Knesset members and Christian leaders talk of new embassy, shared partnerships

(JNS)—Knesset Christian Allies Caucus held an event in the Knesset’s Jerusalem Hall on Wednesday, celebrating both the U.S. and Guatemalan embassy moves from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Members of Israel’s parliament and Christian leaders gathered to talk about their commonalities, shared support and the future of the Jewish state.

The KCAC works to build direct lines of communication, cooperation and coordination, between the Knesset and Christian leaders around the world.

The Israeli branch of KCAC has 19 members of Knesset from seven political parties, with 38 Israel Allies Caucuses in governments around the world.

Josh Reinstein, director of KCAC, called the embassy move “the greatest thing to happen in Israel since 1967,” and noted “when people take their biblical faith and take it into political action, there is nothing we cannot accomplish.”

Alan Clemmons, a member of the South Carolina House of Representatives, praised the unity between Israeli members of Knesset, stating, “It is not lost on me that we have so many members from so many political parties. Unfortunately, in the United States, we were not able to get that unity. But within the Christian community, there is no division.”

He told JNS that the embassy move sharpens the relationship between Israel and the United States in what was already a very close relationship, and maintained that the theme of kept campaign promises, including leaving the Iran nuclear deal, will “have as much or more impact on Israel as the event that we are here to celebrate.”

Congressman Juan Manuel Diaz Duran, chairman of the Guatemalan Israel Allies Caucus, stated that “throughout history, Israel and Guatemala have been very good friends. And I don’t know any country that loves the State of Israel more than Guatemala. The love that Guatemala has for Israel has no conditions.”

He said, “All the Guatemalan people, we are very grateful that we are the ones that were able to see the light from Israel. Yesterday was the United States; today is Guatemala; tomorrow will Paraguay; and very soon, Honduras and others.”

MK Yehuda Glick (Likud) voiced his belief that the only rational explanation for the event is that “this is the hand of G-d,” and while “non-believers may say it is coincidence, you need a lot of faith to be an atheist.”

He hypothesized that “even West[ern] Europe will join,” and “we are going to celebrate much sooner than you expect the opening of the Iranian embassy in Israel!”

“America is great. Israel is greater. But G-d is greatest,” continued Glick.

MK Michael Oren (Kulanu) said, “Christian Allies is becoming redundant.”

He maintained, “The fact that [U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations] Nikki Haley stood up in that [U.N.] Security Council and would not let this world body gang up on Israel is a way of saying America is back, and America will not let its friends get beat up.”

MK Robert Ilatov (Yisrael Beiteinu), chairman of KCAC, stated that “3,000 years ago, we made this bold decision to move our capital to Jerusalem, and we have never changed that.” He thanked U.S. President Donald Trump and Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales, “who withstood all of the pressure from within his country and without to move the embassy to Jerusalem.”

MK Oded Ferer (Yisrael Beiteinu) thanked those around the world who helped make the embassy move occur, stating “we are in very special times.”

He voiced his hope that “next year we will celebrate the opening of many more embassies in Jerusalem.”

MK Anat Berko (Likud) told the audience, “We are not going to apologize as Jews for being alive and for living here. By denying our connection to Jerusalem is also denying Christianity.”

MK Mickey Levy (Yesh Atid), former deputy finance minister and Jerusalem commander during the Second Intifada, praised Israel for developing a world-class health-care system, technology sector and military in just 70 years since returning to the Land of Israel.

MK Merav Ben Ari (Kulanu) praised Guatemalans and welcomed other South American nations to follow in its footsteps, maintaining, “You are the great heroes of today. You did an amazing step to acknowledge Jerusalem as the eternal capital of Israel. To be the first state in Central and South America is amazing.”

Daniel Williams, executive director of the Israel Allies Foundation, which works with Congress and parliaments around the world to mobilize political support for Israel based on Judeo-Christian values, maintained, “I have never seen Israelis smile as much as they have the last couple of days.”

He urged the continuation of prayers for Jerusalem, saying “we are commanded to pray for the peace of Jerusalem. Prayer changes things. It changes the course of action, but it also changes us.”

Williams acknowledged being “overwhelmed at the weight of this moment. We are literally standing in a miracle. We are standing in the middle of thousands of prayers around the world for thousands of years that this will be established as the capital of the Jewish people.”

Michelle Bachmann, a former member of the U.S. House of Representatives for the state of Minnesota, said, “I cried during, before and after the ceremony to know that this was divine.”

She claimed, “This is the golden time for Israel, and for Jerusalem. Israel is in a position of strength globally,” and posited “we will see even more strength come out.”