritual revival in my junior year of high school that completely transformed my life. I hope it will encourage you in your own spiritual journey, and that it will be something you can share with family and friends to help and encourage them, as well. Thanks and God bless you. My spiritual journey — part 1 — how becoming the author of The Last Jihadtriggered people asking me a critical question Part 2 — how my Jewish grandparents escaped from Russia, my father’s Jewish upbringing, my mother’s Gentile heritage, and how they met Part 3 — my mother’s spiritual journey Part 4 — my father’s spiritual journey, and then how I came to faith Part 5 — how I learned I was Jewish, and then my crisis of faith in high school Part 6 — the conclusion of my story, and so what? Why should this matter to you? (Photo: The (empty) Garden Tomb in Jerusalem.) ————————– Order The First Hostage today — the new political thriller about ISIS plotting a chemical weapons attack against Israel, Jordan and the United States — is available in hardcover, e-book and audio formats. ——————- Subscribe (free) to the RSS feed (click here) and receive every new posting on this blog directly via email. Order THE THIRD TARGET today , the first in this new series — now out in paperback — the New York Times best-selling novel about ISIS capturing chemical weapons in Syria and plotting genocidal attacks. Make an investment in The Joshua Fund (www.joshuafund.net), our non-profit organization to help Christians care for Syrian refugees, educate and mobilize Christians to bless Israel and her neighbors in the name of Jesus, care for the poor and needy in Israel (both Jews and Arabs) with food and other humanitarian relief, care for Holocaust survivors, and strengthen the Church in the epicenter. Read our latest Donor Report, and make a tax deductible, secure, on-line contribution before the end of the year. Follow on Twitter — @joelcrosenberg joelcrosenberg | March 28, 2016 at 6:19 pm | Categories: Uncategorized | URL:http://wp.me/piWZ7-4uc

Born again in Nazareth - ONE FOR ISRAEL

CAN ANYTHING GOOD COME OUT OF NAZARETH? ABSOLUTELY! Last week, as part of our course for senior pastors, we had a week of intensive study in a hotel in Nazareth for two pastors' classes. And something rather wonderful happened. Dr. Erez Soref had gone to the hotel to visit with the pastors, but while the classes were in progress, he and a few others were sitting out in lobby. Suddenly, an official-looking lady holding a planner and notebooks appeared, asking for him by name. Erez assumed that she would be from the hotel staff, perhaps needing him to settle a bill, but it turned out that she was a delegate from a different conference about tourism at the same hotel. She had passed by a room full of pastors all talking about God, and wanted to sit in the class and listen.  She said she really wanted to know about God, so one of the pastors suggested that she should go and talk to Erez. So that's what she decided to do. In talking to her, Erez discovered that she was from a nominal Christian Arab family from the local area, and he began to share about God's love, His grace, and the peace that He gives, but she interrupted: "Wait, but you're Jewish? How come you're talking to me about Jesus?" Then she reasoned, "But Jesus was Jewish wasn't he? So I guess it's OK!" She knew a little about Jesus, but Erez asked if she would like to get to know Him personally, and she cried a little, and said yes, she would. She had beaten cancer three years ago, but and had recently undergone another round of chemotherapy, which had also been successful, and the cancer was now in remission. She said that God had preserved her, and now she wanted to know Him. Erez invited her to pray to Jesus according to his invitation in Revelation3:20: "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me." She said to Erez, "You're Jewish, but are there any Arabs here that believe in Jesus?" Erez called one of the Arab pastors over to join them, who was able to share with her in Arabic, her heart language, about the Lord. He explained about the problem of sin, but she said that she didn't sin - that she was a very good person. When her parents had died, she raised her siblings, and had always tried to do her best. Erez asked, "But have you ever wanted something someone else has? Envy something?" Her eyes widened, "Does that count as sin?" Together they discussed the matter, and explained about what sin is, and the One who had the authority to forgive her sins.  Soon she was ready to make a step of faith. And so a Jewish Messianic believer, an Arab pastor, and the lady from Nazareth who wanted to come to Yeshua for forgiveness, all held hands as the Arab brother led her through a prayer to faith, from sin to repentance. She sobbed as they encouraged her, and invited her to have lunch with them all. She sat with the group of Jewish and Arab pastors together, some of whom had churches right there in Nazareth, where she lives. She is now attending one of those churches, and has great hunger to grow in the Lord and to know Him. Please pray for our new sister from Nazareth as she starts out in her new life with Jesus, in His home town.  VISIT US:  WWW.ONEFORISRAEL.ORG

