One of the most active and accessible venues for interfaith events is the Friends of Zion Museum in Jerusalem, which has hosted events in which Jews, Christians, and Muslims have sat together, sung together, and appeared on stage together. FOZ, as it is popularly known, is also used by people of different faiths for their own events. There was at least one such occasion last week when Argentinian Ambassador Rabbi Axel Wahnish hosted a conference at FOZ under the title of “Interfaith – Coexistence: The cases of Argentina and Israel.”
The guest of honor was Nahuel Sotelo, Argentina’s secretary for worship and civilization, who said that his message to Israel was not to give up, and to continue to fight for the good because evil is on the other side. “In Argentina, you have an ally,” he declared.
Wahnish underscored the importance of diplomacy in leading the path to international unity.
Venezuelan-born journalist Nicole Mischel, who moderated the event, said that there was no better place than FOZ in which to hold it, because when Dr. Mike Evans established FOZ in 2015, it was to build a bridge between Christians, the State of Israel, and the Jewish people.
Indeed, the realization of that dream was obvious among those present, who included Guatemalan Ambassador Ava Atzum Arévalo de Moscoso; Bethlehem-based Father Marcelo Ariel, office manager of the Commissioners of the Holy Land; Sisters Ana Carrizo and Susana Ibarraran from the Latin Patriarchate in Bethlehem; and Shas MK Michael Malkieli, who is a former religious affairs minister.
Malkieli made the point that Jerusalem is the only city in the world that can boast of being the cradle of three monotheistic faiths.
FOZ CEO Daniel Voiczek noted that the absence of coexistence poses the greatest challenge in the 21st century.
German ambassador speaks at IDI conference on security and democracy
■ WITH THE possible exception of Wahnish and Ezra Cohen, the ambassador of Panama, who are both religiously observant Jews, it is doubtful that any head of a foreign mission in Israel is as well integrated into different spheres of Israeli society as is German Ambassador Steffen Seibert. Admittedly, he was more familiar with Israel than most of his colleagues from other countries, who, as Germany’s government spokesman, accompanied former chancellor Angela Merkel during her visits to Israel, but he appears to have gone that extra mile, setting foot in places where other ambassadors have been more circumspect. For instance, in 2023, he attended a Supreme Court hearing on proposed judicial reform. Israel’s officialdom was irate and lodged an official complaint in Berlin. But Seibert, who prior to working with Merkel was a journalist, said: “Something important is happening here for Israeli democracy, and I came to court because I wanted to see for myself.”
This week, he was not just a spectator, but also a speaker at the Israel Democracy Institute’s annual conference on security and democracy. This time, he commented on the judicial system and spoke about antisemitism.
“The way you organize the judicial system, the role that you give to the attorney-general – these are, in essence, domestic questions. What is not purely domestic is the question of whether the values of liberal democracy that unite us are in any way in danger. I’m not taking a side here, but I am defending Germany as a friend of Israel that has said for decades, we’re a friend of Israel not only for historical reasons, but also because Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East.
“Yes, some of the criticism of Israel is coming from [German] antisemites. There’s a horrible new wave of antisemitism that now dares to show its face. It’s poisonous, and we should be very clear about that. But it’s not all coming from antisemites. A lot is coming from people who say that this is not the conduct of war that I want from a state we are friends with or to be responsible for. I think it makes sense for the Israeli side to engage in a conversation with these types of people.”
In 2023, Seibert’s mere presence in court was regarded as interference by a foreign entity in Israel’s affairs.
If that’s the case, how should we perceive US President Donald Trump’s letter to President Isaac Herzog asking him to pardon Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is on trial on corruption charges? That’s another subject the IDI has debated.
Delegation of Christian lawmakers visit Israel
■ A DELEGATION of Christian lawmakers representing local, state, and federal offices, and hailing from Maine, Hawaii, Kansas, Indiana, Michigan, Texas, Arkansas, Arizona, and Tennessee, recently visited Israel to demonstrate their solidarity with the Land of the Bible. Their message was clear throughout their unwavering support on both sides of the armistice line.
