International Fellowship of Christians and Jews
Encyclopedia
The International Fellowship of Christians & Jews (IFCJ), founded by Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein
in 1983 under its original name of the Holyland Fellowship of Christians and Jews, is a worldwide organization whose stated goal is "to promote understanding and cooperation between Jews
and Christians and to build broad support for the State of Israel and other shared concerns." IFCJ (also known as The Fellowship) has a vision that Jews and Christians will reverse their 2,000-year history of discord and replace it with a relationship marked by dialogue, respect and cooperation.
Recognizing the potential of these strong interfaith relationships and inspired by a God-given vision of building bridges of understanding between Christians and Jews, Rabbi Eckstein established the Holyland Fellowship of Christians and Jews in 1983 to help Christians and Jews work together on projects promoting the safety and security of Jews in Israel and around the world.
The Holyland Fellowship of Christians and Jews was renamed the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews in 1991.
The Fellowship’s success has far exceeded expectations. Today, The Fellowship has hundreds of thousands of partners – Christians and Jews alike – working together to help Jews in need and Jews living under the threat of anti-Semitism on five continents and to build support for the State of Israel. The organization has raised three-quarters of a billion dollars for Jewish immigration and resettlement and social welfare programs in Israel, and for food, housing and social services for needy Jews in the former Soviet Union and other places of need.
In addition, The Fellowship has been recognized as a leader in Jewish-Christian relations, building bridges of goodwill that have led to greater understanding and cooperation between members of the two faiths. The Fellowship has helped hundreds of thousands of Jews escape poverty and anti-Semitism and return to their biblical homeland, funded humanitarian assistance that has touched the lives of millions of Jews in Israel and in such faraway places as the former Soviet Union, Ethiopia, Ukraine, India and Arab lands, and provided life-giving aid to Israel’s victims of war and terror.
In 2003, Rabbi Eckstein founded the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews of Canada, a sister organization to The Fellowship.
and Jerusalem. It is supervised by an independent board of directors – people of both Jewish and Christian faiths – including Jeffrey Royer of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, chairman; Edward Lasky of Northbrook, Ill., treasurer; Barbara Manuel of Orleans, Mass., secretary; and Barbara Walker of Carol Stream, Ill., J.R. Dupell of Tampa, Fla., Steven Hefter of Highland Park, Ill., Andrew Lappin of Glencoe, Ill., Melvin Myland of Phoenix, Shirley Myland of Phoenix, Suzanne Peyser of Bethesda, Md., Nathan Shapiro of Chicago, and Joseph Wein of Chicago, directors.
It is led by Rabbi Eckstein, its founder and president and one of the world's leading experts on Christian-Jewish relations. In May 2010, Israel’s Minister of Welfare and Social Services Isaac Herzog presented Rabbi Eckstein with the government of Israel's first-ever Award for Special Contribution to the Welfare of the People of Israel. One month later, he was named to NEWSWEEK’s list of the 50 Most Influential Rabbis in America. In 2005, Eckstein, an author of six books, was appointed Goodwill Ambassador of the State of Israel, with special emphasis on Israel’s relationships with evangelical communities in Latin America.
As early as 2001 Rabbi Avraham Shapira
issued a ruling against accepting funds from the IFCJ.
In 2002 the Edah HaChareidis rabbinical court issued a ruling against accepting funds from the IFCJ and in 2007 the gavad rabbi Yitzchok Tuvia Weiss
added his signature.
At the end of 2009 leading religious rabbis and rabbinical courts, issued a ruling banning Jews from taking funds from the IFCJ citing worries of missionary activity and idol worship.
The signed rabbis and religious court are:
In response to the ruling the IFCJ threatened to 'out' orthodox organizations that accept its funds without publicizing that fact.
The success of The Fellowship has bred its detractors and resulted in some harsh criticism, and raised concerns as to whether Jewish people should accept IFCJ donations because they are contributed by evangelical Christians.
A July 24, 2005 New York Times magazine article by Zev Chafets notes: “Some of Eckstein’s fellow Orthodox rabbis would like to exile him for consorting with Christians” adding, “Even those who applaud Eckstein’s philanthropies are sometimes skeptical about what he calls his ‘ministry.’ For Jews, who are used to seeing themselves as victims of bigotry, the saga of Yechiel Eckstein raises uncomfortable questions about who loves – and who hates – whom.”