Orthodox Rabbis Bring Jesus Home for Christmas | David Lazarus ISRAEL TODAY

Orthodox Rabbis Bring Jesus Home for Christmas

Thursday, December 24, 2015 |  David Lazarus  ISRAEL TODAY

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Yeshua

More than 25 prominent rabbis from Israel and abroad recently issued a statement calling for a renewed look at Jesus, Christians and the New Testament faith. Quoting from their own sages, these outstanding  Orthodox rabbis are not ashamed to exalt the name of Jesus, welcoming the carpenter from Nazareth back into the Jewish fold.

“Jesus brought a double goodness to the world,” declare the group of well-known rabbis.  “On the one hand he strengthened the Torah of Moses majestically…  and not one of our Sages spoke out more emphatically concerning the immutability of the Torah,” and on the other hand “he removed idols from the nations.” 

Saying that Jesus, even more that any other Jewish Sage, honored, strengthened and protected the “immutability of the Torah,” is an extraordinary acknowledgement. These leading rabbis are turning the tides of history by removing one of the main stumbling blocks in the path of a major Jewish reclamation of Jesus!

You will recall, that religious Jews rejected Jesus from the beginning, with the accusation that he did not obey the Torah, therefore he could not be the awaited Messiah. In the New Testament, we find the Pharisees arguing with Jesus over Sabbath rules, dietary laws, ritual cleanliness, marriage regulations and more. They insisted that Jesus cannot be the Messiah because “he is teaching everywhere not to obey Moses.” (Acts 6:14) 

What we are now witnessing is the undoing of 2,000 years of Jewish rejection and animosity towards Jesus, a miracle by any estimation. For the out-and-out refusal by Jews to accept Jesus is slowly, but surely, coming to an end, as growing numbers of prestigious Orthodox rabbis welcome Jesus back.

And there is more. “After nearly two millennia of mutual hostility and alienation, we Orthodox Rabbis who lead communities, institutions and seminaries in Israel, the United States and Europe… seek to do the will of our Father in Heaven by accepting the hand offered to us by our Christian brothers and sisters,” the statement reads.

Two thousand years of Christian Anti-Semitism, Crusades, Inquisitions and a Holocaust can not keep the Star of Bethlehem from rising again in Israel. This call by these distinguished rabbis to embrace Christians as “brothers and sisters” is no less a miracle. For Jews to accept Christians with such endearment, after so much misunderstanding and anti-Semitic ugliness, can only be understood as a divine work of heavenly grace, the likes of which I find unfathomable.

For as this group of Orthodox rabbis points out, it is their “Father in Heaven” who is calling the Jewish people to lay down the past, put aside the enmity, and willingly embrace Christians and their faith in Jesus. That, my friends, is the deeper work of the Holy Spirit as spoken about throughout Scripture. 

As Rabbi Dr. Eugene Korn, Academic Director of the Center for Jewish-Christian Understanding & Cooperation points out, “This proclamation’s breakthrough is that influential Orthodox rabbis across all centers of Jewish life have finally acknowledged that…  Christianity and Judaism have much in common spiritually and practically. Given our toxic history, this is unprecedented in Orthodoxy.”

In their statement, the rabbis want to find a way to acknowledge the differences between Christian and Jewish beliefs, without taking, or giving, offensive. _“As did Maimonides and Yehudah Halevi, we acknowledge that Christianity is neither an accident nor an error, but the willed divine outcome and gift to the nations. In separating Judaism and Christianity, G-d willed a separation between partners with significant theological differences, not a separation between enemies,” _the statement concludes.

