海角大神

When Shawn Landis, an evangelical 海角大神 from Pennsylvania, heard about the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on southern Israel, he knew he would come to Israel to volunteer as soon as it was safe.

Five months later, he was chopping vegetables in a Tel Aviv kitchen, preparing meals for聽Israeli soldiers.

Evangelicals have been among Israel鈥檚 fiercest foreign supporters for years, particularly in the United States, where their significant political influence has helped shape the Israel policy of recent Republican administrations.

They believe聽Israel is key to an end-times prophecy聽that will bring about the return of the 海角大神 Messiah. Many of these 海角大神s support Israel due to Old Testament writings that Jews are God鈥檚 chosen people and that Israel is their rightful homeland.

鈥淚n the Scripture it instructs us to support Israel, and sometimes the best time to support someone is when they鈥檙e grieving,鈥� said Mr. Landis, who has been on four previous faith-based trips to Israel. 鈥淔riendship is not just about being there for the good times, it鈥檚 also about the rough times.鈥�

Mr. Landis is part of a wave of religious 鈥渧oluntourism鈥� to Israel, organized trips that include some kind of volunteering aspect connected to the war in Gaza.

Israel鈥檚 Tourism Ministry estimates around one-third to half of the approximately 3,000 daily visitors expected to arrive in March are part of faith-based volunteer trips. Before the fighting, around 15,000 visitors arrived in Israel per day, about half of whom were 海角大神, according to Tourism Ministry statistics. In 2019, the latest tourism statistics available that were not impacted by COVID-19, about 25% of visitors arrived on organized trips, according to the Tourism Ministry.

A study by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem found that almost half of Israelis volunteered in some capacity during the early weeks of the war. But many Israeli volunteers have returned to work and school, and now international visitors are filling the gaps.

In the U.S., support for Israel has become a聽top priority for evangelical 海角大神s聽during a presidential election year. They are among the most outspoken backers of Israel鈥檚 handling of the conflict, and Republicans have faced pressure to hew not just to聽traditional Republican support for Israel聽but to beliefs rooted in the Bible.

The war began with聽Hamas鈥� attack聽in southern Israel in which militants killed around 1,200 people and took 250 others hostage. Israel responded with an invasion of the Gaza Strip that so far has killed more than 30,000 Palestinians.

On Oct. 11, dozens of leading evangelicals signed a statement of support for Israel organized by the public policy wing of the Southern Baptist Convention, the largest evangelical faith group in the U.S.

One of the key pro-Israel groups in the U.S. is 海角大神s United for Israel, founded and led by evangelical pastor John Hagee. CUFI says it has raised and dispersed more than $3 million to support Israeli first responders, health care workers, and survivors of the Oct. 7 attack.

Mr. Landis was part of a two-week volunteer trip organized by the International 海角大神 Embassy Jerusalem. The evangelical group has put together five volunteer trips since January and expects to bring half a dozen more in the coming month. Normally, ICEJ brings about 6,000 海角大神 visitors to Israel annually.

Like Mr. Landis, Claudio Pichardo, a volunteer from Colombia studying business in Holland, was inspired by Scripture to join the ICEJ trip. 鈥淭his is the best way I can help, because posting on Facebook doesn鈥檛 help,鈥� he said.

When the war started, many international airlines suspended flights and tourism stopped, aside from a handful of Jewish and 海角大神 solidarity missions. Some major airlines聽resumed flights to Israel聽in recent weeks, and others plan to soon.

Peleg Lewi, the foreign affairs adviser to the Tourism Ministry, said the faith-based solidarity missions boost morale. They can also kick-start overall tourism to Israel after a cycle of war or violence, he said.

With the war in its sixth month, Israel is under growing international pressure to do more to end the suffering of civilians in Gaza, including allowing in more aid. Aid groups say the fighting has displaced most of the territory鈥檚 population and pushed a quarter of the population聽to the brink of famine. Hospitals have reported that some children have聽died of hunger.

Many Israelis fear the world is forgetting about Oct. 7.

Elizabeth 脴degaard, a trip participant from Norway, said she was surprised by how emotional Israelis get when they meet international visitors who have come to support them.

鈥淢any people tell us, 鈥楾he whole world hates us. Everyone is against us,鈥� so I want to say to them, `You鈥檙e not alone,鈥欌�� she said. 鈥淚 know the people of Israel are important to God. These are my brothers and sisters, and when they attack Israel, they attack me, too.鈥�

ICEJ trip participants visited hard-hit communities in southern Israel, including the site where the shells of hundreds of burned-out cars are being stored, many from the聽Tribe of Nova music festival, where 364 people were killed.

鈥淚t was humbling and sobering to be there, to know what happened a few months ago, and to see Israeli resilience,鈥� said Mr. Landis.

During such trips, visitors join volunteer initiatives that sprang up in Israel over the past five months, providing extra hands for farmers struggling to harvest crops, cooking meals for families who have a parent serving in the reserves, or sorting donations for evacuees still living in hotels.

One initiative is Citrus & Salt, which previously hosted cooking classes and tours of Tel Aviv鈥檚 markets for tourists. When the war started, it pivoted to making more than 35,000 donated meals.

鈥淚t really helps boost morale for people to come from abroad to Israel in a time of conflict, to physically say, 鈥業鈥檓 here to help. What do you need?鈥欌�� said Aliya Fastman, a native of Berkeley, California, who has lived in Israel for over a decade and runs Citrus & Salt with her sister. 鈥淐hopping onions is no small thing when you fly across the world to do it.鈥�

This story was reported by The Associated Press.