By: David Parsons, ICEJ Vice President & Senior Spokesman

The ICEJ’s latest Christian Leadership Solidarity Mission to Israel concluded its visit to Israel from 19 to 22 March 2024 with a strong declaration of support for the Jewish state and people in the midst of the current war with Hamas terrorism.

The mission included 20 prominent Christian leaders from twelve nations representing tens of millions of Evangelical supporters of Israel worldwide. The participants included global ministry leaders from Argentina, Australia, Brazil, El Salvador, Fiji, Germany, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Tanzania and the United States.

The group first visited places along the Gaza border linked to the Hamas massacres on October 7, including Kibbutz Be’eri, the Nova music festival site, and a parking lot filled with 1200 burned-out cars from the infamous day of carnage. They also heard from Eshkol Regional Council security chief Ilan Isaacson and IDF Lt Col (Res) Yaron Buskila, who both bravely led the efforts to turn back the onslaught of Hamas terrorists on October 7.

The group also was hosted by Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz at his Jerusalem office, and later heard from the deputy director general and spokesman of the Foreign Ministry, Emanuel Nachshon, as well as Rachel Goldberg, mother of hostage Hersh Goldberg, who lost his lower arm in a grenade explosion before being taken into Gaza.

Finally, the Solidarity Mission toured the northern border area, received a security briefing by IDF Maj. (Res.) Elliott Chodoff, was hosted by the Fiji troops in the UNDOF contingent on the Golan, and then visited the ICEJ’s Home for Holocaust Survivors in Haifa to see the preparations made to protect the elderly residents of the home in case the war escalates in the North.

“I want to thank the ICEJ for allowing us to have the veil pulled away from over our eyes. To me, that’s what this trip was all about,” assured Rev. Suzette Hattingh from Germany. “Virtually every day, there was something that peeled away another misunderstanding or veil, like scales, from my eyes. People across the world do not know… how incredible the shock was from the 7^th of October.”

“I have come to the conclusion while here that there is a lot of fake news going around about Israel. A lot of things in the news, they lie, they twist,” said Mattheus van der Steen from the Netherlands. “I also am surprised how strong the Jewish people are, spiritually as well… Everyone we talked to, we should have them in our Western churches to preach. Seriously, the messages of these people and their faith in God… is just amazing.”

“This has been an amazing trip, even more than I expected,” said Kym Farnik from Australia. “The depth of the trauma Israelis suffered is incredibly confronting. I had some idea but whatever you think it is, it’s actually been worse and for them to overcome that is incredible.”

“I was impacted by those that survived different situations of great crisis and what I was stunned to see was the lack of hate in their sharing, even talking about people who are still prisoners. I was amazed by that,” said Rev. Omar Cabrera of Argentina.

At the conclusion of their solidarity mission, the Christian leaders issued a joint statement in support of Israel in its battle against jihad terrorism. The statement reads as follows: