A Report from Israel

Yesterday we arrived in Israel with a group of ACLJ lawyers to work on a variety of projects.  In two days, we will be joined by over 25 students from Regent University School of Law who will be studying international religious freedom and human rights as well as the history of Zionism in the land of Israel.  In fact, the courses will be taught at Hebrew University in Jerusalem and at the University of Haifa.  This is the inaugural year of this important program, and we will be joined by former Attorney General of the United States John Ashcroft at the University of Haifa.

We have a very full itinerary while were here.  This morning, several of us met with His Beatitude Theophilus, the Patriarch of the Greek Orthodox Church in Jerusalem.  We had the opportunity to work on a number of issues involving religious freedom in Israel and we updated Theophilus on our trip.

Weve been increasingly concerned about reports of acts of intimidation and even violence aimed at some within the Messianic community.  I will be meeting with members of the Messianic Jewish community and some of the lawyers in Jerusalem to get a firsthand report on the situation.  I will keep everyone posted as to what my investigation uncovers.

We are also following up with our witnesses who testified in front of the United Nations concerning Christian persecution in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank by Hamas.  Last week, there were reports of violence again at a Christian bookstore in the Gaza Strip.  We will be investigating that situation while are here in Israel.

I encourage you to listen to the radio broadcasts this week.  Starting today, we will be broadcasting updated reports from Israel to keep everyone posted as to the situation here.  As you may have heard, a number of U.S. Government officials are in Israel working through the peace process.  This is an exciting time to be in the Holy Land, and we expect to accomplish much during our visit. 

Tomorrow, we head to Tel Aviv for a series of meetings with the former Israeli Ambassador to the United States, Danny Ayalon.  From that meeting, I will be able to give a report on the current political situation here in Israel.  There is a considerable amount of tumult among the political leadership, and it will be good to get a firsthand report as to where the Israeli political situation will be going.  Please visit www.aclj.org for frequent updates.