For decades, according to The Times article, Orthodox critics have accused Eckstein of being a closet Christian; in addition, The Jewish Observer, the house magazine of the ultra-Orthodox organization Agudath Israel of America, called Eckstein’s work “a curse.” The Times article also states, “Many of the Jews who once derided Eckstein for depending on the kindness of strangers now want to be his best friends.”
According to The Times article, Abraham Foxman, Anti-Defamation League national director, remains one of Eckstein’s most prominent critics, accusing the rabbi of “selling the dignity of the Jewish people” by pandering to Christians. Eckstein has no apologies for his support from Christians, insisting he does more than fund-raising. “It’s a ministry,” he told The Times.
“I’m a non-evangelical defender of evangelicals,” Eckstein is quoted as saying. “Jews have such a cynical, negative view of these people. There are all sorts of crazy conspiracy theories out there about how evangelicals only support Israel to bring on Armageddon or because they want to convert Jews to Christianity. That’s just not true.”
A Feb. 24, 2009 article by John W. Kennedy in Christianity Today notes, “Good works have permitted Eckstein to reach detente with leaders of Jewish organizations who now realize that even though they have theological differences with evangelicals, the two groups share many values.”
The Christianity Today article quotes Rabbi A. James Rudin, senior interreligious advisor for the American Jewish Community, as saying, “Rabbi Eckstein is well-respected within the American Jewish mainstream. Until he came along, evangelicals and Jews were like ships passing in the night.”
1984 Dr. Pat Robertson and Dr. Jerry Falwell join Rabbi Eckstein at the First Day of Christian and Jewish Solidarity with Israel.
1985 6,000 Ethiopian Jews are airlifted to Israel in Operation Moses, prompting The Fellowship to help fund resettlement programs for new Ethiopian immigrants.
1986 Seminar tour to Israel kicks off major effort to increase tourism to Israel and help the Israeli economy by marketing Israeli products.
1987 Rabbi Eckstein makes regular TV and radio appearances to discuss Israel, Jews, Judaism, and Jewish-Christian relations.
1988 “Ask the Rabbi,” The Fellowship’s nationally syndicated radio program, begins airing predominantly on Christian stations.
1989 Rabbi Eckstein addresses 2,500 Christians at nationwide Feast of Tabernacles event in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
1990 The Fellowship launches the On Wings of Eagles program to bring Soviet Jews to Israel following the collapse of the USSR.
1991 The Holyland Fellowship becomes the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews.
1992 The first group of Russian Jews is airlifted to Israel through The Fellowship’s On Wings of Eagles program.
1993 Through the Operation Exodus program, The Fellowship presents an additional $100,000 to bring Ethiopian Jews home to Israel.
1994 The 1,000th Russian Jew from The Fellowship’s On Wings of Eagles program arrives in Israel.
1995 The Fellowship opens The Center for Jewish and Christian Values in Washington, D.C.
1996 Operation Alert is launched to fight religious persecution around the world.
1997 The Fellowship creates the Isaiah 58 program to provide food, clothing, medical help, and lifesaving aid for orphans and elderly Jews in the former Soviet Union.
1998 $2 million is donated by evangelical Christians to rescue the Jews of Kwara, Ethiopia, and bring them to Israel through the On Wings of Eagles program.
2000 The Fellowship’s Jerusalem office opens, and the Guardians of Israel program is launched to help families suffering from poverty and terrorism in Jerusalem and throughout Israel.
2001 As the second uprising among Palestinian Arabs in protest of the continued Israeli occupation of the Gaza Strip and West Bank begins in Israel, the devastation wrought by suicide bombers motivates The Fellowship to establish the Israeli Victims of Terror Fund.
2002 The Fellowship initiates Stand for Israel to mobilize U.S. churches, Christian leadership, and individuals to express their solidarity with the Jewish state through prayer and advocacy. The first International Day of Prayer and Solidarity with Israel mobilizes millions of Christians to pray for Israel.
2003 Rabbi Eckstein founds the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews of Canada, a sister organization to The Fellowship.
2004 The Fellowship launches Operation Safe Bus to safeguard public buses that transport as many as 1.7 million Israelis each day.
2005 The Fellowship sponsors its first tour for Israel for Fellowship supporters.
2006 The Fellowship, through the Guardians of Israel program, is the first organization to deliver emergency food and supplies for people living in bomb shelters during the Second Lebanon War, while the On Wings of Eagles program helps 200 of the Bnei Menashe, descendants of the biblical tribe of Manasseh living in India, and 200 Iranian Jews make aliyah to Israel.
