A Voice in the EU Wilderness

By Christine Darg

Jerusalem Channel

After the Jewish people were forced to wear yellow stars and were murdered on European soil during the Holocaust, they must never again be discriminated against with labelling of their goods and with Jew hatred disguised as anti-Zionism. 

The European Court of Justice ruled that countries should implement label regulations against products originating from Judea, Samaria, the Golan Heights and Jerusalem as being produced in “occupied” areas but the same is not being legislated against other nations that occupy disputed territories.

Are Bible-believing Christians to stay silent or be active in combatting the anti-God spirit of this age?

Recently on 7 June 2023 we celebrated Jerusalem Day in the Senate of the Parliament in Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic, with legislators and Christian leaders from the Israel Allies Caucus (IAC) network across Europe. The discriminatory nature of labelling regulations was denounced.

We also attended the European Policy Summit in the Senate, where the Prague Declaration* was released, denouncing anti-semitism and urging nations to move their embassies to Jerusalem. 

More than ten European countries were represented. Member of Knesset Sharren Haskel, co-chair of the Knesset Christian Allies Caucus, conveyed Israel’s appreciation for the efforts made by Christian pastors and political figures in the ongoing fight against antisemitism. MK Haskel’s surname is a form of the name of the prophet Ezekiel. Israeli names are never far from the Bible.

“After three years of not leaving Israel, I have come to Prague together with my infant twins because their future is at risk of suffering from ever-increasing antisemitism,” she said in a speech in the Czech Senate. “Our Christian allies are standing at the front lines of the boycott campaigns against Israel, serving as crucial voices of reason against these discriminatory policies.”

“Governments in Europe should firmly reject the EU labeling regulations for goods from the disputed areas. These rules are targeting areas belonging to the Jewish   State and are focused on products from Jews living there, this is an assault on Israel’s sovereignty and has an antisemitic character,” said Leo van Doesburg, Israel Allies Foundation (IAF) Europe Executive Director.

“This year’s commemoration of Jerusalem Day is particularly significant because of its direct link to the Israel Allies Foundation Europe European Policy Summit,” said Miloslav Janulik, the Chair of the Czech Republic Israel Allies Caucus. “It will articulate not only the strategic importance of our relations with Israel but also our stance towards its capital, Jerusalem. I believe that this year, when the State of Israel is celebrating its 75th anniversary, we will see the Czech House of Representatives adopt a resolution calling on the Czech government to move our embassy to Jerusalem.”

The Knesset Christian Allies Caucus (KCAC) serves as a sister-caucus to 52 parliamentary Israel Allies Caucuses around the world.  Each of the attending legislators at the Prague Summit serves as Chairmen or members of the parliamentary Israel Allies Caucus in their country and have a faith-based connection with Israel. Countries represented included the Czech Republic, Portugal, Hungary, the UK, Finland, Sweden, Bulgaria and Spain. 

A member of the Czech Senate blew the shofar in the Senate’s hall because many Parliamentarians in the Czech Republic believe they will soon be announcing their nation’s embassy move to Jerusalem.

One of the Summit speakers, Lawfare Project Executive Director Brooke Goldstein, noted that antisemitism and Jew-hatred is the greatest issue of our time and it’s a civil rights issue.

Of all the world’s regions to bring the faith-based message, Europe is one of the most difficult to penetrate, yet the God of Israel is still doing wonders. At the Summit, The Hague Initiative for International Cooperation) Director Andrew Tucker commented that Europe has never gotten over the Holocaust but has moved on to create a Babylon atmosphere. He said faith-based evangelists and diplomats are like Daniels in Babylon.

I thank God for this important event envisioned by IAF President Josh Reinstein based upon our Jewish-Christian faith in fulfillment of Biblical prophecies and promises. In his speeches Josh drove home the point so well that anti-Zionism is anti-semitism. There is no difference.

*Here are some of the points contained in the Prague Declaration:

We, the undersigned Christians from Israel Allies Caucuses throughout Europe, gathered together on 7 June 2023 in Prague at the Israel Allies Foundation European Policy Summit. In commemoration of Jerusalem Day, we adopted the following resolution. . . .

–Jerusalem is the indivisible capital of Israel as referenced in Israel’s “Basic Law, Jerusalem as the Capital of Israel,” adopted in 1980.

–We recognize the historical and cultural significance of Jerusalem as the Jewish people’s capital city and the fact that Jerusalem has only ever been the capital of the Jewish people. . . .

–Each sovereign nation, under international law, may designate its own capital. Therefore we denounce discrimination against Israel and its appointed capital city, which is the only country in the world denied the right to freely establish its capital. . . .

–We urge the parliaments of European countries to adopt resolutions calling on their respective governments to recognize the status of Jerusalem as the indivisible capital of Israel and to move their embassies to Jerusalem. . . .

According to IAF Europe Director Leo van Doesburg, besides the growing political collaboration between Jews and Christians, we are also seeing a growing involvement of Christian business people in Israel. As faith-based diplomacy grows stronger a round the world, so does spiritual cooperation and financial cooperation. There has never been more active support from Christians flowing toward Israel through tourism and investing in Israel as well as prayer for Israel. More and more Christian businesses want to take part in God’s blessings for Israel.