Christians and Jews Unite in a Message of Truth
By Heidi Krizer Daroff
Hosting an event on Capitol Hill with a Christian priest is not the usual kind of program hosted by the Israel Forever Foundation, but when The Face of Israel offered us the opportunity to work with Father Gabriel Naddaf, head of The Greek Orthodox Church in Yafia (Northern Israel), we jumped at the chance.
We immediately reached out to partner with our friends at the Endowment for Middle East Truth (EMET) since Father Naddaf’s message encapsulates a very important truth about the plight of Christians going on right now throughout that tumultuous corner of the world.
During the Ottoman Empire the Christian population in Bethlehem was around sixty percent. By 1998 it dropped to forty percent, according to Father Naddaf, the percentage of Christians is now only two percent in the very town where Jesus was born. I found this information most astounding.
Father Naddaf spoke about the terrible persecution Christians endure at the hands of the Muslim majority throughout the Middle East. He made it patently clear that only one country in that entire region ensures religious freedom for all faiths and that place, interestingly enough, is the Jewish Homeland.
We were honored to have Congressman Lamborn (R-CO) and Congressman Stockman (R-TX), speak to our attendees. Both of these men are longtime supporters of Israel. In taking the time from their busy schedules to be with us they sent a very strong message of support to the people of Israel and the State of Israel.
Combining their voices with that of Father Naddaf resulted in a powerful mix of recognition of the role Israel plays in securing religious freedom and the determination of so many to stand with the Jewish nation in her quest for security, tolerance and peace.
It was truly a special evening with participants from a variety of backgrounds such as very religious Jews and devoted Christians to a diverse demographic who joined together with one goal: the sharing of the message of truth.
This program reflected the Israel we know and it was a privilege to host Father Naddaf and help spread his important message.
It is our hope that in holding events of this nature, we are strengthening the collective pride in Israel and that these kinds of events will garner greater support for Israel in a broad spectrum of religious, social and political arenas whenever and wherever the truth is told.