2007 The Fellowship’s Guardians of Israel program donates $10 million to help refurbish bomb shelters in northern Israel and the community of Sderot bordering Gaza.
2008 The Fellowship’s Guardians of Israel program renovates 32 public bomb shelters in Sderot, which for years has suffered daily rocket attacks.
2009 The Fellowship distributes more than $10.5 million to assist 27,785 Holocaust survivors in desperate need in Israel, the former Soviet Union, Latin America, and Europe.
Yechiel Eckstein
Yechiel Z. Eckstein is a rabbi and the founder and current president of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, which is headquartered in Chicago and Jerusalem.-Biography:...
in 1983 under its original name of the Holyland Fellowship of Christians and Jews, is a worldwide organization whose stated goal is "to promote understanding and cooperation between Jews
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
and Christians and to build broad support for the State of Israel and other shared concerns." IFCJ (also known as The Fellowship) has a vision that Jews and Christians will reverse their 2,000-year history of discord and replace it with a relationship marked by dialogue, respect and cooperation.
History
Prior to founding what eventually became the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, Rabbi Eckstein was national co-director of interreligious affairs for the Anti-Defamation League in Chicago. In that role, he broke new ground by forging partnerships with evangelical Christians. The Orthodox rabbi realized that despite many differences, Christians and Jews are united in their passion for many issues of common concern.Recognizing the potential of these strong interfaith relationships and inspired by a God-given vision of building bridges of understanding between Christians and Jews, Rabbi Eckstein established the Holyland Fellowship of Christians and Jews in 1983 to help Christians and Jews work together on projects promoting the safety and security of Jews in Israel and around the world.
The Holyland Fellowship of Christians and Jews was renamed the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews in 1991.
The Fellowship’s success has far exceeded expectations. Today, The Fellowship has hundreds of thousands of partners – Christians and Jews alike – working together to help Jews in need and Jews living under the threat of anti-Semitism on five continents and to build support for the State of Israel. The organization has raised three-quarters of a billion dollars for Jewish immigration and resettlement and social welfare programs in Israel, and for food, housing and social services for needy Jews in the former Soviet Union and other places of need.
In addition, The Fellowship has been recognized as a leader in Jewish-Christian relations, building bridges of goodwill that have led to greater understanding and cooperation between members of the two faiths. The Fellowship has helped hundreds of thousands of Jews escape poverty and anti-Semitism and return to their biblical homeland, funded humanitarian assistance that has touched the lives of millions of Jews in Israel and in such faraway places as the former Soviet Union, Ethiopia, Ukraine, India and Arab lands, and provided life-giving aid to Israel’s victims of war and terror.
In 2003, Rabbi Eckstein founded the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews of Canada, a sister organization to The Fellowship.
Organization Structure
The organization has headquarters in ChicagoChicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
and Jerusalem. It is supervised by an independent board of directors – people of both Jewish and Christian faiths – including Jeffrey Royer of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, chairman; Edward Lasky of Northbrook, Ill., treasurer; Barbara Manuel of Orleans, Mass., secretary; and Barbara Walker of Carol Stream, Ill., J.R. Dupell of Tampa, Fla., Steven Hefter of Highland Park, Ill., Andrew Lappin of Glencoe, Ill., Melvin Myland of Phoenix, Shirley Myland of Phoenix, Suzanne Peyser of Bethesda, Md., Nathan Shapiro of Chicago, and Joseph Wein of Chicago, directors.
It is led by Rabbi Eckstein, its founder and president and one of the world's leading experts on Christian-Jewish relations. In May 2010, Israel’s Minister of Welfare and Social Services Isaac Herzog presented Rabbi Eckstein with the government of Israel's first-ever Award for Special Contribution to the Welfare of the People of Israel. One month later, he was named to NEWSWEEK’s list of the 50 Most Influential Rabbis in America. In 2005, Eckstein, an author of six books, was appointed Goodwill Ambassador of the State of Israel, with special emphasis on Israel’s relationships with evangelical communities in Latin America.
Activities
The Fellowship’s outreach, based on Genesis 12:3, in which God covenants to bless those who bless Israel, focuses on four major programs:- On Wings of Eagles, which helps fulfill biblical prophecy by assisting Jews to make their aliyah (immigration) on freedom flights to Israel from the former Soviet Union, Ethiopia, Europe, Arab lands, and other countries around the world, and helps them with their klitah (resettlement) in their new homeland.
