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Israel & Christians Today
Biblical understanding about Israel
A Weekend in ‘Jewish Vienna’
By Sandra Kämpfer, Isreality Austria Coordinator
From 29 - 30 April, our first ‘Isreality Austria’ weekend took place in Vienna. Young Christians between the age of 18 and 35 had been invited to come and learn more about Israel and the Jewish history of this city. On Saturday afternoon 17 young adults met at “Don Bosco House”, a Christian centre. We got to know each other having coffee and delicious Viennese cake. Later we moved to a seminar room and after a brief introduction of Isreality by Sandra, Marie- Louise Weissenböck (Regional Director of Christians for Israel Europe) spoke to us about Israel from a Biblical perspective.
Andrew Tucker, who had joined our Isreality weekend from the Netherlands, held his lecture on ‘Israel and International Law’. We were all keen to learn more about God’s plan with Israel and the reality on the ground.
By the end of these two lectures, we were famished and enjoyed dinner at a typical Viennese restaurant. Later in the evening Julian Linke, a young Austrian student who had completed his civil service in Israel, gave a lecture on his experiences. He had served one year in Ramat Gan (Tel Aviv) in a home for the elderly, many of whom were German-speaking Holocaust survivors. During that time, he had interviewed and filmed many of them. We viewed one of the interviews as well as a few other short films about everyday life in Israel. It was a great evening for all of us.
The next morning, we had a time of worship and prayer during which Marie-Louise also taught about Abraham and his relationship with God. We then left for the old city to start the guided tour through Jewish Vienna. The weather was perfect. Our guide showed us many different sites that had played a crucial role in the Jewish history of Vienna starting from 1194 when the first Jew lived here, until today. Of course, we also enjoyed Israeli Falafels for lunch. The tour ended at the Dome of St. Stephen’s, which also has a Jewish connection.
The group enjoyed each other’s company, and we all had the feeling that we had come to a new understanding. All the participants asked to be informed about further Isreality activities. We thank God for this wonderful weekend!
On our tour through Jewish Vienna, guided by Marie-Louise (on the right)
Enjoying our falafel!
Inside the Dome of St. Stephen’s