Interfaith Gathering Encourages and Strengthens Ties to Israel, Including Diplomatic Ones
The Jerusalem Prayer Breakfast initiative gathers policymakers, businesspeople and spiritual leaders from around the world to learn more about the holy land and how they can connect spiritually, diplomatically, and economically to Israel
In recent years, several countries have moved their embassies to Jerusalem, therefore recognizing it as the capital of Israel. This is the result of a long and complex diplomatic process, the outcome of various groups lobbying their respective governments.
Jerusalem Prayer Breakfast is one of those groups. Chaired by Israeli MK Robert Ilatov and Albert Veksler, head of JPBM Consulting, it is a movement that gathers annually to bring together government leaders and influential Christians from all over the globe. But its weight is felt beyond the circles of prayer.
According to Ilatov, many of the recurring attendees of the event go on to create an impact on their respective countries’ political arenas. They do so by promoting Israel to local authorities, which can be influential on certain diplomatic decisions concerning Israel. In many cases, he added, they “explain the position of Israel, the importance of Israel from the biblical point of view, from a historical point of view, from a political point of view.”
They explain the position of Israel, the importance of Israel from the biblical point of view, from a historical point of view, from a political point of view
One subject that has garnered significant attention, and can come up in the participants’ advocacy efforts, is the relocation of foreign embassies to Jerusalem.
“We are speaking about moving the embassies at all levels, and the pastors go to their members of Parliament, or members of Congress or the Senate, and explain to them the importance of recognizing Jerusalem as a Jewish city and the importance of Jerusalem for the state of Israel the Jewish people,” Ilatov said.
Currently, only four countries have full embassies in Jerusalem: The United States, Guatemala, Honduras, and Kosovo. No country from the European Union has moved its embassy to Jerusalem yet, but it is believed that either Hungary or Italy will be the first EU nation to do so.
Former Member of the Italian Senate Simone Pillon told The Media Line that Italian leaders have expressed their intention to move their embassy to Jerusalem. Among them is former Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini.
Pillon asserted that there is a strong faction in the Italian political arena pushing for the country to make the move. However, he acknowledged that this matter is highly sensitive in terms of diplomacy, which is why its progress has been relatively slow. On the other hand, he stressed that it is important to demonstrate what friendship between two nations looks like.
“There are lots of people, also on the right wing, who think that we have to be careful,” Pillon said. “And it is true, we must be careful; but it’s also important to give stronger signals of friendship to a friend, and I think this could be a good moment to do it.”
If Italy, an important country, a founder [of the EU] country, makes this decision, other countries will also follow. We can establish the embassy here and we can say that the capital of Israel is Jerusalem.
Pillon believes that Italy’s initiative could pave the way for further EU countries to likewise move their embassies to Jerusalem.
“If Italy, an important country, a founder [of the EU] country, makes this decision, other countries will also follow. We can establish the embassy here and we can say that the capital of Israel is Jerusalem,” he said.
With the assistance of the Jewish-Christian fellowship, the Faroe Islands, a small North Atlantic country, established an embassy in Israel in May 2022.
Steffan Klein Poulsen, member of parliament in the Faroe Islands, told The Media Line that one of the main goals for his party in the election 2019 was to open an embassy in Israel.
“We pushed for Jerusalem of course, that was where we wanted the embassy,” he said. However, he added that because there is currently no EU country with an embassy in Jerusalem, it was rather problematic. So the embassy opened in Tel Aviv instead.
But Klein Poulsen added that despite the location of the embassy, both countries are already reaping the fruits of their new diplomatic relationship.
“We can see a growth in our trade with Israel,” he said. “We have sold more fish than ever before to Israelis, and Israel is truly a front-runner when it comes to technology and medicine and so on, and we are already seeing some projects taking shape.”
For example, Klein Poulsen explained that the Faroe Islands imports almost all its vegetables, due to the weather conditions that make it hard to grow vegetables there. But in Israel, “they have the know-how to produce vegetables with smart containers and so on, which will probably work and be relatable in a few years on the cold islands in the North Atlantic,” he noted.
Promoting these kinds of initiatives is part of the aim of the Jerusalem Prayer Breakfast, according to Albert Veksler, CEO of the organization.
“Our task is to bring Jerusalem, a simple prayer for the peace of Jerusalem on a silver platter to the nations and say: Look, this is what God’s word says,” he said.
Israeli MK Tania Mazarsky also emphasized that the bond of the Jewish people to the land of Israel is linked to Christian beliefs, and that is one element that Jews and Christians have in common.
“The evangelicals believe that the fact that the state of Israel exists, and the people of Israel returned to their ancestors’ land, that we returned to our historic homeland is, in fact, the fulfillment of the prophecy,” she told The Media Line.
Likewise, former US Rep. Michele Bachmann, who also co-chairs the Jerusalem Prayer Breakfast, noted how the Jewish people’s role is important from the Christian point of view.
“[God] chose the Jewish people, the Jewish nation to be the keepers of the law, the keepers of the prophets, the keepers of the commandments, and to keep them and preserve them and to give them to the world,” she said.
The gathering to pray for Jerusalem not only included Jews and Christians; Muslims also took part in the event and spread messages of peace as well. Imad Al-Masri, an Ahmadi Muslim Imam, spoke to The Media Line about the importance of religion as a tool for unity and not conflict.
“I am from the Ahmadiyya Muslim community, it’s a community that believes in a message that is love for all, hatred for none. We believe that we should be open to working with everyone, we should be able to help each other, and we believe that religion cannot be spread with weapons or fighting or violence, rather we should use love and peace only,” he said.
The Jerusalem Prayer Breakfast also serves the purpose of educating the public on a series of topics. President and CEO of The Media Line Felice Friedson addressed the public on the importance of getting accurate information from the media in light of new developments in artificial intelligence. “There are elements of artificial intelligence that I think are phenomenal. … But in the realm of news, in the realm of universities, we’re in a lot of trouble, folks,” she said, inviting the audience to imagine how “bad actors” can misuse the high-tech tool to unfairly influence elections, undermining democracy.
