By: David Parsons & Ester Heinzmann

In response to the recent Hamas rocket war against Israel, the ICEJ’s national branches and supporters organised and joined numerous rallies around the globe to express solidarity with Israel and its right of self-defence, as well as to challenge their governments to stand against the ensuing global wave of antisemitism. 
 
One of the ICEJ’s largest rallies was held in Stuttgart, where over 1,500 Christians from across Germany gathered with Jewish leaders to voice their support for Israel. ICEJ-Germany national director Gottfried Bühler called on the government to take firm action against the “aggressive climate change of antisemitism” in Germany, insisting that recent pro-Israel declarations by national leaders must be followed up by concrete steps “to deprive antisemitism in our country of its breeding ground.” He also urged the German government to take a number of other actions, including to prevent the flow of German taxpayer monies to Hamas, distance Germany from the ‘club of antisemites and anti-Israel revolutionaries’ at the United Nations, and join the alliance of nations confronting Iran and its designs to annihilate Israel. 

 
Other speakers at the Stuttgart rally included Israel’s Consul General in Munich, Sandra Simovich, the regional commissioner to fight antisemitism, Dr. Michael Blume, and several local Jewish and Christian community leaders. The Israeli consul thanked the Christians for their “true friendship and commitment,” and described the harrowing experience of recent weeks when Jews in Germany were confronted with hateful threats. 
 

One poignant moment came when the crowd listened in silence to 90-year-old Holocaust survivor Eva Erben speaking from Ashkelon, in southern Israel, even while sirens were wailing in the background. Erben described the horror of living under constant rocket barrages and her concerns that Hamas was abusing the Palestinian population as human shields. 
 
Other recent pro-Israel rallies with ICEJ sponsorship or involvement have taken place in dozens of other countries, including Denmark, Ireland, Liberia, the Netherlands, Mexico, Papua New Guinea and Slovakia. 
 
ICEJ-Mexico convened a solidarity rally in front of the Israeli Embassy in Mexico City. Leaders from several large Christian organisations attended the demonstration, which featured many banners of support for Israel and prayers for the peace of Jerusalem. Israeli Ambassador Zvi Tal expressed appreciation for the show of Christian support, and noted the insanity of Hamas “firing rockets towards Jerusalem, which is a holy city also for Islam.” 
 
ICEJ-Slovakia also organised a rally of 200 Christians and Jews in Bratislava, with several politicians and cultural and church personalities taking the stage to express support for Israel. 
 
In Dublin, scores of Christians joined the Ambassador of Israel and members of the Irish Jewish community in a rally outside parliament to challenge what many view as the most hostile government against Israel in Europe. 
 
Elsewhere, ICEJ national leaders and staff spoke out for Israel in the media and led nationwide prayer efforts for peace in the region.