June 2006
Knesset Christian Allies Caucus
Miya Keren Dr. Yuri Shtern, Member of Knesset
Chairman, Knesset Christian Allies Caucus
Forty Pro-Israel Christian
Students of the Robert Stearns' Annual Israel
Experience College Scholarship Program to Join Meeting
The Knesset Christian Allies Caucus (KCAC)
will hold its monthly meeting on Wednesday,
June 14, 2006, from 5:00-6:30 PM,
in the
Knesset Lecture Hall.established in 2004 during the sixteenth Knesset,
is continuing to promote this new relationship between
Christians and Jews in the current seventeenth Knesset.
Its members currently include:
Chairman
and founder MK Yuri Shtern, MK Ran Cohen, MK
Amira Dotan, MK Effie Eitam, MK Arieh Eldad, MK Benyamin Elon, MK Gilad Erdan, MK Elhanan
Glazer, MK Orit Noked, MK Gideon Sa'ar and MK Natan Sharansky.
For over
two years, this body has succeeded in opening formal
and direct lines of communication between the representatives of the Jewish people and
Christian leaders around the world.
Media Contact:
Miya Keren
Administrative Assistant, Knesset Christian Allies Caucus
Telephone: 054-697-4172
Email: yshtern1@knesset.gov.il
Knesset Members created the "Christian Allies Caucus" on January 5th 2004 in recognition of the importance to Israel’s security of the international pro-Israel Christian community. The caucus is the first of its kind in Knesset history. Its purpose is to streamline communications and coordinate activities between the Knesset and Israel’s Christian allies. The caucus is also intended to increase awareness, both in Israel and the international community, of Israel’s appreciation for the many and varied contributions that its Christian supporters have made to the well being of the people of Israel in their day-to-day lives.
News of the creation of the caucus was made simultaneously to the American Christian community during a live broadcast from Jerusalem of the "Janet Parshall’s America" radio program.
Dr. Yuri Shtern, Chairman of the National Union Party, and Yair Peretz, Chairman of the orthodox Shas Party, will co-chair the caucus.
The caucus MKs will reflect the current make-up of the Knesset so that the views of all of Israel’s citizens will be represented in the caucus’ deliberations. "Israel has no better friend in the world than the United States, and that is in no small part due to our Christian friends in America, and we hope to see the same happen in Europe and elsewhere. Our shared values and beliefs, based on our common Judeo-Christian heritage, are the source of the strong ties between us, and in the post 9/11 world, our long-standing relationship has become more important than ever before," said Chairman Shtern.Representatives of the three major Christian Zionist Organizations—Bridges for Peace, Christian Friends of Israel (CFI), and the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (ICEJ)—
with operations offices here in Israel will attend the caucus’ inaugural meeting to discuss areas of cooperation with the caucus MKs. Upon hearing the news, Malcolm Hedding, Executive Director of ICEJ, said, "We welcome this initiative as an opportunity to further support Israel by making known to Knesset Members the vital work that Christian Zionists do for and on behalf of the State of Israel."(Press Release, January 5, 2004)
Editor’s Note: Since our initial "off the record" meetings with Knesset Members Shtern and Peretz, we have been pleased to see the deepening relationships between the
Christian Zionist groups and the Knesset.Dear Friends,
Below please find the most updated press release from the
Knesset Christian Allies Caucus.
All the Best,
THE KNESSET CHRISTIAN ALLIES CAUCUSKnesset Christian Allies Caucus
The Knesset Christian Allies Caucus Explores Judeo-Christian Medical Ethics
Forty Pro-Israel Christian Students of the Robert Stearns’ Third Annual Israel Experience College Scholarship Program Attend Meeting
Wednesday, June 14, 2006 -
The Knesset Christian Allies Caucus (KCAC) held its monthly meeting today on Wednesday, June 14, 2006, from 5:00-6:30 PM, in the Knesset Lecture Hall.
In its monthly meeting, the KCAC discussed Judeo-Christian medical ethics and opened a dialogue between Jews and Christians in order to learn more about the tenets of their faith. Speaking on this topic was MK Rabbi Benyamin Elon; MK Elhanan Glazer; Robert Berman, the founder and director of the Halachic Organ Donor Society and Judith Nusbaum, a recent recipient of a kidney transplant. "Saving lives and organ donation can unite us. I extend my hand to any faith," said Mr. Berman, urging all at the meeting to become organ donors regardless of religion." Malcolm Hedding, Executive Director of the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem, speaking on the subject of Judeo-Christian medical ethics, said, "Jews and Christians can certainly converge and make a difference in the world and this is after all why the Knesset Christian Allies Caucus exists."
The Knesset Christian Allies Caucus also hosted the third annual Israel Experience College Scholarship Program established by Robert Stearns’ Eagles’ Wings. These student activists from the United States took a VIP tour of the Knesset and joined MK Gilad Erdan and MK Amira Dotan to learn about the Knesset and Israel’s political system. Now that they have completed this program, these young men and women will return to their college campuses to advocate on behalf of Israel. "We would like to express our appreciation for taking time to invest in us. We will go back and be representatives of the dream that is Israel," said a representative of the Israel Experience Program
.Media Contact:
Miya Keren
Administrative Assistant, Knesset Christian Allies Caucus
Telephone: 054-697-4172
Email: yshtern1@knesset.gov.ilPress Release from the Knesset Christian Allies Caucus
yshtern1 yshtern1@KNESSET.GOV.IL
Monday, June 19, 2006
Knesset Christian Allies Caucus
Jerusalem
Monday, June 19, 2006
My Dear Friends,
I have been diagnosed with cancer, and will be undergoing a course of treatment over the next three months.
I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for your prayers for my recovery. I am grateful to you for keeping me in your hearts.
The many hundreds of warm wishes that I have received thus far give me confidence that my prayers, supported by yours, will be answered, and that I will win this battle and recover.
I believe that our common effort toward building a strong alliance between the Jewish State and the Christian world is a historic enterprise, and I fully intend to resume my active role in this effort in the near future.
Sincerely,
Dr. Yuri Shtern, Member of Knesset
Chairman, Knesset Christian Allies Caucus
The Knesset Christian Allies Caucus
To Discuss Judeo-Christian Medical Ethics
Mon, 12 Jun 2006