NES AMMIM – Nes Gadol Haya Po – Western Galilee

I thought it appropriate today, December 25, 2024, the first night of Hanukkah, and also Christmas, to showcase a Christian community in Israel. Nes Ammim is a small town in the Western Galilee between Akko and Nahariya populated mostly by Christians who only come for a few years at a time.  It is named for the verse in Isaiah 11:10-  

והיה ביום ההוא שרש ישי אשר עמד לנס עמים אליו גוים ידרשו והיתה מנחתו כבוד:

It will come to pass on that day, the root of Jesse who stands as a banner for the nations will be called and they will have a proper place to rest:

Nes Ammim was established in 1964 by European Christians.  They wanted to show solidarity with the Jewish people after the horrors of the Holocaust.   

It was an interesting time in Europe.  The full impact of the Holocaust was felt by the second generation Europeans, especially the Germans.  Children of World War II felt that it was up to them to mend the sins of their fathers by fostering a different kind of relationship with the Jews and shrug off hundreds of years of blatant and passive anti-Semitism.  In the same spirit in Rome, the Catholic Church under Pope Paul VI in 1965 in the Nostra Aetate stated: “the Church, mindful of the patrimony she shares with the Jews and moved not by political reasons but by the Gospel’s spiritual love, decries hatred, persecutions, displays of anti-Semitism, directed against Jews at any time and by anyone.”  In the same document, the Catholic Church says that the crucifixion of Jesus can not be charged against all Jews then alive nor against the Jews of today.  

These European Christians believed that redemption could only come by mending their ways with Jews. One group decided that the best way to accomplish this was by participating in the hardship of building the Jewish state, Israel.  They succeeded in purchasing land in the Western Galilee, halfway between Akko and Nahariya.  Their idea was to build a community, participate in farming, and serve as an address for other Christians who wanted to come and work for a period of time.   Their logo was a fish transecting a stalk of wheat – the fish being the ancient symbol of Christianity and the wheat symbolizing their commitment to work the land. 

Most of the community hails from Germany, the Netherlands, and Switzerland and comes to volunteer for periods of time between 3 months and 3 years.  Initially, they grew avocados and flowers, and took advantage of their connection to the Netherlands to market their cut-flowers as an export crop.  

Besides working, the group developed a set of goals:

• To develop a Christian theology that is free from anti-Judaism and that advocates a non-missionary approach to Jews.
• To show practical solidarity to the Jewish people by living in a community in Israel.
• To learn about the origins of Christian faith by studying Jewish traditions.  A starting point is the shocking realization: the Nazi Holocaust directed against the Jews was facilitated by a centuries-long negative image of Jews and Judaism, promoted by numerous church leaders.

During the intifada, the community suffered from a lack of volunteers.  But instead of shuttering their doors they saw a chance to pivot in their focus. Besides their agricultural fields, they decided to apply their commitment to peace in the local sphere by creating programming and dialog for fostering positive Israeli-Arab relations. 

As a result of the October 7th war, the volunteers in Nes Ammim were all allowed to go home and the 60th anniversary celebrations were cancelled.  During the entire course of the war so far, Nes Ammim has had 44 alerts of missiles or attack drones.  Since March 2024, volunteers have again returned to Nes Ammim and full operation was restored in August 2024.  Their guest house is a relaxing spot for a vacation and to enjoy the nearby sites and hikes.  My family vacationed there a few years ago and it was wonderful!