06 October 2006
The International Christian Embassy Jerusalem, a federation of Evangelical churches founded in 1980, is to hold festivities in Israel to coincide with the Jewish holiday Sukkot, also called the "Feast of the Tabernacles". More than 4,000 Evangelical Christians from 80 countries are expected for a sunset dinner at the Dead Sea resort Ein Gedi and an evening event in Jerusalem to which around 2,500 Jewish Israelis will also be expected, the organizers said. Israel's prime minister Ehud Olmert and Tourism minister Isaac Herzog have also confirmed their presence at the joint celebrations. For Sukkot, Jews traditionally also invite non-Jews. In biblical times, Sukkot was the third feast that required a pilgrimage to Jerusalem to worship in the Temple. The annual meeting of Evangelical, Charismatic and other conservative Christian groups in Israel is already in its 27th year. Conservative Christians are regarded as a key factor for Israel's tourism industry. For the forthcoming meeting alone, 16,000 hotel reservations have been made, according to the organizers.