For part of their tour, they were led by Yossi Dagan, the head of the Samaria Regional Council, who took them to key sites across the region, including Peduel’s “State’s Balcony,” perched on a ridge overlooking Israel’s narrow center, where the coastline from Haifa to south of Ashdod is visible in its entirety. “Stand here, and you’re only nine kilometers from the sea,” said Dagan, underscoring Israel’s razor-thin strategic depth and the significance of the Samarian hills.
Founded in 2020, the NACL, with members and supporters in 50 states, is the first national association of Christian lawmakers in US history. It is also the only national legislative organization with a standing committee dedicated to America-Israel relations. During their visit to Israel, the lawmakers toured Alon Moreh, Shiloh, and Har Bracha and engaged in meetings with Knesset members in Jerusalem. The highlight of their tour was Joseph’s Tomb, an experience many Israelis themselves have never had due to the intensive security required to enter Nablus (biblical Shechem). On the very day the group visited, IDF forces killed a terrorist wanted for the ramming deaths of two Israelis, after he refused to surrender.
“We appreciate the IDF for their escort and protection as we visited Joseph’s Tomb,” said NACL president Jason Rapert. “This highlighted the sad reality that the hatred of some keeps peaceful Jews and Christians from visiting important holy sites throughout Judea and Samaria, which is where over 80% of the stories we know in the Bible occurred.”
Rapert, who was accompanied by his daughter Olivia, has a personal as well as a religious connection to Israel. His German-born maternal grandmother was Jewish.
A Republican, Rapert recently completed a book, Save the Nation: The Crisis in America and How to Secure the Republic, which includes a chapter on Israel by Pastor John Hagee, who heads Christians United for Israel, and a foreword by US Ambassador Mike Huckabee. “As the Bible declares in Genesis 12, blessed are those who bless Israel,” Rapert said. “America must continue to bless Israel forevermore.”
The NACL delegation also reaffirmed its legislative stance, pushing joint resolutions in US state legislatures to prohibit the use of the term “West Bank” in official documents, replacing it with the biblical “Judea and Samaria.” Multiple NACL chapters have already drafted and lobbied for such bills.
This was not Rapert’s first visit to Samaria, which he declared to be “the undisputed location of Israel’s founding.”
“In America, we recognize Plymouth Rock. Every American would scoff at the idea that America should not have sovereignty over Plymouth Rock. Joshua’s altar is Israel’s Plymouth Rock... the region of Judea and Samaria is and forever shall be part of Israel.”
European and American opposition to Israeli sovereignty in the area, he argued, ignores the Bible and history, which “prove that Israel and the Jewish people are the rightful heirs and sovereigns of all these areas.”
Activist Vivian Silver to be honored in Beersheba Science Park
■ THE MEMORY of lifelong peace activist Vivian Silver, who was murdered by Hamas in her home at Kibbutz Be’eri in October 2023, will be honored in perpetuity in the Negev. The Arab Jewish Center for Empowerment, Equality and Cooperation, together with the Negev Institute for Strategies for Peace and Economic Cooperation, this week announced plans for the Vivian Silver Center for Shared Society, a new national hub for collaboration and innovation between Israel’s Jewish and Arab communities.
The center, which will be located in Beersheba’s Science Park near Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, will foster social entrepreneurs who are working on mutually beneficial social and economic initiatives. It has received a start-up donation of $1 million from the UJA Federation in New York. Contributions have also been received from the Meyerhoff Foundation and other philanthropic partners who are committed to sharing and enhancing Vivian Silver’s vision of a shared society. UJA Federation CEO Eric S. Goldstein emphasized the importance of advancing Vivian Silver’s goal of building bridges, fostering equality, and creating opportunities for partnership that will strengthen Israel’s social fabric.
Friction between Katz and Zamir
■ DESPITE THE friction between Defense Minister Israel Katz and Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir, who are not on speaking terms, it’s business as usual in the IDF, with the possible exception that Zamir acts in defiance of Katz. There was also friction between Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant when the latter was defense minister. But they continued to talk to each other and work together. A similar example was set in relations between Yitzhak Rabin and Shimon Peres, who were far from bosom buddies, but who took a professional and patriotic attitude when it came to working together for the benefit of the state.
Happily, a truce of sorts between Katz and Zamir was effected this week by Netanyahu.
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