These so-called “significant theological differences” between Christianity and Judaism are really about Jesus. He is the stumbling block. Jesus may be Messiah, Son of the Living God for the Gentiles, but my Jewish people are still not quite sure just who he is for them. So while these rabbis are making major and unprecedented strides in bringing my people closer to Jesus, they are still far from the truth. For if Jesus is the Messiah for the Gentiles, how much more must he be for the Jews?

Perhaps Jesus will not quite be at home this Christmas in Israel, or Jewish homes around the world, but he is certainly knocking on the door.

PHOTO: Illustration only.

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This Christmas, Israel Celebrates New Trend of Israeli Arab Christians Joining IDF By Abra Forman - BREAKING ISRAEL NEWS

Father Gabriel Naddaf hosts a Christmas celebration for Arab Christian IDF soldiers. (Photo Credit: Courtesy of Israeli Christians Recruitment Forum.)

This Christmas, Israel Celebrates New Trend of Israeli Arab Christians Joining IDF

By Abra Forman December 23, 2015   BREAKING ISRAEL NEWS

“Now it came about when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing opposite him with his sword drawn in his hand, and Joshua went to him and said to him, ‘Are you for us or for our adversaries?’ He said, ‘No; rather I indeed come now as captain of the host of the LORD.’” (Joshua 5:13-14)

As Christmas approaches, an Israeli priest is spearheading a program to dramatically increase the number of Christian Arabs enlisting and serving in the Israeli Defense Forces. The Israeli Christian Recruitment Forum, led by Greek Orthodox priest Father Gabriel Naddaf of Nazareth, aims to double the number of Christian Arabs enlisting and serving in the Israeli Defense Forces.

The Forum, which is supported by the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, has seen a huge jump in numbers since it began its work. It saw a 50% increase from its founding year in 2012, in which only 40 Christian drafted to the Israeli army, to 2014, when over 100 drafted. In March of 2015 alone, 102 Christian Arabs entered the IDF due to the work of the Forum.

Israeli law does not require minorities in the Jewish State to serve in the IDF, so all of the Arab Christians recruits are choosing to volunteer. A notable exception has always been the Israeli Druze community, which is proudly Zionist and has served in the IDF since the state’s creation in 1948. Now, Father Naddaf hopes that some of the 165,000 Arab Christians in Israel will follow in the Druze’s footsteps.

The initiative is really part of a larger movement by Father Naddaf to recast the entire Arab Christian population as a group which, like the Druze, identifies as patriotic Israelis, rather than enemies of Israel. He aims to integrate the minority into mainstream Israeli society. Father Naddaf has even coined a new moniker for the community, calling its members “Israeli Christians” rather than Arab Christians.
He explained, “Calling them ‘Arab-Christian’ puts them on the side of Palestinians and terrorists, when in reality they’ve lived in Israel for generations and just want to live in peace and security.”

While the Forum, which also gives financial aid to needy Christian families in Israel and discharged IDF soldiers, does not receive government support, Father Naddaf and the Fellowship were recognized by Israel’s Defense Minister, Moshe Ya’alon, in a Jerusalem ceremony last week.

At the ceremony, Father Naddaf thanked “Christian donors around the world” for supporting him through the Fellowship, saying, “Your assistance is essential for the strength of Israeli society.” He added, “This society will achieve peace and defeat evil.”

Father Gabriel Naddaf hosts Arab Israeli IDF soldiers in a Christmas celebration. (Photo Credit: Courtesy of Israeli Christians Recruitment Forum.)

On Monday, Father Naddaf hosted a festive Christmas party for some of the Israeli Christian soldiers that the Forum has helped to enlist, distributing holiday treats and thanking them for their service to Israel.

The Christian population of Israel is one of the largest Arab Christian communities in the world, and the only one in the Middle East region which is actually showing signs of population growth. While Christians are often persecuted for their religious beliefs in the Middle East, to the point of kidnapping and wholesale murder in the case of the Islamic State, Israel’s Christian population is free to worship as it wishes. It is also one of the best-educated populations in the country.

