Historic anniversary flight to Israel: 25 years of ‘Bringing the Jews Home’
It is Tuesday, 14 September 2021, 4.30 PM. 130 Ukrainian Jews will from this moment on call Israel their new homeland: ninety teenagers and a number of families. They emigrated to the Promised Land thanks to the support of many Christians around the world. “Making Aliyah” is what this is called in Israel.
This moment marks the 25th anniversary of the Bring the Jews Home campaign. 25 years in which Christians for Israel has helped more than 150,000 Jews to make Aliyah.
In 1996, the biggest project in the history of Christians for Israel was launched: Bring the Jews Home. The goal was to bring 50,000 Jews from Ukraine to Israel within two years as a gift to the Jewish state, which celebrated its 50th anniversary in 1998. Nine million Dutch guilders were needed to achieve this goal. The campaign got off to a grand start in Utrecht at a big Christian fair, where then mayor of Jerusalem, Ehud Olmert, gave the go-ahead. In the Netherlands, there was a large-scale campaign to collect the money. The campaign is still ongoing, although the original goal has been reached a long time ago. Countries from around the world are involved in this Aliyah work and every week Jews return to the Promised Land through ‘Bring the Jews Home’.
Rev. Cornelis Kant, Executive Director of Christians for Israel International: āGod is bringing His people home, prophies are being fulfilled. We are grateful that we can be witnesses of this.ā
āI cannot begin to describe how I feel right now. I am so grateful that this was made possible with the help of Christians for Israel, and I am really looking forward to Israel.ā
– Ksushya Korotkova (13 years)
Koen Carlier has been coordinator of Christians for Israel in Ukraine from the beginning: “We have a dedicated team of twenty people in Ukraine who visit Jewish communities on a daily basis, comforting the people and helping where they can. We assist Jews who want to make Aliyah with the necessary documents, trips to the embassy and the airport. We support poor families and Holocaust survivors with food parcels and a special sponsorship program. But above all, we want to listen to them and stand by their side. It is because of the support of the many Christians around the world that we have been able to do this for 25 years now. And we are highly motivated to continue doing so!
Photos: Svetlana Soroka | Jewish Agency for Israel
