Blasting their shofars, waving their flags and joyfully singing Israeli songs, close to 400 local Hispanic Evangelical Christians and Jews gathered at a downtown L.A. church on November 29th to celebrate a bilingual Night To Honor Israel. The event held at the Hispanic “Igelsia Evangelica Latina” church was hosted by the “Christians United For Israel” (CUFI), a national pro-Israel non-profit group, for their first Southern California event to rally support for Israel among their Latino members. (And yes, L.A. area Iranian Jews were also in attendance at the event). “Without a doubt, this event will go down in history as one that lifted up Israel and the Jewish community for years and decades to come,” said Peter De Jesus, CUFI’s National Hispanic Outreach Coordinator.
In addition to CUFI leaders Randal Neal, Ricardo Escobedo and Erick Stackelbeck addressing the crowd, local Jewish community speakers included; Daniel Gold, the L.A. Jewish Federation’s V.P. for Education and Advocacy, Sinai Temple’s Rabbi David Wolpe and L.A.’s Israeli Consulate Deputy Chief of Mission, Eitan Weiss who praised CUFI members in attendance for their steadfast support for Israel. “Tonight is also special because it is the 71st anniversary of the UN General Assembly voting for a resolution to create the modern state of Israel,” said Weiss. “We know that a large part of our survival all of these years would not have been possible without the help of you in the Christian community and on behalf of the State of Israel I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your support”.
The majority of those attending were Christians who not only prayed for Israel but also vocally pledged support for L.A.’s Jewish community in the last month has encountered various anti-Semitic attacks. “It was essential for us as Christians to stand shoulder to shoulder with our Jewish brothers and sisters here in Los Angeles at a time now when they are facing an increase in anti-Semitic attacks and let them know they are not alone,” said Dumisani Washington, CUFI’s National Diversity Coordinator.
I have lived in Los Angeles for nearly my entire life and never have I witnessed such an outpouring of genuine love, support and friendship from the Latino Christian community in this city for Israel and the Jewish community as I did the night I attended this event. For many of us Jews who have witnessed anti-Semitism in various forms and from various different people, it is always a pleasant surprise to encounter non-Jews who genuinely stand with us and Israel. In a time when we have such few friends in the world, I am grateful for the members and leaders of CUFI for their friendship towards our Jewish community.
The following is my brief English language interview with CUFI’s Pastor De Jesus about why Latino Evangelical Christians stand with Israel…
The following is my Spanish language interview with CUFI’s Pastor De Jesus about why Latino Evangelical Christians stand with Israel…
Here are some short videos of the passionate celebration that evening…
Here are some snapshots of the event’s festivities….truly an amazing Night To Honor Israel!