Father Gabriel Naddaf Denounces Palestinian Claims that Jesus Was a Palestinian by Ahuva Balofsky - BREAKING ISRAEL NEWS

Father Gabriel Naddaf (Photo: Maor X/ Wiki Commons)

Father Gabriel Naddaf Denounces Palestinian Claims that Jesus Was a Palestinian

By Ahuva Balofsky December 21, 2015   BREAKING ISRAEL NEWS

“Lying lips are an abomination to the LORD; but they that deal truly are His delight.” (Proverbs 12:22)

In response to repeated statements by Palestinian Authority (PA) officials that Jesus was a Palestinian, Israeli Christian leader Father Gabriel Naddaf denounced the claims on Facebook earlier this month.

“On what authority does President Abbas claim that Jesus was a Palestinian?” Naddaf wrote. “The Bible says that He was born in the Jewish city of Bethlehem to Jewish parents from the city of Nazareth and was circumcised on the 8th day as a Jew and presented to the Jewish Temple by His parents according to the Mosaic law.”

The PA has had a long-standing policy of rewriting history to undermine Jewish connections to the Land of Israel and to strengthen Palestinian and Arab claims to the land.

Palestinian Media Watch (PMW) has documented this effort since 1998, when Al-Ayyam daily paper printed, “Dr. Yussuf Alzamili [Chairman History Department, Khan Yunis Educational College] called on all universities and colleges to write the history of Palestine and to guard it, and not to enable the [foreign] implants and enemies to distort it or to legitimize the existence of Jews on this land… [History lecturer Abu Amar] clarified that there is no connection between the ancient generation of Jews and the new generation.”

According to PMW, PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas said last Christmas season, “We celebrate the birth of Jesus, a Palestinian messenger of love, justice and peace.” ‎This was not the first or last time Abbas or other PA officials have made or repeated such a claim. Some have gone so far as to call Jesus “the first martyr” for the Palestinian cause.

In a television special earlier this year about former Greek-Catholic Archbishop of Jerusalem Hilarion Capucci, who exploited his position to smuggle arms, PA Secretary-General of the Jerusalem Council Hanna Issa claimed the archbishop told him, “First of all, don’t forget that the first Martyr (Shahid) was Palestinian – Jesus the Messiah. Look how they tortured, crucified and killed him…”

Naddaf serves as Head of the Greek Orthodox Church in Yafia, near Nazareth, and of the Christian Empowerment Council, a group committed to further integration of Christians into Israeli society. He blasted the erroneous position.

“His family were Torah-observant Jews,” Naddaf explained, “and as an adult, Jesus Himself affirmed the authority of the Torah and the Prophets. He attended Synagogue on Sabbath and even taught in the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem and observed the Jewish feasts of Hanukah and Passover.”

Naddaf also called out the PA for its abuse of history for political gains. “According to the Bible, the Land of Israel, including Judea and Samaria, belongs to the Jewish people forever. So, no matter how much the Palestinian Authority tries to distort history, they cannot manipulate the Word of God to legitimise their political aims. The Promises of God to His people cannot be erased.”

Israeli Christians Take Aim at Anti-Israel Boycotts

Sunday, July 26, 2015 |  Israel Today Staff

The Christian Empowerment Council based in Nazareth has released a new, freely available digital book aimed at debunking Christian anti-Zionism and the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement it facilitates.

Presented earlier this month by CEC spiritual leader Father Gabriel Naddaf, Test the Spirits: A Christian Guide to the Anti-Israel Boycott Movement demonstrates the decidedly unpeaceful agenda of BDS and calls on Christians the world over to recognize God’s true purposes for Israel.

The CEC and the Israeli Christian Recruitment Forum have for the past several years been leading a camp to more fully integrate local Christians into the Jewish State of Israel. The first and most important step has been encouraging young Christians to join their Jewish brethren in physically defending Israel.

The book can be read online by visiting the new CEC website: www.cecisrael.org

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Confronting BDS: Israeli Christians and the State of Illinois

By Tzippe Barrow

CBN News Internet Producer - Jerusalem

Friday, July 24, 2015

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JERUSALEM, Israel -- The biblical accounts of the angel Gabriel portray him as a messenger imparting God's plans, first to the prophet Daniel and later to the priest Zechariah and his long-awaited offspring, John the Baptist.

