Last Friday night, nearly 100 young leaders from Eagles’ Wings, the Christian Zionist ministry that has brought tens of thousands of Christians to Israel since the early 1990s, spent Shabbat as guests in the homes of more than two dozen families in Efrat, a thriving community in Judea and Samaria. It was the first time Israel365 has hosted an Eagles’ Wings delegation for a full Shabbat in Efrat, though the two organizations have partnered for years, including a joint webinar and a session at Israel365’s NRB conference.
The timing could not be more urgent. A Pew Research Center survey released this summer found that favorable views of Israel among young evangelicals have fallen sharply since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war — with only 32 percent of Americans aged 18 to 29 holding a favorable view of Israel, compared to a majority of Americans over 50. Israel365 believes the answer to that gap isn’t a media campaign. It’s a table.
The evening opened with Kabbalat Shabbat at Congregation Shirat David under Rabbi Shlomo Katz, known for its lively, musical Carlebach-style service. For most of the young visitors, all in leadership roles within Eagles’ Wings, it was their first time ever inside a synagogue. Women from the congregation sat beside their guests, and the men made a point of pulling the visiting group into the dancing that fills the sanctuary as Shabbat begins. By the end of the service, everyone in the room was on their feet.
After services, the group moved to the synagogue’s social hall for a short talk on the meaning of Shabbat before host families arrived to collect their guests. Each group of four was matched with a different Efrat family and walked together to homes across the community’s Zayit neighborhood, Shabbat Table Booklets and small gifts in hand to help them follow along at the table.
The conversations ran long, touching on the Bible, Israel, and shared values, and by most accounts, nobody wanted the evening to end.
Rabbi Leo Dee, who hosted a group with his family, said: “We found the guests tremendously inspiring and enthusiastic. They asked wonderful questions, which forced us to really think about why we do what we do and how we live our lives. That’s always a great thing for us as Jews to have to re-question, understand our own customs and behaviors.”
Host families echoed that reaction in the days after. “This Shabbat restored my faith that there are many good people in the world,” one wrote. “It was a lovely group of inspiring young people and we really enjoyed having the opportunity to host them,” said Sharon Laufer, another Efrat host. “Sharing a Shabbat meal with them was very special.”
The guests were just as moved. “This is just the beginning of a partnership where participants on Eagles’ Wings trips will get to have an authentic Shabbat in a way Eagles’ Wings has never been able to provide before,” said Emily Talento, an Eagles’ Wings participant. “Absolutely historic, absolutely life-changing.”
Weisz said the evening captured something he has seen again and again when Israel365 brings young Christians to Israel for the first time. “We love experiencing Israel through the eyes of young people who have not yet ever been to Israel,” he said. “But seeing how they experience Shabbat is just magical. Shabbat is the key ingredient that has held the Jewish people together over the centuries, and sharing that special time with our non-Jewish friends is empowering for the Jewish hosts and enlightening for the Christian guests, and is often the highlight of their trips to Israel.”
Much of what made the night work came down to who was hosting. Efrat is home to one of Israel’s largest concentrations of Anglo olim, people who moved to Israel from English speaking countries, and Israel365 sees that as no accident. Rabbi Elie Mischel, the organization’s Director of Education, has called Anglo olim “the bridge Israel needs to reach the next generation of evangelicals” — Jews who left careers and comfort behind to move to Israel, and who share the language, culture, and references of the American guests they hosted. It’s a resource Israel365 hopes to put to work across other Anglo communities in Israel in the months ahead.
By the time the buses pulled away close to midnight, hosts and guests alike were already asking when the next group could come, with several families requesting to be kept in mind for a future Shabbat and to stay in touch with their guests directly.
Moments like this one are exactly why Israel365 keeps bringing young Christian leaders to Israel. If you know a young leader who should experience Shabbat in Israel for themselves,
