In January of 2017, I was invited by the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York (JCRC-NY) to join seven other Brooklyn pastors of Caribbean heritage on a weeklong adventure to Israel to witness, first-hand, the holy sites discussed in Scripture. JCRC-NY, in partnership with Israel’s Ministry of Tourism, planned, funded and led the mission that ultimately inspired us to lead more than 200 of our congregants to Israel on a mega-mission so that they could have similar experiences themselves. With the help of JCRC-NY, that trip (referenced in Joshua Mitnick’s “Faith and Politics On MLK Day In The Holy Land,” Jan. 19) became a reality this past month.
We were delighted to have JCRC-NY’s director of intergroup relations Rabbi Bob Kaplan join us in Israel during the mission and were honored to have executive director Rabbi Michael Miller and director of Israel and international affairs Noam Gilboord send us off at JFK Airport to begin our journey.
We thank JCRC-NY and the Israel Ministry of Tourism for bringing us to Israel last year, for enabling us to bring our congregants to the Holy Land last month. Most importantly, we are grateful for JCRC-NY’s friendship and partnership for the past 15 years and into the future around issues of common concern in New York City.
Mt. Zion Church of God (7th Day)
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