In recent years, the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkoth) has become a significant religious holiday for evangelical Christians who support Israel. They come to Jerusalem by the thousands from all over the world for a week of celebrations that include study sessions of the Bible and the New Testament. This year, the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem held a convention at an auditorium in Jerusalem attended by thousands of Christian Zionists.
It seems, however, that certain groups in Israel are deeply concerned by the growing phenomenon and even fighting it. According to those opposing it — for the most part, ultra-Orthodox and other religious Jews — it is actually Christian missionary activity aimed at encouraging Jews to convert to Christianity. Recently, in an unusual move, Israel's Chief Rabbis David Lau and Yitzhak Yosef issued an appeal against the convention, describing it as "a spiritual danger" "undermining the Jewish character" of Israel.
The Yad L'Achim organization, which its leaders say has been fighting Christian missionary activity for 50 years, is behind the struggle against the convention in Jerusalem. Yad L'Achim considers it a dangerous and even an illegal attempt to proselytize about Christianity in the Land of Israel. "For years we had a tacit understanding with the International Christian Embassy in Israel, whereby they steered clear of missionary activity, and over the years, they did keep their part of the deal," Rabbi Shmuel Lifschitz, who heads the organization, told Al-Monitor. "However, last Sukkoth, they hosted soldiers and young Jews and openly preached for conversion to Christianity. As far as we are concerned, it was crossing a red line."
Lifschitz said this year, his organization has appealed to Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon, as well as to various Israel Defense Forces (IDF) officers, asking them to make sure that no IDF soldiers attend the convention in case its agenda includes proselytizing. In view of the protest, the International Christian Embassy in Israel declared that it would not hold any preaching activities at the convention. The Christian Embassy did not respond to Al-Monitor's request for comment on the matter.
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