International Christian gathering in Cape Town releases declaration on support for Israel

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Christian leaders attending the ICEJ/AFICC conference in Cape Town at the weekend listen to a personal video message from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Nethanyahu 
Israeli ambassador announces Israel – SA Water Week to tackle drought effects

On Sunday afternoon, May 22, in Cape Town, a historic declaration made by the representatives of Christians in 80 nations was released entitled “The Cape Town Declaration on Israel” affirming support for Israel.

1 000 Christians attended the event which was graced by the Ambassador to Israel, Arthur Lenk, Christian leaders from 40 countries, Jewish dignitaries and leaders from the South African Church.

Over the preceding week the foreign leaders took part in the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (ICEJ’s) annual worldwide leaders’ conference – in Africa for the first time – and on Sunday afternoon the Cape Town Declaration was released ahead of celebrations arranged by the Africa for Israel Christian Coalition (AFICC) at the AFM Friend of God Church in Goodwood.

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Apartheid falsehood
The impacting declaration stated that over recent decades, a falsehood masquerading as a truth was sent forth deliberately from Durban, a place that enhanced the power of the lie, that Israel is an apartheid state akin to the racist regime which once ruled South Africa. This emanated from the United Nations World Conference Against Racism held in Durban during 2001.

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Olga Meshoe, one of the conference speakers, left, and Jenny Stables, ICEJ representative from Zimbabwe.

“[The libel] has caused extensive harm worldwide in fostering racial hatred and anti-Semitism and spawning a misguided boycott movement against the state of Israel that is ungrounded in reality and wholly counterproductive to peace,” says the declaration

“As representatives of millions of Christians around the globe”, the declaration goes on to reaffirm, “that Zionism is the legitimate national liberation movement for the return of the Jewish people to their ancestral homeland and the modern-day restoration of Jewish sovereignty in the Land of Israel after 2 000 years of exile was and remains a consummate act of historic justice.”

Right to be restored to homeland
The declaration rejects replacement theology and similar Christian teachings which deny the enduring covenantal link and relationship between the land and people of Israel and their God. It states that Israel’s right and destiny to be restored as a nation back in their homeland has never been lost because of the rejection of Jesus by the Jewish people, nor has the Church replaced Israel as God’s sole redemptive agent in the world.

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“This false theology has done untold damage down through the centuries, and in the wake of the Holocaust it must not be allowed to inflict more harm on the Jewish people,” it says.

A personal address to the conference on video from Israel’s Prime Minister, Bibi Netanyahu was met with applause.

The conference, a national roadshow by the AFICC and the afternoon celebration had the theme “The line has been drawn in the sand and the moment for decision and action has arrived – Will you be your Brother’s Keeper?”

As both founder of AFICC and National Director of ICEJ SA, Luba Mayekiso responded to the Brother’s Keeper question with a resounding “yes”, and committed to brotherhood and fellowship between Christians and Jews, sharing mutual respect for the ties, commonalities and differences between them.

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Israeli Ambassador Arthur Lenk.

In response, Ambassador Lenk declared that Jewish people too, are the keepers of their brother Christians and in typical Jewish fashion, putting actions with words, he broke the news that Israelis in the SA Embassy had chosen to forgo their independence celebrations this year in order to stage Israel/SA Water Week — including three major water seminars ( http://israelsawater.co.za/pages/companies.asp ) to help alleviate the effects of the drought being suffered by South Africans.

Water technology
This benefit from the world champions in water technology will play out in job opportunities, agriculture and trade. Israel, a desert nation, is now water secure having become, by the grace of God, independent of rainfall, reservoirs and water from foreign nations through their technology, not least sea water desalination. Expert hydrologists from Israel and representatives of 15 of Israel’s finest water management companies will take part on June 6 in Johannesburg, June 8 in Cape Town and June 9 in Durban.

Noting the rise in interest of the study of Christian roots in the Hebrew scriptures around the world and in South Africa, Mayekiso concluded: “It is comforting to note that there is a rapidly growing theologically correct appreciation of the covenantal relationship between God and the nation of Israel concerning the Promised Land.”

A number of globally renowned speakers addressed the event including Dr Jurgen Buhler and Juha Ketola of the ICEJ in Jerusalem and Malcolm Hedding, former international director of the embassy. The event was overseen and MC’d by Errol Naidoo of Watchmen on the Wall and Jackie Georgeiou of Joy Magazine with dancers and singers of excellence making a significant afternoon of events.

Leaders represented Christians around the globe including from Fiji, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, India, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Nigeria, Cameroon, Ghana, Brazil, USA, Canada, Ireland, Denmark, Germany, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Italy, France, Estonia, Czech Republic and Russia –

2 Comments

  1. Look at history to see the future.

    YHWH did not spare Israel and Judah His wrath, when they implemented “human rights” (see the book of Judges: each did as seemed right in his own eyes) and religious freedom and -tolerance.

    South African Christians keep making excuses for allowing devil worship in the name of “freedom”, while YHWH’s First Commandment stated without question, that He does not want any other gods in His sight. Not merely don’t worship them – don’t have them in your country. But even that could go free, were it not that Hinduism, Buddhism and even even part of islam, has been pushed into the church and the gospel.

    You want to end the slaughter? You want to end the drought? Elijah had to kill every prophet of Baal before YHWH would listen to his prayer for rain. Israel had to go into ashes and sackloth before YHWH would listen to their cries againt their enemies who were killing them.

    And all the church calls for is “grace and mercy”. YHWH’s Grace was given when He sent His son to die in order to let those who choose to, have a way to get back to the Father and eternal life. Mercy is merited. His mercy goes for those who repent, recant and repair their sins, who show a marked change in their life.

    This goes even further: YHWH made an oath to both Abraham and Jacob, that whoever curses their seed shall He curse; and whoever blesses them shall He bless. Now our country is in league with the enemies of Israel. And don’t play the “it’s not the Jews, it’s the christians who belong to Him now” – card; He made a physical oath to the two fathers.

    Learn from history: EVERY TIME the USA made choices to work against Israel, they received a natural disaster; so much so, that their final choice against Israel, to spread islam over the earth in the form of “refugees”, is currently putting the “USA under siege from the inside. Likewise, SA chose to join with the enemies of Israel, WITH THE BLESSINGS OF CHURCH LEADERS: and currently, our “christians” are under siege by both muslim and communist from the inside, while the church and the rulers shout: “PEACE! WE HAVE PEACE! PROSPERITY! GOD WILL PROSPER YOU! WE HAVE PROSPERITY!”

    And YHWH has turned His back on South Africa and kept His rain, the local rainfall has decreased for at least three years in a row now, because the people choose what they want to hear – not what they have to hear. “Because you rejected the knowledge, I have rejected you,” said He to Israel and Judah; what makes you, South Africa, any better that He shall hear your cries when you have chosen to reject Him for human rights and religious freedom?

  2. Mercy is merited?? Oh my goodness… Do a study of the Hebrew word ‘hesed’ for starters…