Over 250 Christian students and alumni gathered in Washington, DC, for a weekend of training hosted by a Christian organization dedicated to equipping young Christians to support Israel and combat anti-Israel and antisemitic activity on university campuses. The conference aimed to prepare attendees for the upcoming academic year, where they anticipate facing significant challenges.
Students from various universities and colleges across the US and South Africa participated in sessions focused on Israel’s history and strategies for advocating for the Jewish state. They also engaged in a poignant prayer session with the families of hostages taken from Israel and held in Gaza, chanting “Bring them home” and singing Israel’s national anthem, “Hatikvah,” on the National Mall.
“This was a really important weekend of training and uplifting hundreds of passionate Christian students who want to advocate for Israel and stand with their fellow Jewish students on campuses, where they are expecting an extremely challenging upcoming semester,” said Rivka Kidron, co-founder of the organization and a former advisor to Israel’s prime minister. “The organization was created precisely for these moments, as an organization that will be a force-multiplier to help spread Israel’s case in the places where they are most challenged. They have been given the most important tools to meet these challenges and stand with Israel and the Jewish people.”
Students hear accounts of hostages' families
Attendees also had the opportunity to hear firsthand accounts from the families of Romi Gonen and Or Levy, who were kidnapped during the Nova Music Festival on October 7.
“Meeting with these passionate Christian students has been an extremely uplifting experience for us,” said Yarden Gonen, Romi’s sister. “We know that they have taken on our mission of ensuring that our loved ones are not forgotten and that they will share our stories with their families, friends, churches, communities, and on their campuses.”
The conference included a delegation of South African students, brought by South African Friends of Israel, who face particularly severe challenges on their campuses due to their government's hostile stance toward Israel. Danny Botn, CEO of South African Friends of Israel, expressed gratitude for the opportunity: “Our students are devoted Christians and see the importance of strengthening our bonds with Israel, especially at such challenging times in South Africa with our government taking a discriminatory stand against the Jewish state, which is not a true reflection of the average African.”
Since its inception in 2017, the organization, often referred to as the “Christian Birthright,” has brought over 11,000 Christian students from North America to Israel, aiming to strengthen their religious identity and build bridges with Israel and the Jewish people. Michael McAfee, president and founder of Inspire Experiences, highlighted the conference's impact: “Now better-prepared thanks to this conference, these students will go back to their campuses and create networks with other student bodies and organizations, especially Jewish and Zionist ones, to ensure that pro-Israel students are not caught unaware again, as many were last semester when many universities became no-go areas for them.”