Knesset members and World Jewish Congress honor Christian leaders for supporting Israel

Together with the World Jewish Congress (WJC), the Christian Allies Caucus of the Knesset – Israel’s parliament – has honored two Christian leaders for providing support to Israel in difficult times. At the fifth annual Night to Honor Our Christian Allies at the Jerusalem’s Inbal Hotel, an award was given to Karel Van Oordt, 82, founder of the initiative Christians for Israel, an international organization based in the Netherlands whose only aim is to shore up support for Israel. Van Oordt (pictured on the right with WJC Secretary General Designate Daniel Diker and Harold Rhode, a former Pentagon analyst) was chosen because he was one of the first Christian leaders to reach out to Israel before it became a wider trend.

In Jerusalem, he also met separately with Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin, who expressed his "appreciation for all the work Christians for Israel has done in the past, is doing in the present, and will do in the future."  Karel van Oordt was accompanied by a delegation including the Dutch Chief Rabbi Benjamin Jacobs. One of the many projects which were initiated by Christians for Israel is the restoration of the windmill of Montefiore in Jerusalem as a symbol of unity between the Netherlands and Israel.

In conjunction with Israel’s Tourism Ministry, the caucus gave another award to Marisa Albert, executive director of the East Gate Foundation, who brought 1,300 Christians from Asia to Israel in 2010 and has been at the forefront of the Asian tourism market for many years.

The caucus is comprised of eighteen Knesset members from various political parties. Established in 2004 by the late Yuri Shtern, it aims to forge direct lines of communication between Israeli parliamentarians and Christian leaders, organizations and politicians around the world. In the seven years of its existence, the caucus has built up partnerships in 19 countries.