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U.S. Christians pray, donate and visit to show support for Israel
By Daphna Berman

When a group of American evangelical Christians on a solidarity mission here last week decided to venture to the northern border, it wasn't easy getting an Israeli driver to agree to take them. The group hired a bus to take them to Metula, but when their tour guide reached Tiberias, he refused to go any further north.

The bus driver kept on, but he stopped at Rosh Pina; when sirens started screeching and the participants were forced into shelters, army officials warned them not to continue. But the group was determined and finally hired a reluctant minivan driver to take some of them directly into the line of fire.

With rockets exploding, an incessant barrage of gunfire, and smoke and ash "everywhere," they prayed, distributed miniature American flags to the Israel Defense Forces soldiers and showered them with words of encouragement and support. And then, when it became almost unbearable, the group agreed to turn back.

"If we stand by Israel, we need to stand by Israel even during war," Scott Allen, a retired U.S. Air Force lieutenant colonel and a member of the group who was at the border, said by way of explanation.

"We love Israel so much that we just had to be there. Christians are willing to go into harm's way to tell the troops that we are loving them and supporting them. People were amazed that we were Americans, that we were Christians and that we had come so far. But we were given peace from God in that dangerous situation and we were not scared," he said.

Allen, who hails from Atlanta, was one of 27 participants in the hastily organized solidarity mission led by Christian radio host Earl Cox. Cox awoke in the middle of the night feeling unsettled two weeks ago and felt that God had instructed him to visit Israel to show his support during wartime.

"We got busy immediately sending e-mails and press releases," Arlene Samuels, a media adviser for Cox's organization, Israel Always. "We had hundreds of people contacting us and within a week we got together a group of 27 people from Florida to Oregon. Some of the folks got passports within 24 hours. This was the stuff miracles are made of."

The group members, aged 17 to 84, didn't know each other before they boarded the plane to Tel Aviv. But they were united, they said, by a common sense of "passion, enthusiasm and urgency."

First Christian mission to arrive

Theirs was the first organized Christian solidarity group to arrive since the outbreak of the war, but others are slated to arrive in the coming weeks. And everywhere they went, participants said, they stopped people on buses, at falafel stands, or in their hotel lobby to let Israelis know that they have Christian friends who support them during the war.

"I don't normally talk to strangers, but when I see soldiers walking around, I just have to tell them how much I love them," said MaryAnn Beres, a participant from Oregon.

For Cox, a born-again Christian, this recent show of support is just one in a long line. Last year, he organized a prayer vigil in front of the Western Wall for eight hours a day during the course of an entire year. A few weeks ago, he visited again to conduct a prayer vigil at Sheba Medical Center for comatose former prime minister Ariel Sharon.

"I wanted to send the message out loud and clear to the enemies of Israel that we are going home and that we are bringing more people with us," said Cox, a native of South Carolina. "They may think that they can scare people away, but they should think again. They may scare some people, but not us. The more they come out against Israel, the more we will come here to show our support."

Cox's group is not alone. Pro-Israel Christian organizations say that their constituencies have been overwhelming in their support of Israel since the war began. American evangelical media star Pat Robertson is in Israel this week, filming segments of his widely popular television show, The 700 Club. The International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, which receives massive support from the U.S. evangelical community, has already pledged $9 million to help Israel's northern residents.

"I wouldn't say that it's been monolithic, but most evangelical Christians have been supporting Israel," said David Parsons, spokesperson for the International Christian Embassy in Jerusalem, a pro-Israel evangelical organization. "People are realizing that we need to help now more than ever."

'Big upswing' in donations

The embassy issued an appeal to its membership around the world and on Tuesday, sponsored a day trip for three bus loads of children from Kiryat Shmona, Carmiel and Nahariya to visit the Shefayim recreational water park near Herzliya. Its constituency has also been doing "double duty" in prayer vigils.

Murray Dixon, rector of Christ Church in Jerusalem's Old City, said that his congregation of expatriates and Christian pilgrims has been "very much supportive" of Israel's role in the current war. The church has opened up its guest house for Israelis who fled their homes in the North and they have provided accommodation for free, with just minimal charges for food. And many of the church's supporters have begun to subsidize these costs, through donations that have begun to stream in from around the world.

Rebecca Brimmer, president and CEO of the Jerusalem-based evangelical organization, Bridges for Peace, said their office has noticed a "big upswing" in contributions.

"Christians all over the world are glued to the television and there's a lot of praying going on," she said. "We are seeing firm evidence that the Christian world out there is standing firm in support of Israel."

For the participants in last week's mission, meanwhile, being here was just one more way to encourage the IDF, or "the armies of God," as one participant called it. "As a Christian who takes the word of God very seriously, I believe that God has the Jewish people at the center of his heart," said Dr. Brent Egan, a professor at the Medical University of South Carolina, who also traveled to the border amid rocket fire. "My friends and family were concerned, but they understood that this has extraordinarily high value. They know that I have done enough things that other people would think are crazy. But almost nothing would have caused us to back down because we are people of conviction."

"As Christians, there are two ways to start a friendship with Israel," Allen, the retired USAF officer, added, choking back tears. "You can ask Israel to be your friend, but the next step is actually proving that you are a friend."

U.S. Christians pray, donate and visit to show support for Israel (http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/749558.html)