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 Billed by Israeli media and government officials as the largest tourist event of 2006, thousands of pilgrims from 80 nations congregated on the shores of the Dead Sea, Saturday, before beginning the steep 4000-foot upward climb for a week-long Christian celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem. It was, according to Tourism Minister Isaac Herzog, the first sign of a "major recovery" in the fortunes of the nation's beleaguered tourist industry in the wake of the month-long summer border war with Hizb'Allah in Lebanon. Organizers from the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem, the Israel-based ministry that for the past 27 years has hosted the annual festival of music, preaching and dance - say that this year's Feast is expected to pump as much as $15 million into the local economy and account for a staggering 16,000 hotel nights in the capital alone. "Since 1980, God has used this ministry to revive the ancient Biblical tradition of the nations coming up to Jerusalem to keep this feast of joy," said ICEJ Executive Director Rev. Malcolm Hedding in his opening remarks to the colorful mix of nationalities gathered in the desert of Ein Gedi as the rising harvest moon marked the end of the first day of the Jewish celebration of Succot. "This has been a very difficult year for us," conceded Prime Minister Ehud Olmert addressing Jerusalem's packed International Convention Center in a televised video link on Sunday. "God bless you for the kind of friendship which was significant for the people of Israel at such a terrible time. "We had the courage to face the adversaries of the State of Israel largely because we have friends like you." Traveling from their home countries for more than a simple tour of the Holy Land, pilgrims like Patricia Goodspeed of Colorado openly declare that they are here to express their commitment to Israel and "bring lovingkindness to the people". In that same spirit, many of those attending this year's celebration donated generously to local Christian relief efforts spearheaded by the ICEJ during the recent conflict with Lebanon. But with the largest delegations coming from Scandinavia and South America, Israel's traditional US-based Evangelical support is somewhat dwarfed by the multi-national flavor of the Feast – a celebration that the Bible says will one day be observed by "all the peoples of the earth."
"I was taken aback and overwhelmed by what I saw," Herzog admitted. "And from over 80 nations? Absolutely incredible!" |
But more than that, at a time when Israel is faced with the growing existential threat of a nuclear Iran, the overwhelming support of Christians worldwide is making an indelible mark on the emotional and physical landscape of the country.
Speaking to ICEJ News after addressing the crowded Jerusalem auditorium on Sunday night, Herzog - a rising star in Israel's center-left Labor party and tipped as a future premier - was visibly moved by the ethnic and geographic diversity of Israel's many Christian friends, especially at a time when the nation is reeling from a 40% fall in regular tourist stays.
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