JERUSALEM (AP) — More than 1,400 evangelical Christians gathered this week in Jerusalem to show their support for Israel on the Jewish holiday of Sukkot, a joyous festival marking the fall harvest and commemorating the journey of the Jews in the Exodus.
They also found themselves celebrating the news of an agreement to pause fighting and free the hostages, just days after the second anniversary of the Hamas-led attack on Israel that triggered the war in Gaza.
“We’ve been praying for this, and we know God is in control,” said Litiana Trout of Fiji, wearing small Fijian and U.S. flags on her hat.
She joined hundreds of others on Thursday afternoon in a city park for a march, one of several events organized annually by the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem. The organization and other Christian Zionists around the world say they consider support for Israel a moral and theological obligation, particularly as the country finds itself increasingly isolated.
“It’s still prophetic and a moral debt to the Jewish people — and spiritual, too, because we owe our Messiah to them,” said ICEJ spokesperson David Parsons.
Around the world, several governments recently recognized a Palestinian state, and public opinion has surged against Israeli actions in Gaza, with pro-Palestinian protests held on Oct. 7, the anniversary of the attacks, in many cities.
“It hurts my heart that my government is ignorant of the Bible — that those who stand with Israel are blessed,” said Sara Maskiewicz, waving a flag of her native Canada, which recognized a Palestinian state last month.
“I love Israel and the Jewish people, and I want to let them know my government doesn’t speak for everybody in Canada,” she added.
Maskiewicz and more than a thousand others packed Jerusalem’s convention center on Wednesday night for another ICEJ event. The largest groups came from the United States and Finland, but there were representatives from more than five dozen countries ranging from Azerbaijan to Zimbabwe.
Support for Isra …