- Guardians of Israel, which helps provide life’s basic necessities to needy families, elderly and children in Israel by supporting hundreds of projects such as soup kitchens that feed thousands of Israel’s poorest people each day; and providing food, clothing and basic medical assistance to be distributed while addressing long-term needs like housing, family care, and jobs.
- Isaiah 58, which provides food packages, hot “meals-on-wheels,” medicine, in-home care, housing, heating fuel, clothing, and other basic essentials to more than 200,000 destitute elderly Soviet Jews, and gives Jewish orphans and vulnerable street children in the former Soviet Union the care they need to survive and prepare for a brighter future.
- Stand for Israel, which rallies churches, Christian leaders and others to advocate for Israel by praying for her and supporting her right to exist in peace and security.
Funding
Recognized by the IRS as a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization, The Fellowship is committed to financial accountability and fiscal transparency and voluntarily submits to a thorough examination by the Better Business Bureau’s Wise Giving Alliance. In 2004, The Fellowship was one of the first not-for-profits entitled to display the BBB Charity Seal, showing full compliance with their Standards for Charitable Accountability. These standards encourage fair and honest solicitation practices and promote ethical conduct by charitable organizations. To learn more about the BBB’s Wise Giving Alliance and standards for evaluation, visit www.give.org.Controversy
Due to the nature of the IFCJ it has always been viewed with a great deal of suspicion in the Jewish world, and whether it was allowed to accept their money.As early as 2001 Rabbi Avraham Shapira
Avraham Shapira
Avraham Elkanah Kahana Shapira was a prominent rabbi in the Religious Zionist world. Shapira had been the head of the Rabbinical court of Jerusalem, and both a member and the head of the Supreme Rabbinic Court. He served as the Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel from 1983 to 1993...
issued a ruling against accepting funds from the IFCJ.
In 2002 the Edah HaChareidis rabbinical court issued a ruling against accepting funds from the IFCJ and in 2007 the gavad rabbi Yitzchok Tuvia Weiss
Yitzchok Tuvia Weiss
Rabbi Yitzchok Tuvia Weiss is the Chief Rabbi or Gavad of Jerusalem for the Edah HaChareidis. He was appointed to this post in 2003, after having served as the av beis din of the Machzike Hadass community of Antwerp, Belgium. Rabbi Weiss is a British national.-External links:*...
added his signature.
At the end of 2009 leading religious rabbis and rabbinical courts, issued a ruling banning Jews from taking funds from the IFCJ citing worries of missionary activity and idol worship.
The signed rabbis and religious court are:
- Rabbi EliashivYosef Sholom EliashivYosef Shalom Elyashiv is a Haredi rabbi and posek who lives in Jerusalem, Israel.At the age of , Elyashiv is active and remains the paramount leader of both Israel and the Diaspora Lithuanian-Haredi community, and many Ashkenazi Jews regard him as the posek ha-dor, the contemporary leading...
- Edah HaChareidis (Rabbi Yitzchok Tuvia WeissYitzchok Tuvia WeissRabbi Yitzchok Tuvia Weiss is the Chief Rabbi or Gavad of Jerusalem for the Edah HaChareidis. He was appointed to this post in 2003, after having served as the av beis din of the Machzike Hadass community of Antwerp, Belgium. Rabbi Weiss is a British national.-External links:*...
) - Chief Rabbinate of IsraelChief Rabbinate of IsraelThe Chief Rabbinate of Israel is recognized by law as the supreme halakhic and spiritual authority for the Jewish people in Israel. The Chief Rabbinate Council assists the two chief rabbis, who alternate in its presidency. It has legal and administrative authority to organize religious...
- The ChabadChabadChabad or Chabad-Lubavitch is a major branch of Hasidic Judaism.Chabad may also refer to:*Chabad-Strashelye, a defunct branch of the Chabad school of Hasidic Judaism*Chabad-Kapust or Kapust, a defunct branch of the Chabad school of Hasidic Judaism...
Rabbincal Court - Rabbi Mordechai EliyahuMordechai EliyahuMordechai Tzemach Eliyahu ) was a prominent rabbi, posek and spiritual leader. He served as the Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Israel from 1983 to 1993.-Biography:...
- Rabbi Ovadia YosefOvadia YosefOvadia Yosef is the former Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Israel, a recognised Talmudic scholar and foremost halakhic authority.He currently serves as the spiritual leader of the Shas political party in the Israeli parliament...
