Grapevine October 10, 2025: A change of mood

It wasn’t quite elation and won’t be until the hostages are home in Israel – but it was the closest thing to elation and hopefully the end of two years of shattered hopes and dreams.

There is widespread consensus throughout the country that no president of the US has done more for Israel than Trump.

Although the Israel Prize is intended for residents and citizens of Israel, provision has been made for special exceptions, for instance, conductor Zubin Mehta, who was awarded it in recognition of his efforts on behalf of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra.

Among immediate reactions was that of Eli Dukorski, the mayor of Kiryat Bialik, who announced on Thursday morning that the municipality intends to name the city’s new soccer stadium after Trump, in recognition of his significant contribution to the release of our hostages, including Matan Angrest, a resident of Kiryat Bialik.

The hostage families who have gathered in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem and have held demonstrations at least once a week will return to their homes. Those who have become public figures will, in most cases, fade back into relative anonymity.

Over the past two years, they have become extensions of each other’s families. It will be interesting to see whether the connections remain or whether they will be severed when they return to their former lifestyles.

Many have discovered admirable abilities and talents that they were previously unaware of. It would be a shame to let these abilities and talents go to waste because a common cause of people from so many disparate lifestyles and beliefs no longer exists.

■ PERVASIVE ANTISEMITISM around the globe may abate following the ceasefire, but whether it does or not, Jews worldwide should be aware that despite some of the violent antisemitic acts, harassment, and discrimination, Jews are not alone. Millions of Bible-believing Christians are praying for their welfare and are helping them physically, emotionally, and economically.

While tourism to Israel has been at a low ebb, more than 1,500 Evangelicals arrived for the annual Feast of Tabernacles hosted by the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (ICEJ), which has a total of 92 offices and is represented on every continent.

Some 600 of these Christians last Monday visited kibbutzim and massacre sites, and stood at the Gaza border, praying for the return of the hostages. They also held a solidarity meeting at Sapir College.

In addition to its activities mentioned above, the ICEJ is a great supporter of aliyah, and on Wednesday at a gala event at Teddy Hall in Jerusalem’s International Convention Center, presented the Jewish Agency with a check for $576,000 toward its new aliyah project of pairing incoming immigrants with Israelis in the same profession or from the same national or ethnic background.

Teddy Hall was filled to overflowing. In view of the war and restricted airline services, approximately a thousand pilgrims were anticipated, said ICEJ President Dr. Jürgen Bühler. But in the final analysis, more than 1,500 pilgrims arrived, and together with ICEJ staff, attendance was in excess of 2,000.

One of the most exciting and enthusiastically applauded annual events of the Feast of Tabernacles is the roll call of the nations, in which one representative of each country mounts the stage while carrying his or her national flag.

There were 71 countries represented, including some with which Israel does not have diplomatic relations or whose governments are sworn enemies of the Jewish state. Included in these categories were Iran, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Lebanon. The young woman from Iran positively beamed with pleasure as she received loud cheers, applause, and a standing ovation.

Herzog, who usually sends a videotaped address to such events, appeared in person to personally thank his many friends from around the world. The president told the attendees that they were gathered at a decisive moment in the region’s history and recalled that “When others left Israel, you came and said, like Abraham, ‘Hineini (I am here.)’”

Herzog praised the ICEJ for standing up against antisemitism and had warm words in particular for Bühler, whom he described as “an utter Christian Zionist.” Bühler, in his own address, sounded more ardently Zionist than any Jewish leader and said that two of his sons had served in the IDF – one of them in Gaza.

US Ambassador Mike Huckabee had been scheduled to be the keynote speaker, but due to the shutdown of the US government, he was directed by the State Department not to make any public appearances. Along with ambassadors and other diplomatic representatives of Guatemala, Paraguay, Honduras, Kosovo, Papua New Guinea, and Fiji, Huckabee was also supposed to receive a special ICEJ ambassadors award, given to the ambassadors of all seven countries that have established embassies in Jerusalem.

Standing in for Huckabee was David Parsons, the senior vice president and spokesman for the ICEJ, who was arguably the most suitable person to do so, as he had been actively involved in drafting the initial version of the bill, which eventually became the US Embassy Act of 1995.

Among the people who had pushed for the establishment of a Fijian embassy in Jerusalem was Fijian Deputy Prime Minister Viliame Gavoka, who attended the Feast of Tabernacles as a pilgrim, but, because of his status, was also invited to speak. His address was liberally punctuated with quotes from the scriptures that testified to Jerusalem being the capital of the Children of Israel, who evolved into the Jewish people.

Because of her naturally warm personality as well as her position, Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel is increasingly being invited to speak at diplomatic or quasi-diplomatic events, and the Feast of Tabernacles was no exception.

It was obvious that Haskel has a close relationship with the ICEJ. Every time she comes to an ICEJ gathering, it is more meaningful and more exciting, she said. Relating to the seven embassies in Jerusalem, Haskel commended the “moral courage” of their countries.”

■ IN RECENT weeks there were other Christian activities and examples of Christian solidarity with Israel. Several receptions were hosted by the Friends of Zion Heritage Center in recognition of what specific Christian groups and individuals have done for Israel.

One such reception honored Pastor Yang-Sung II, who led a delegation of almost 100 pilgrims to Israel to participate in the Zion Conference, which is one of his initiatives. He was presented with the FOZ Hineni award by FOZ CEO Daniel Voiczek.

Acknowledging that he has worked for many years on behalf of Israel, Pastor Yang pledged that he would continue to do so and that he would continue to strengthen the bond between Christians and Jews, which he said is so vital in these times.

■ LIFE IS ephemeral. Unless we have some terminal illness, none of us knows how much time we have been given to live, but we are commanded to rejoice in our festivals and, on Sukkot, to gather in the harvest, the widow, the orphan, the poor, and the stranger within our gates.

The gate on the Sukkah is of course temporary, as is the Sukkah itself, but it is a symbol of celebration. Bible interpreter Nadav Halpern says that Sukkot is a celebration of our journey to the Promised Land, just as Passover is a celebration of our exodus from Egypt and from slavery. Both are temporary chapters in a long history of which we should be permanently reminded.

Curiously, there is no festival to remind us of our ancestors’ entry into the Promised Land – possibly because we are destined to be here permanently despite periods of exile.

While fallen empires have not been rebuilt, the Jewish people have returned to their ancient homeland, and some, brought in groups by organizations such as the Jewish Agency or Nefesh B’Nefesh, who may be setting foot in Israel for the first time, actually bow down and kiss the ground.