Like his biblical namesake, Father Gabriel Nadaf, an Arabic-speaking Greek Orthodox priest from Nazareth, the town where Jesus spent his childhood, has made it his life's work to help Christians better understand his homeland, the Jewish state of Israel.

The Christian Empowerment Council in Israel published a new guideline this week to help Christians respond to the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel.

Entitled "Test the Spirits: A Christian Guide to the Anti-Israel Boycott Movement," the 12-page pamphlet, can be downloaded as a PDF file from CEC's website.

Father Nadaf serves as the organization's spiritual leader.

"As the spiritual leader of the Christian Empowerment Council here in Israel, it is my responsibility to encourage Christians around the world to think about Israel in biblical and moral ways," Father Nadaf writes in the introduction. He encourages Christians to consider their personal views toward Israel, asking that God guide them "in great wisdom."

According to its website, CEC has made headlines internationally "for its pioneering work integrating Israel's Christian community into the wider Israeli society and supporting and guiding young Christians in the IDF  [Israel Defense Forces] ."

In 2013, Father Nadaf's 17-year-old son was brutally beaten by a 21-year-old affiliated with the anti-Israel Hadash Party near his home in Nazareth. At the time, his father said their goal was "to intimidate me and my family."

In an interview earlier this year, Father Nadaf told CBN's Scott Ross, "Despite all the threats and incitement against me, I will not turn back from my way." 
 
In addition to its work in Israel, CEC also monitors Christian denominations abroad, such as the Episcopalian, Mennonite andUnited Church of Christ that have adopted BDS. 

"There is much confusion in the global church about Israel, and God is not the author of confusion," Father Nadaf writes in the introduction.

"Rather, God wants us to seek after his heart, to get wisdom and to get understanding. God does not want his church to be ignorant about such an important topic as Israel; yet, there are many in the church today sowing confusion, spreading hatred of the Jewish state," he writes.

Meanwhile in America Thursday, Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner made history signing an anti-BDS law, the first state to pass such legislation.

In the press release, the governor said "We need to stand up to anti-Semitism whenever and wherever we see it."

"This historic legislation is an important first step in the fight against boycotts of Israel, and I hope other states move quickly to follow our lead," Gov. Rauner said.

Hidden Heritage: Aramean Christians Fighting for Israel

Scott Ross with Father Gabriel Nadaf

Hidden Heritage: Aramean Christians Fighting for Israel

By Scott Ross and Julie Stahl

CBN News Middle East Bureau

Wednesday, February 18, 2015

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JERUSALEM, Israel -- Christians across the Middle East are fleeing Muslim murder and persecution. But one country provides a safe haven and freedom for Christians and that's Israel.

For generations, indigenous Arabic-speaking Christians have been considered a tiny minority within the larger Muslim Arab minority in Israel and Muslim majority in the Middle East.

But now many of them are breaking away from that identity, fighting in the  Israeli Defense Forces for the Jewish state and reclaiming a hidden heritage.

Greek Orthodox priest Father Gabriel Nadaf is leading the way. He lives and ministers in the northern Israeli city of Nazareth.

An Arimean Heritage

Two-thousand years ago, Nazareth was the boyhood home of Jesus. Today it's the largest Christian city in Israel.

But Nadaf, who founded the Christian Israeli Forum, is so controversial that the Greek Orthodox Church threatened to defrock him and Israeli police must protect him with a personal alarm that he can wear on his wrist like a watch round the clock. But he is not deterred.

"Despite all the threats and the incitement against me, I will not turn back from my way," Nadaf told CBN's Scott Ross.

Nadaf's son was violently attacked in December 2013 before he joined the IDF. He joined anyway.

"I am continuing with my faith and my way, the way of integration. Or I'll die or there will be more of this way. If I won't die, I'll continue to the end," Nadaf said.

Nadaf's offense: saying he's not an Arab, reclaiming his Aramean heritage and encouraging young Christians to integrate into Israeli society, especially by serving in the IDF.

"We want to protect the state that's protecting us," Nadaf said.

Most Christians in the Middle East come from a Catholic or a number of Orthodox traditions. Most of them speak Arabic -- the language of their countries -- but many say that doesn't make them Arabs.