- Rabbi Simcha HaCohen Kook
- Rabbi Dov LiorDov LiorDov Lior is an Israeli rabbi, who currently serves as the Chief Rabbi of Hebron and Kiryat Arba in the southern West Bank. He is also the rosh yeshiva Kiryat Arba Hesder Yeshiva, and also heads the "Council of Rabbis of Judea and Samaria".-Biography:...
- Rabbi Yaakov Shapira (Mercaz HaRavMercaz haRavMercaz HaRav , more properly, Mercaz HaRav Kook ), is a national-religious yeshiva in Jerusalem, Israel, founded in 1924 by Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook. It has become synonymous with his teachings....
) - Rabbi Zephaniah DroriZephaniah DroriRabbi Zephaniah Drori is the Chief Rabbi of Kiryat Shmona, Israel and the rosh yeshiva of the Kiryat Shmona Hesder Yeshiva. He is the head of the Aguda LeHitnadvut and Av Beit Din of the northern conversion beit din....
- Rabbi Shlomo AvinerShlomo AvinerRabbi Shlomo Chaim Ha-Cohain Aviner is the rosh yeshiva of the Ateret Yerushalayim yeshiva in Jerusalem and the rabbi of Bet El. He is considered one of the spiritual leaders of the Religious Zionist movement.-Background:Ha-Rav Shlomo Chaim Ha-Cohain Aviner was born in 5703 in German-occupied...
- Rabbi Shmuel AuerbachShmuel AuerbachShmuel Auerbach is a prominent Haredi rabbi in Jerusalem, Israel. He is regarded as one of the leading non-Hasidic Lithuanian poskim for Haredi Ashkenazi Jews living in Israel, whose views and declarations are regarded as authoritative...
- Rabbi Nissim KarelitzNissim KarelitzRabbi Nissim Karelitz is the chairman of the beis din tzedek of Bnei Brak.He is one of the most highly respected Orthodox rabbis in the world and one of the most important leaders of the Lithuanian Haredi world, together with Rabbi Yosef Sholom Eliashiv and Rabbi Shmuel Halevi Wosner.His beis din ...
- Rabbi Moshe Tendler
In response to the ruling the IFCJ threatened to 'out' orthodox organizations that accept its funds without publicizing that fact.
The success of The Fellowship has bred its detractors and resulted in some harsh criticism, and raised concerns as to whether Jewish people should accept IFCJ donations because they are contributed by evangelical Christians.
A July 24, 2005 New York Times magazine article by Zev Chafets notes: “Some of Eckstein’s fellow Orthodox rabbis would like to exile him for consorting with Christians” adding, “Even those who applaud Eckstein’s philanthropies are sometimes skeptical about what he calls his ‘ministry.’ For Jews, who are used to seeing themselves as victims of bigotry, the saga of Yechiel Eckstein raises uncomfortable questions about who loves – and who hates – whom.”
For decades, according to The Times article, Orthodox critics have accused Eckstein of being a closet Christian; in addition, The Jewish Observer, the house magazine of the ultra-Orthodox organization Agudath Israel of America, called Eckstein’s work “a curse.” The Times article also states, “Many of the Jews who once derided Eckstein for depending on the kindness of strangers now want to be his best friends.”
According to The Times article, Abraham Foxman, Anti-Defamation League national director, remains one of Eckstein’s most prominent critics, accusing the rabbi of “selling the dignity of the Jewish people” by pandering to Christians. Eckstein has no apologies for his support from Christians, insisting he does more than fund-raising. “It’s a ministry,” he told The Times.
“I’m a non-evangelical defender of evangelicals,” Eckstein is quoted as saying. “Jews have such a cynical, negative view of these people. There are all sorts of crazy conspiracy theories out there about how evangelicals only support Israel to bring on Armageddon or because they want to convert Jews to Christianity. That’s just not true.”
A Feb. 24, 2009 article by John W. Kennedy in Christianity Today notes, “Good works have permitted Eckstein to reach detente with leaders of Jewish organizations who now realize that even though they have theological differences with evangelicals, the two groups share many values.”
The Christianity Today article quotes Rabbi A. James Rudin, senior interreligious advisor for the American Jewish Community, as saying, “Rabbi Eckstein is well-respected within the American Jewish mainstream. Until he came along, evangelicals and Jews were like ships passing in the night.”
Key Events in IFCJ History
1983 Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein founds the Holyland Fellowship of Christians and Jews.1984 Dr. Pat Robertson and Dr. Jerry Falwell join Rabbi Eckstein at the First Day of Christian and Jewish Solidarity with Israel.
