ICEJ Branches Rally for Israel

It is interesting to note several common factors in these reports. Many of the pro-Israel rallies were among the largest ever held in their nations. Jewish leaders invited Christians to take part - for the first time in some countries - and they all expressed deep appreciation for our presence. And at many of these pro-Israel rallies, there also were much smaller counter-protests nearby, with some Muslim and neo­Nazi demonstrators arrested for violent behavior. Many news reports have noted the marked difference in the peaceful pro-Israel events and the belligerent tone of the pro­Palestinian protests, with authorities in Berlin still searching for a man photographed carrying his young daughter on his shoulders with a fake explosives' vest strapped around her waist.

Australia - Brisbane, the capital city of Queensland, on Australia's east coast would certainly qualify as part of "the uttermost parts of the earth," and it was here that Christian Zionists joined with members of the city's Jewish community, in a vigil of support for Israel. Jesma O'Hara, a regular speaker at ICEJ-Australia events, reports that Australians have recently seen something unusual on their quiet streets - violent Muslim rallies in support of the Palestinian cause. One participant threatened that if Australia did not support the Palestinians, then the violence against Israel would spread to Australia.

With this in mind, organizers in Brisbane stressed the importance of staging a peaceful pro-Israel event. The meeting was addressed by Ephraim Ben-Mattitayahu, Israeli Consul General, and Rev. Fraser Harding, a Christian Zionist leader in Australia. Psalms were sung in Hebrew, and people stood in silence as a parade of Christian and Jewish men, women and children - each carrying a single candle representing every Israeli killed in the current intifada - made their way to the front of the gathering, as the names of the deceased were read out loud. Excerpts from the diary of a young Australian girl killed in the Sbarro pizza bombing last August were also read. As darkness settled over the park, Christians and Jews were united in proclaiming "Am Israel Chai!" - the people of Israel live!

Canada - Canadian members of the ICEJ recently participated in the largest pro-Israel rallies ever held in Canada. The first took place in Ottawa on April 21 and the second in Toronto on May 20. Both events, which were sponsored by local Jewish organizations, drew about 25,000 people. This was the first time, however, that Christians were openly invited. Referring to the event in Toronto, Bernie Farber of the Canadian Jewish Congress said: "This was probably the largest event in Canadian Jewish history in support of Israel and what made it even more so was the fact that Jews and Christians stood arm-in­arm against terrorism and for peace."

ICEJ-Canada national director Donna Holbrook, who led the Christian Embassy delegations at both rallies, was deeply moved by the Jewish response to Christian participation. "So many Jewish people came to thank us for our being there, many with tears in their eyes," Donna reports. One Jewish participant told Donna that the long trip to Ottawa was worth it just to know that Christians were standing with them.

Czech Republic - This spring, Czech Jews and Christians have joined together on four occasions to demonstrate in favor of Israel. On April 15, the ICEJ Czech Branch initiated a major campaign to enlist Czech citizens to sign a petition demanding solidarity with Israel as a principle of the nation's foreign policy as it seeks to join the European Union. The campaign began simultaneously in four cities, including the capital of Prague, and will continue throughout the sum­mer until being presented to the newly elected Parliament in September.

According to ICEJ-Czech national director Mojmir Kallus, the petition has already met with broad support in the churches and on the streets, as well as within the Jewish community. After one month, more than 2,000 signatures had been added, including three government ministers and other Parliament members. Many Czechs feel a close kinship with Israel, remembering how the Allied Powers shamefully offered their nation to Hitler in 1938 in the vain hope of appeasing a dictatorial regime.

Denmark - On April 21, about 2,000 Danish Christians and Jews joined together outside Copenhagen's town hall to demonstrate in favor of Israel's right to exist in peace. Various pro­Israel organizations including the ICEJ-Danish branch participated.  While several Danish politicians spoke out forcefully against terror and for Israel's right to live in peace, a large police force protected the demonstrators from potentially violent opposition from nearby pro­Palestinian protesters, eleven of whom were arrested.

Finland - On May 11, over 6,000 Finnish Christians marched in a kilometre­long procession down the main street of Tampere, Finland's second largest city, in a powerful display of solidarity with Israel. With banners, songs and proclamations, partici­pants came from across the country and as far away as Lapland and Sweden. Organized by ICEJ­Finland and three other Christian ministries, the march ended on the Tampere University campus, where a meeting hall and several overflow rooms still could not contain the large crowd. Israel's Ambassador to Finland Miriam Shomrat spoke along with ICEJ-Finland nation director Dr. Ulla Jarvilehto and M Hannu Takkula. A special collection taken for Israeli victims of tern came to over 20,000 Euros.

