By Laurina Driesse

One of the ways the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem is showing true solidarity with the people of Israel during this time of war is through generous donations by our branch offices worldwide to purchase four advanced, fully-equipped ambulances to serve the needs of this nation. The first of these life-saving vehicles, a military ambulance being given to Kibbutz Be’eri, will be dedicated on Thursday of this week at an IDF medical center near Modiin, in partnership with Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael-Jewish National Fund (KKL-JNF).

In the weeks after the deadly October 7th Hamas terror invasion on southern Israel, the respective Czech offices of the ICEJ and KKL-JNF decided to partner together to raise funds for an advanced ambulance among Christian and Jewish supporters of Israel in the Czech Republic. The result is this new ambulance, which is a gift of the Czech people to the Gaza border community of Kibbutz Be’eri, which was hit hard by the Hamas massacres.

The initiative for the gift arose from the video cam footage of Hamas gunmen shooting at and damaging an ambulance during their rampage through Be’eri on October 7. The video has been seen by millions around the world and captures how inhumane and depraved the terrorists were to everyone and everything they encountered.

In response to this unfolding tragedy in the western Negev, the ICEJ-Czech branch was able to quickly exceed in a few short weeks its normal annual giving by 300 per cent! At the same time, a new partnership has been formed between Christians and Jews in their country in tandem with the Czech branch of KKL-JNF.

The residents of Kibbutz Be’eri were attacked on the Black Saturday of October 7th, with the entry of hundreds of Gazan terrorists who murdered, wounded, maimed and kidnapped many kibbutz residents. Some 112 members of Kibbutz Be’eri, including two paramedics, were murdered in that horrific terrorist assault, and 23 members were taken hostage into the Gaza Strip.

What happened at Kibbutz Be’eri resonates with many Czechs because it reminds them of the village of Lidice, which was cruelly wiped out by the Nazis in 1942, with the men being executed while the women and children were forcibly deported to concentration camps.  

This Thursday, the Czech Ambassador to Israel, Veronika Kuchynova Smigolova, and an ICEJ leadership team will attend a special ceremony co-hosted by KKL-JNF to be held at the IDF Medical Corps training base to dedicate the advanced, fully-equipped ambulance to serve the residents of Kibbutz Be’eri.

The following dedication text is displayed on the ambulance in Hebrew, English and Czech: “This ambulance was donated to the people of Israel by friends and supporters of ICEJ and KKL-JNF in the Czech Republic.”

Only two days before that fatal Shabbat in early October, the ICEJ led nearly 700 Christians from some 50 nations attending our Feast of Tabernacles 2023 on a solidarity visit to the Western Negev to stand with the Israeli communities along the Gaza border.

On that day, the ICEJ joined KKL-JNF in dedicating a rehabilitated section of the popular Be’eri Forest, which was burned over recent years by arsonists launching fire kites and balloons from nearby Gaza. The ICEJ has partnered with KKL-JNF to replant and restore the 126-acre (512-dunam) plot, which was renamed the “Christian Embassy Nature Park.”

“In standing with Israel for more than 40 years now, the Christian Embassy has never seen such a horrific day and time of conflict for Israel as what this nation has experienced on and after October 7,” said ICEJ President Dr. Jürgen Bühler. “We have a deep personal attachment to Kibbutz Be’eri and the surrounding Israeli communities, especially because of the nearby nature park which now bears our name, and thus we are firmly committed to helping these communities rebuild their lives and restore their sense of security.”

In the meantime, donations also have been received from many other faithful Christian supporters of Israel worldwide, including funds to deliver three more ambulances. The ICEJ-USA and ICEJ-Switzerland branches have each collected enough gifts to purchase fully-equipped ambulances, which will be donated to Israel through Magen David Adom. A fourth ambulance also is being donated by the ICEJ to serve Holocaust survivors in northern Israel through Yad Ezer L’Haver, our partner organisation at the Home for Holocaust survivors in Haifa.

The ICEJ continues to respond to the Hamas onslaught with numerous activities and projects to bring urgent war relief aid to Israelis still reeling from the tragic events of October 7. This includes food and clothing distributions, housing and assisting evacuee families, donating and renovating over 130 bomb shelters, and providing emergency medical and safety equipment to first responders, as well as funding the purchase of these four new ambulances.

Your support in helping this embattled nation to recover is invaluable and speaks volumes to Israelis of our genuine Christian love and care for them! Thank you for giving generously to our Israel in Crisis fund today.

Donate at:  give.icej.org/crisis

Photo credit: KKL-JNF