The Nation’s Ninth of Av hosted an awards ceremony on Wednesday evening at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem that brought together a community of Jews and Christians united by one goal; reconciling Israel with its Christian brethren in order to bring about the world when God is one and His name is one.
Steve Wearp, the CEO of Blessed Buy Israel and one of the organizers of the Nations Ninth of Av Banquet and Awards Celebration, was thankful for the many Christian organizations that helped support the event.
“The people who were gathered, Jews and Christians, have been working together for several years, but last night was a new beginning,” Wearp told Israel365 News. “As a Christian, the Lord put on my heart the message that this is precisely where He has wanted us all along, alongside our Jewish brothers, in order to serve Him. The Nations were always supposed to gather in Jerusalem.”
MK Gila Gamliel, the Minister of Intelligence, opened the event with an address. Yishai Fleisher, the international spokesperson for the Jewish community of Hebron, also spoke about his experiences connecting with Israel-loving Christians in the most unexpected places in the US.
Rabbi Leo Dee spoke about how despite the tragedy of his wife, Lucy, and two daughters, Maya and Rina, being murdered by Palestinian terrorists in April was similar to the first stirrings of the Messiah.
The event honored Rabbi Tuly Weisz, the head of Israel365, for his remarkable work in bridging ties between Israel-loving evangelicals and the State of Israel. Rabbi Weisz was unable to attend as he was in the US, pursuing his mission so Robbie Frohlinger received the award in his stead.
Also honored was Tommy Waller, the founder of Hayovel, an organization that brings Christian volunteers to work in the vineyards of Samaria in order to manifest Isaiah’s prophecy: Strangers shall stand and pasture your flocks, Aliens shall be your plowmen and vine-trimmers; Isaiah 61:5
Waller was visibly emotional as he described his family’s role in Hayovel.
“The event really had a feeling of family,” Waller told Israel365 News. “There were a lot of collective years in that room, with all of us working towards the same glorious goal; to see the house of prayer for all nations established in Jerusalem. The awards ceremony was a small taste of what that will be like.”
But Waller also felt the gathering evoked bittersweet feelings.
“For the past year in Samaria, it has been extremely difficult for me to hear about the continuing violence against Jews. There are over two billion Christians in the world today. Where are we? Why is it that we can’t rise up, listen to the Bible and prophecy, and answer the call to be Watchmen? As Christians, we need to bring positive prophecies and not just negative ones. We need to be true intercessors.”
This was the second gathering of its type, the first being a more modest gathering in 2019. Wearp categorized the ceremony as a powerful success and is already planning next year’s event.
“There is a change today, and the Lord is drawing us to Jerusalem, where we are seeing the Jews in a new light. Now we can see God clearer in this new light. We are all yearning for geula (redemption) and for the Kingdom of God. We are like dreamers, and that is the dream.”
Tisha B’Av, the ninth day of the Hebrew month Av, was observed last Wednesday evening as the day commemorating the destruction of both Jewish temples is observed as a day of fasting. The day is also identified with a long list of tragedies that befell the Jewish people, including the Biblical spies’ evil report about the land of Israel, the tragic Bar Kochba revolt against the Romans, and even the expulsion of Jews from England in 1290 and Spain in 1492.
The Nation’s Ninth of Av is a uniquely Christian initiative that began six years ago as an attempt to address the long history of difficult relations between Jews and Christians. To commemorate the day, a group of Christians came to Israel to gain an intimate knowledge of the modern manifestation of Biblical prophecy by touring the land, focusing on Judea and Samaria, where most of the Bible narrative is set. This culminated in reading Lamentations at a communal reading alongside Jews in Independence Park followed by a rally circling the walls of the Old City. The following morning, they ascended to the Temple Mount with Rabbi Yehudah Glick.