In a glowing interview afterwards on Kol Israel Radio, Ambassador Shomrat described the event as deeply heart-warming and encouraging.  She especially was moved by another guest speaker named Liel Ronning, a Christian serving as an officer in the Israeli Army. Liel, who grew up in Israel, is the daughter of ICEJ Board Member Halvor Ronning and Mirja, his Finnish wife. Amb. Shomrat noted for Israeli listeners how Liel spoke beautifully in Hebrew of the high moral standards required of Israeli soldiers and described why she has chosen to express her faith in God and love to Israel in this manner, as Ruth did to Naomi.

Germany - ICEJ-Germany joined a number of other Christian ministries in holding solidarity rallies for Israel this spring in several German cities, including Frankfurt, Hannover and Reutlingen. The largest rally took place in Frankfurt, where partic­pants gathered to hear ICEJ­Germany national director Dr. Jurgen Buhler and other speakers stress the need for their government to stand clearly with Israel because of their nation's unique historic responsibility to the Jewish people. An Israeli Embassy official thanked those attending the event, which was held under the theme "Israel - You are not alone."

The Berlin rally came amid the devastating floods that hit the country in late August, and yet still managed to draw 3,500 Christians. In fact, 12 buses came from the hardest hit area of Saxony. The colorful gathering took place between the landmark Brandenburg Gate and the refurbished Reichstag parliament building, and was addressed by political, religious and community leaders. Among them was Prince Philip of Prussia, the great grandson of the last German Emperor Wilhelm II, who said, "I am a Christian and love the God of the Bible. Therefore I love also His people. My place belongs on the side of the people of Israel."
After the rally, one elderly lady expressed her gratitude to ICEJ-Germany director Dr. Jurgen Buhler, saying: "I still remember the constant display of red flags with the Nazi swastika some 60 years ago in this very place. To see here so many Israeli flags with the Star of David filled my heart with great joy."

Hungary - A pro-Israel gathering was held on April 10 outside the Great Synagogue in Herzl Square in Budapest that was attended by key members of the ICEJ-Hungary branch. Despite rainy weather, the square was packed with several hundred Jews and Christians. Those in attendance heard rousing speeches and signed a petition expressing support for a united Jerusalem under Israeli sovereignty and for peace in the land.

Norway - On April 20, the ICEJ-Norway branch arranged a pro-Israel rally outside the parliament building in Oslo, with over 2,000 in attendance - the largest such gathering ever in the Norwegian capital. ICEJ national representative Leif Wellerop introduced an array of political and religious speakers, including members of parliament, Jewish commu­nity leaders, and Kare Kristiansen, the Norwegian statesman who resigned from the Nobel Peace Prize Committee when the presti­gious award was conferred on PLO chief Yasser Arafat in 1994.

There were also special times of singing and a colorful march from Parliament past the Royal Castle to the Israel Embassy. Leif reports that a special touch was added when hundreds of blue and white balloons were released over the streets of downtown Oslo, and that the march received positive coverage in the Norwegian press - a welcome res­pite from its persistent anti-Israel bias.

Spain - Meanwhile, the ICEJ's Spanish branch organised a rally in historic Toledo this summer that was attended by some 1,500 Christians from all over the country, perhaps the only public gathering of its kind in over a decade. The Israeli ambassador to Spain, Herzl Inbar, was on hand to greet the crowd and see banners in Spanish that assured: "Israel, You are not alone." In a letter to ICEJ-Spain representative Samuel del Coso Roman, Amb. Inbar later said he was very grateful that, "for the first time, pro-Israel sympathies were publicly expressed in the streets" of Spain.

United Kingdom - On May 6, London's Trafalgar Square was filled with an estima­ted 55,000 people at an Israel Solidarity rally that was quickly enshrined as the largest-ever demonstration organized by Britain's Jewish community. Among the high-profile speakers were former Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, members of the House of Commons and House of Lords, and Britain's Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks. Rallying under the slogan "Yes to Peace, No to Terror," the otherwise lively crowd fell silent during an emotional speech by the mother of a suicide bombing victim from Jerusalem.

Wendy Hogarth, ICEJ-UK natio­nal director, reports that the atmosphere was amazingly uplifting, with such a crush of people, so many flags and lots of singing. Wendy says there were dozens of Christian ministries represented and hund­reds (maybe thousands) of Christians in attendance. Besides the pro-Israel message, these Church leaders united to reassure the local Jewish community they were not alone in facing a growing wave of anti-Semitism in Europe. The Anglican Bishop of Oxford was tapped to express the support of the British Christian community for peace in Israel.

