European Christians mobilize to support Israel

Groups will hold joint protests “to defend Jerusalem as the undivided capital of the Jewish state of Israel.”

by Michael Freund (Jerusalem Post)
In advance of Palestinian diplomatic moves at the United Nations next week, two of the leading Christian groups in Europe have joined forces to counter mounting pressure on the Jewish state.Christians for Israel International, headquartered in Nijkerk, the Netherlands, and the Brussels-based European Coalition for Israel, will hold joint protests on September 13 in The Hague and September 19 in Brussels, with the stated aim being “to defend Jerusalem as the undivided capital of the Jewish state of Israel.”

“As Christians, we feel it is our task to be obedient to God, and to warn the nations to respect God’s sovereignty,” Andrew Tucker, executive director of Christians for Israel International, told The Jerusalem Post. “We simply cannot remain silent while the nations are planning to give Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria to Israel’s enemies.”

Tomas Sandell, the founding director of the European Coalition for Israel, concurred. “During previous periods in history Christians have – by and large – failed the Jewish people. This time we want it to be crystal clear that there are those out there who disagree with the UN plan to divide Jerusalem and unilaterally create a Palestinian state along the 1967 lines,” he said.

In recent months, the two organizations have convened high-level conferences in six European countries, where Dr. Jacques Gauthier, a Canadian lawyer and human rights advocate and author of the book Sovereignty over the Old City of Jerusalem, made the case for Israel to various European leaders and journalists. The groups have also published and distributed a series of articles in Dutch, German and English highlighting the legal, historical and biblical rights of the Jewish people to the Land of Israel, which they have made available on a website aimed at Christians called www.whyisrael.org.

And this week, the Christians for Israel’s German branch will deliver a declaration of support for the Jewish state to the German government which was signed by 40,000 people. “We do everything we can to inform decision-makers and others about the historical background and the solemn pledges made to the Jewish people under international law,” Sandell said. “Most people, including those in government, have no idea.”

Asked why Christians would invest so much time and effort on behalf of Israel, Tucker said, “We realize that Israel’s God is our God, and Israel’s destiny is also our destiny.