For centuries, Jewish-Christian relations were strained at best and nonexistent at times. Throughout history, many atrocities such as the Spanish Inquisition, the Crusades and the Holocaust were perpetrated against the Jewish people in the name of Christianity. The pendulum began to swing, though, and Christians began making efforts to reconcile with the Jewish people, and those relations have grown tremendously since Israel returned to statehood in 1948.

Often, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has stated that Israel has no better friends than Christians. He has made tremendous efforts to build bridges and leverage the support of 600 million Christians from around the world. Christians have become the “truth tellers” about Israel in very public forums such as the UN and elsewhere, and Israel has been grateful to have another voice speaking on their behalf.

Now, thanks to the radical wing of the Israeli government, a serious crisis seems to be taking shape. Israel’s Interior Minister, Rabbi Moshe Arbel, an ultra-Orthodox MK, has stopped issuing clergy visas to organizations such as the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem, a solid Christian organization working faithfully to advance the relationship and interests of Jews and Christians worldwide. Staffed by believers from all over the world, without visas, ICEJ will be prohibited from staffing the embassy to handle all the projects they do to build support in the Christian community for Israel.

“The situation we face at the moment with the Ministry of Interior is unprecedented. It has made us unable to operate effectively in our mission to stand and support the State of Israel. In particular our television and media department is affected by the new visa policy which is even more difficult to understand. This is the main arm of the Christian Embassy for ‘hasbara’ [a Hebrew expression meaning public relations], telling good news about Israel and fighting anti-Semitism.

“So, we are clueless and disappointed in this new change of policy in the Ministry of Interior and, of course, we hope this will be reversed to the previous mode of operation as soon as possible.”

~Dr Juergen Buehler to All Israel News

It is unclear whether the decision is a permanent one or not, and whether it is legal under Israeli law. Legal experts are examining the situation on behalf of ICEJ, and legal action could ensue if the mandate is found to be legally flawed.

I am very familiar with ICEJ and personally know many of the staff who are (or will be) impacted by this potential turn of events. They are most assuredly not the only Christian Zionist organization effected by this ruling but are very likely to be the most impacted in terms of sheer number of visas.

Please pray for ICEJ. They have a long history of working closely with the Israeli government in support of Israel’s best interests and in garnering worldwide Christian support of Israel. This could strike a serious blow if the radicals in Israeli government get their way. Pray for God’s wisdom and intervention on ICEJ’s behalf.

Thank you for your prayers!