Despite the war, hope is the central theme at the Israel Congress in Schwäbisch Gmünd. The focus is also on concrete aid for Christians in the Gaza Strip.
If a "two-state solution" were to come about, it would only be a temporary construct. This view was expressed by Pastor Tobias Krämer on Sunday during the closing service of the Israel Congress in Schwäbisch Gmünd. "The Messiah will establish God's order, and that will look different."
In his sermon, the staff member of the organization "Christians on the Side of Israel" (CSI) addressed Jeremiah 29:11–14. He observed that the prophecy took a different turn the moment the Babylonian exile began. Doomsday predictions were followed by "promises of salvation on a scale beyond imagination": salvation for Israel will always be assured. God has not finished with Israel. "They shall be my people and I will be my God" is a formula for the end of history—even if Israel were to be destroyed again beforehand, which he hopes will not happen. "Then the Jews would need us like never before."
The congress, which ran from Thursday to Sunday, was titled "Land of the Future – Land of Hope." The organizers deliberately chose not to change the theme after the Hamas massacre of October 7th and the outbreak of war. Krämer concluded: "Of course Israel has a future. Because God brings his people to their goal."
The one new human being
A major topic at the congress held at the Schönblick Christian Guesthouse was the question of whether Messianic Jews and Gentile Christians have a shared future. Benjamin Berger, the leader of a Messianic Jewish congregation in Jerusalem, affirmed this, citing Ephesians 2:11ff. There, Paul writes that God, through Jesus, receives people from the Gentile community into the community of Israel.
“He has made them one.” The meeting place is the “new man”—Paul uses this term in his letter to the Ephesians, meaning a person who no longer pursues “worldly things.” The meeting place of this community of renewed people is the birthplace of the church, namely Jerusalem. “Jews talk about the Third Temple. But there is one temple that God wants to build, and that is the temple of living stones.”
Ariel Blumenthal is a theological teacher in a Messianic congregation in Jerusalem. He said there is a "we" in God. The one new man means that Jewish and non-Jewish believers share in the inheritance and have full citizenship rights (Ephesians 3:6).
In another Bible study, Jacob Thiessen addressed "The Restoration of Israel and Jerusalem by the Coming Redeemer in Isaiah." The rector of the STH Basel University of Theology spoke, among other things, about the promise of the world Redeemer who will restore Jerusalem (Isaiah 49:8, 19). This promise, he explained, initially refers to Jerusalem and Israel in a physical sense. According to Isaiah 19:24, Israel will be a blessing in the midst of the earth. "We already have God's wonderful promises. And we are eager to see how God will act," the New Testament scholar said.
"Land for peace is immoral"
Two keynote speeches addressed the widespread equation "land for peace." CSI political advisor Josias Terschüren described October 7th as "the prelude to the annihilation of the Jewish people." The goal, he argued, was to drive a wedge into Israeli society and between Israel and America. For, as in history, the prevailing superpower decides the fate of Israel and Jerusalem today.
During the Persian period, which began in the second half of the 6th century BC, Cyrus decreed in Susa, then the world capital, that the Jews could return from exile to Jerusalem. This has been forgotten, as has the 1922 Mandate of San Remo. According to the League of Nations, the Palestine Mandate was intended "for the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people." A partition of the territory was not foreseen; Jewish settlement was to be encouraged.
Theologian Johannes Gerloff considers "land for peace" to be just as immoral as the equation "money for love." Moreover, he argues that it has never worked—not even "when Czechoslovakia was given to Adolf Hitler." Israel has been shelled with rockets from all the territories it has withdrawn from. "The land belongs to the true, living God. He wants Israel to govern it."
"The land belongs to the Almighty."
In a panel discussion, Katja Tsafrir of the Jewish National Fund quoted the medieval biblical commentator Rashi: “The land belongs to the Almighty, and the Almighty has entrusted it to us.” Messianic Jewish jurist Calev Myers pointed out that of the 350 million Muslims in the Middle East, 1.2 million live in a democracy—namely, in Israel. Islamic scholar Carmen Shamsianpur, a member of the Israelnetz editorial team, noted that Israel waited for the “go-ahead” from the United Nations before its founding.
In a second panel discussion, community leader Berger described the "two-state solution" as an "illusion." Zechariah 9, he said, describes a one-state solution: "The Palestinians will serve the God of Israel." Munich pastor Ruth-Andrea Möller said that her personal hero in the story of Ruth was Naomi. She reflected the God of Israel for Ruth. This raises the question: "How do people see God in me?"
Jurek Schulz, the theological advisor of the Association for Messianic Witness to Israel (amzi), reminded those present that there had once been Christian monasteries in the Gaza Strip. With Islamization in the 7th century, a radical conversion occurred, and Byzantine Christianity was destroyed.
Hopeful economic forecast
Ansgar Niehoff of CSI Business discussed the question of Israel's economic future in light of the war. Despite the associated downturns, for example in tourism, forecasts offer cause for hope. Experts predict steady growth from 2025 to 2029. And the trade volume between Israel and the United Arab Emirates could increase from US$3 billion in 2023 to US$1 trillion in 2030.
More than 800 people who care deeply about Israel participated in the congress. The conference was also marked by shared prayer for the Jewish state and its neighbors. A dance group performed, among other pieces, the song "Hevenu Shalom Aleichem" (We bring peace to you all). There was also a celebration marking the beginning of Shabbat, hymns of praise to God sung in German, English, and Hebrew, and a concert by the Israeli band "Solu Israel.".
Susanne Wustl from the Philippus Service, which works for reconciliation in Israel, had a hopeful story to report. Arab Christians in Israel were providing food to their fellow believers in the Gaza Strip, Wustl explained. This involved approximately 800 Greek Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and Baptist Christians who had found shelter in the church buildings of the Orthodox and Catholic communities. Organizations had been found that purchased food in the Gaza Strip and distributed it to the Christians.
When 100 orphans were evacuated from the Gaza Strip to Bethlehem, the Arab Alliance Church in Jerusalem organized two summer camps for the traumatized boys and girls. "Twenty young volunteers introduced them to the love of Christ." Before the camp, the Palestinian children had reportedly been very negative about anything Christian. Afterward, they said they had never experienced so much love. The project continues.
The Israel Congress at Schönblick was organized by amzi, CSI, the Evangelical Service for Israel (edi), the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (ICEJ), and Israelnetz. The next conference is planned for 2026. (Israelnetz | Elisabeth Hausen)