1985 6,000 Ethiopian Jews are airlifted to Israel in Operation Moses, prompting The Fellowship to help fund resettlement programs for new Ethiopian immigrants.
1986 Seminar tour to Israel kicks off major effort to increase tourism to Israel and help the Israeli economy by marketing Israeli products.
1987 Rabbi Eckstein makes regular TV and radio appearances to discuss Israel, Jews, Judaism, and Jewish-Christian relations.
1988 “Ask the Rabbi,” The Fellowship’s nationally syndicated radio program, begins airing predominantly on Christian stations.
1989 Rabbi Eckstein addresses 2,500 Christians at nationwide Feast of Tabernacles event in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
1990 The Fellowship launches the On Wings of Eagles program to bring Soviet Jews to Israel following the collapse of the USSR.
1991 The Holyland Fellowship becomes the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews.
1992 The first group of Russian Jews is airlifted to Israel through The Fellowship’s On Wings of Eagles program.
1993 Through the Operation Exodus program, The Fellowship presents an additional $100,000 to bring Ethiopian Jews home to Israel.
1994 The 1,000th Russian Jew from The Fellowship’s On Wings of Eagles program arrives in Israel.
1995 The Fellowship opens The Center for Jewish and Christian Values in Washington, D.C.
1996 Operation Alert is launched to fight religious persecution around the world.
1997 The Fellowship creates the Isaiah 58 program to provide food, clothing, medical help, and lifesaving aid for orphans and elderly Jews in the former Soviet Union.
1998 $2 million is donated by evangelical Christians to rescue the Jews of Kwara, Ethiopia, and bring them to Israel through the On Wings of Eagles program.
2000 The Fellowship’s Jerusalem office opens, and the Guardians of Israel program is launched to help families suffering from poverty and terrorism in Jerusalem and throughout Israel.
2001 As the second uprising among Palestinian Arabs in protest of the continued Israeli occupation of the Gaza Strip and West Bank begins in Israel, the devastation wrought by suicide bombers motivates The Fellowship to establish the Israeli Victims of Terror Fund.
2002 The Fellowship initiates Stand for Israel to mobilize U.S. churches, Christian leadership, and individuals to express their solidarity with the Jewish state through prayer and advocacy. The first International Day of Prayer and Solidarity with Israel mobilizes millions of Christians to pray for Israel.
2003 Rabbi Eckstein founds the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews of Canada, a sister organization to The Fellowship.
2004 The Fellowship launches Operation Safe Bus to safeguard public buses that transport as many as 1.7 million Israelis each day.
2005 The Fellowship sponsors its first tour for Israel for Fellowship supporters.
2006 The Fellowship, through the Guardians of Israel program, is the first organization to deliver emergency food and supplies for people living in bomb shelters during the Second Lebanon War, while the On Wings of Eagles program helps 200 of the Bnei Menashe, descendants of the biblical tribe of Manasseh living in India, and 200 Iranian Jews make aliyah to Israel.
2007 The Fellowship’s Guardians of Israel program donates $10 million to help refurbish bomb shelters in northern Israel and the community of Sderot bordering Gaza.
2008 The Fellowship’s Guardians of Israel program renovates 32 public bomb shelters in Sderot, which for years has suffered daily rocket attacks.
2009 The Fellowship distributes more than $10.5 million to assist 27,785 Holocaust survivors in desperate need in Israel, the former Soviet Union, Latin America, and Europe.
See also
- International Council of Christians and JewsInternational Council of Christians and JewsThe International Council of Christians and Jews is an umbrella organization of 38 national groups in 32 countries world-wide engaged in the Christian-Jewish dialogue...
- Christian-Jewish reconciliationChristian-Jewish reconciliationReconciliation between Christianity and Judaism refers to the efforts that are being made to improve understanding of the Jewish people and of Judaism, to do away with Christian antisemitism and Jewish anti-Christian sentiment...
- ZionismZionismZionism is a Jewish political movement that, in its broadest sense, has supported the self-determination of the Jewish people in a sovereign Jewish national homeland. Since the establishment of the State of Israel, the Zionist movement continues primarily to advocate on behalf of the Jewish state...
- Christian ZionismChristian ZionismChristian Zionism is a belief among some Christians that the return of the Jews to the Holy Land, and the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, is in accordance with Biblical prophecy. It overlaps with, but is distinct from, the nineteenth century movement for the Restoration of the Jews...