No Such Thing as 'Christian Arab'

Until recently, Israel and the rest of the world considered Nadaf and most of the 160,000 Christians in Israel as Arab Israelis, lumping them together with the large Muslim minority.

But Nadaf and others like Shadi Khaloul say they're not Arabs even though they speak Arabic. They say they're Aramean.

"I was raised as a Christian in a Christian family who believed in Christ, who went to church every Sunday, and they listened to an Aramaic language in our church, in our mass," Khaloul, chairman for the Aramaic Christian Society in Israel, said. "That's our church language actually."

Many believe Jesus spoke Aramaic when he was on the earth. Khaloul told Ross the term "Christian Arab" is a "fake terminology" invented in the last century.

"It was created only around 100 years ago by pan-Arabism theology and this is a big mistake," he said.

"We are [an] Aramaic population who inhabited this area at the time of Muslim conquerors in the 7th century. We preserved our national identity and religious identity for 1,400 [years] and today because we are forced to speak Arabic," he said.

Ross asked if that made them Arabs and wondered if someone moved to the Middle East and spoke the Arabic language, if he would suddenly start calling himself an Arab.

"I can't accept myself being [called] an Arab, not because I hate or I don't like Arabs. I have nothing [against] Arabs. I am not [an] Arab," he said emphatically.

An Official Minority

Recently, Israel became the first Middle Eastern country to recognize Aramean Christians as an official minority. And in October Khaloul's 2-year-old son Ya'akov became the first person in modern history to be registered as Aramean in Israel's population registry.

Khaloul, an IDF reservist, was also ahead of the curve when it came to enlisting in the army.

"I joined the IDF in 1993, and at that time it was unusual," he explained.

But he did it, he said, first and foremost because he is a Christian.

"As a Christian, I believe that Israel is my country. I live here," he said. "This is the country that protects me as a Christian. I live here in freedom."

"If I compare myself to other Christians in the Middle East and the way they live -- I have freedom of speech; I have freedom of movement. I have freedom in anything I want," he continued. "If I have full abilities and requirements I can go anywhere I want, even to any position I want."

Khaloul said the Israelis treated him as one of the group.

"In the army, we're all equal. There is no difference between Jewish or Aramaic Christian -- as am I -- or even Arab, which is Muslim," he said.

Arab Backlash

But the problem came with the way the Arabs treated him.

"I faced a lot of Arab[s] cursing us, telling us that you are people that betrayed the Arabs and Palestinians, and they don't accept you as a national identity that can have freedom of your choice," he said. "They want you to be an Arab and they force you to be an Arab against your will."

Nearly all Jewish Israelis are drafted into the IDF after high school. Khaloul said it's also important for young Christians to join because it helps them to be part of the country.

"The IDF in Israel is considered to be a school actually, a school for the Israeli society, for entrance to the Israeli society," he said. "You will eat with them [Jewish soldiers], learn with them, talk with them. They will know about your side of identity and they will know about you."

"You will have a better chance to integrate into the Israeli society -- not because you did military service, but because of better understanding the Israeli Jewish society, which is the majority of this country -- 80 percent [of the population]," he added.

The trend is catching on. In one year, despite condemnation from Arab leaders, Christian enlistment increased from an average of 35 per year to 150 and more than 420--mostly women--signed up for National Civil Service.

Integrating into Israel

But there is still resistance from many Christians when it comes to integrating into Israel. Nadaf said there's a spiritual dimension. Since the founding of the State of Israel no one told Christians that Christianity came out of Judaism, he said. And that's what he is trying to teach them now.

"The Christians that now are against integration into Israeli society, to my dismay, they're not going in the way of Christianity," Nadaf said. "They don't understand that Christianity really comes from Judaism -- that the roots of Christianity are also from this land."

"And if the Jews will leave the land of Israel, there also won't be Christians here," he added.

Nadaf said he would like Christians around the world to pray for their Christian brothers here that the integration process would succeed.

"If we [achieve] this integration there will be true love and we will live in peace with our neighbors here in the State of Israel," he said. "Together with the Jews, we will protect the Land of Israel."

Click: Watch the interview here.