Rally organizers urged Christian groups to attend and had even prin­ted special placards and banners marking the holders as Christians supporting Israel. Wendy reports that every Christian she spoke with was overwhelmed by the number of Jewish people who thanked them for coming.

USA - On April 15, Washington, DC witnessed the largest pro-Israel rally in the United States since the Soviet refusenik protests of the 1980s - and perhaps the largest ever on American soil. Responding to only a few days' notice, an estimated 100,000 people - mostly Jews but including a significant number of Christians - gathered on the Mall in the U.S. capital to express support for Israel. The event featured Israeli cabinet minister Natan Sharansky, Mr. Netanyahu, Nobel Laureate Elie Wiesel, and top leaders of Congress. The rally theme stressed that Israel's battle against Palestinian terrorism is no different than the US-led war on global terror.

ICEJ-USA national director Susan Michael led the staff of our Washington office to the rally to join in sending this message to American leaders. Susan reports that as her delegation marched towards the front of the crowd under a large "ICEJ" banner, they noticed waves of spontaneous applause and cheers from the predominantly Jewish crowd. They soon realized the warm reception was for their Christian presence. Popular Christian radio talk show host Janet Parshall was invited to address the rally on behalf of Christians.

Other Countries in 2002 - Other ICEJ national branches have recently organized or partici­pated in rallies in Brussels, Belgium; Brasilia, Brazil; Paris, France; Dublin, Ireland; The Hague, Netherlands; Auckland, New Zealand; Manila, the Philippines; in several South African cities; and in a number of other locations world­wide.

2001 - Norwegian Branch takes on Anti-Israel Media - As the violent Palestinian upris­ing continued over recent months, members of the ICEJ Branch in Norway became alarmed at the increasingly bold and brutal anti­Israel bias in the Norwegian media ­described as "the worst in Europe." Under the leadership of our Norwegian representative, Leif Wellerop, the ICEJ decided to speak out publicly against this imbalanced reporting by organising a demon­stration of both Christian and Jewish groups on June 16 outside the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK) building in Oslo.

The weekend rally was called to protest the decidedly pro-Palestinian coverage of the intifada by this lead­ing source of news for the Norwegian people, who have invest­ed much in promoting peace in the Middle East, but often without a complete picture of the true actions and intentions of those who receive their support.

As a rule, Norwegians are not the sort to stage protests. But for many, the situation had become intolera­ble. The mobilisation against Israel of NRK - the main, government­sponsored Norwegian TV and radio channel - was closely documented by Odd Sverre Hove, the editor of the newspaper Dagen, read by many Christians throughout the country. His review of NRK coverage over several months exposed a daily media slant heavily in favour of the Arab side, which Hove published in a series of articles in his paper. When NRK and other Norwegian media refused to acknowledge or address this disparity, hundreds of Norwegians decided it was time to take to the streets.

In what was the first protest of its kind outside the state broadcasting facilities in Oslo, some 800 Christians and Jews gathered on a bright, clear Saturday on the steps of the NRK broadcast building to voice their displeasure. "We came home victorious," reports Wellerop, who spoke at the rally along with Hove and Kaare Kristiansen, an elder statesman in Norway who resigned his position on the Nobel Peace Prize Committee when it awarded the prize to PLO chief Yasser Arafat in 1994. An official with the Israeli Embassy in Oslo was also on hand to thank the participants on behalf of the State of Israel.

The head of the news depart ­ment for NRK Television was also present observing the demonstra­tion. Wellerop was able to speak with her directly about his concerns, but she continued to maintain that Norwegian TV has nothing to be ashamed of.

Nonetheless, the rally was a huge success, especially in view of the positive, respectful press cover­age it received from other media. Those taking part were also able to distribute posters, maps and other information to passers-by providing a more balanced view on the current conflict in Israel.

And the rally encouraged many in the Jewish community in Norway, who have sensed a strong undercur­rent of anti-Semitism in the anti­Israel reporting and the public atti­tudes it has fed. One Jewish man related how grateful he was that even in times when others fear and are silent, the ICEJ is a strong and honest voice for Israel.

In a more recent development, ICEJ-Norway filed a complaint with the special review board that moni­tors journalists according to profes­sional standards. The complaint involved an interview by an NRK-TV reporter of Israel's deputy Foreign Minister Michael Melchior, who is the former Chief Rabbi of Norway and Denmark. Rabbi Melchior was asked to join in the complaint, which he quickly did, citing his own objections to the unfair treatment he received during a prime time, nationwide broadcast. Needless to say, Wellerop reports that he senses a real "nervousness" within NRK that they will be formally reprimanded through this process.