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Israel Tourism Minister Aharonovitch and Russian Deputy Prime Minister Jukov join together to strengthen Russian Pilgrimage
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At a press conference in the Kremlin on February 1, President Putin replied that religion is one of the components that strengthen Russian statehood. The Rev. Archimandrite Tichon, Head of the Local Russian Mission expects close to 30,000 pilgrims this year with a mission of over 1,000 during the Easter celebrations.
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On April 6, prior to the celebration of the Holy Week and the Holy Fire, Incoming Minister of Tourism Isaac Aharonovitch greeted the distinguished delegation at the Russian Mission Church including Statesmen, local Church leaders and Foreign Church Leaders. The proclamations issued from this meeting is a milestone in the promotion of tourism to the Holy Land. Minister Aharonovitch called out to all Church Leaders to gather in the Holy Land and hold their conferences in Israel.
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Upon their return to Russia, the leaders sent letters of gratitude to Minister Aharonovitch and stressed continued cooperation for the future.
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On January 16-20, 2007 the first large delegation made pilgrimage and returned with deep experiences. Leading the group was Minister of Railroad Transportation and Chairman of St. Andrew, Vladimer Yokenin. Representatives of the Ministry of Tourism met with the delegation and pledged his full support and assistance for all pilgrimages. Odessa and South Ukraine Archbishop Yoan led a pilgrimage in mid February. |
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Nigerian Pilgrimage to Israel
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On Wednesday, 28 March 2007 the concluding ceremony of the 2006/2007 Winter Pilgrimages from Nigeria was held at the Huldah Steps alongside the Southern Wall Archeological Park in the Old City of Jerusalem. The event was organized by the local agent and under the auspices of the Ministry of Tourism and included the participation of the Embassy of Nigeria in Israel and Rev. Fr. Christopher Utov, the Chairman of the Conference of States Christian Welfare Boards, representatives of the Ministry of Interior.
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The Pilgrimage from Nigeria is conducted annually under the auspices and organization of the Federal Government of Nigeria through its Christian Pilgrims Technical Committee which organizes the schedule of groups and flights. The pilgrims come from the thirty six states within Nigeria. In each state a Pilgrimage committee organizes the groups and in most cases finances the trips. The pilgrims come from all the Christian denominations.
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The number of pilgrims coming to Israel has consistently grown over the last seven years and has reached 14,000 annually. |
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From the Final Communique of the Co-ordination of Episcopal Conferences in Support of the Church of the Holy Land.
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"We urge Catholics from all nations to follow in our steps, and those of millions of pilgrims, to visit the holy sites and the Christian communities of this land. We call upon them to 'come and see'." |
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On January 15th, 2007 The Coordination of Episcopal Conferences met in Nazareth marking its seventh trip to the Holy Land. In light of Minister Isaac Herzog's call to put Nazareth once again on the tourist map - local Church leaders made Nazareth their venue for the Conference. The Co-ordination represents Catholic Bishops' Conferences of Europe and North America. The complete communiqu? can be found at
http://www.catholic-ew.org.uk
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Senior Deputy Director Raphael Ben-Hur concluded with a description of the services the Christian Pilgrimage Desk offers and asked the delegates to make use of the Ministry of Tourism DVD of the visit of his Holiness, the late Pope John Paul II. He also asked the delegation to sign the proclamation that they received in their kits. At a separate ceremony last year, local Church leaders of all denominations signed the proclamation and vowed to promote Pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Proclamation |
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53RD MAKOYA PILGRIMAGE TO ISRAEL
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The Makoya is a Japanese Christian sect with strong ties to Judaism and the land of Israel. Members made their 53rd pilgrimage to Israel and prayed for the peace of Jerusalem and Israel. This year they came in February with a special message of strength and support on this 40th year for the reunification of Jerusalem. |
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Visitors' Testimonials: Read a few of the many we receive everyday.
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"We visited Bethlehem, Birthplace of Jesus and King David, and where Isaac's wife, Rachael died giving birth to Benjamin. We passed Rachael's Tomb and went to The Church of Nativity, Solomon's Pool in Judea, St Catherine's and the Shepherds Field, Jericho and many more interesting sights. It was an experience we will never forget for a long time." |
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”Israel is a peaceful country and the people are friendly. We had a fabulous time traveling to different places everyday and staying at different hotels, good food, accommodation was great and the sceneries were breathtaking." Click here for testimonials
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The Ministry of Tourism appreciates receiving copies of testimonials printed in local newspapers overseas.
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Please send us yours. |
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For Your Information: |
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From the Jerusalem Tourism Authority: |
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events and tour information at: http://tour.jerusalem.muni.il |
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Did you know that:
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Some of Israel’s Most Important Archaeological Sites are now World Heritage Sites Megido
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Gojerusalem.com: JERUSALEM TRAVEL, TOURISM AND CULTURE PORTAL
For information on upcoming events, sites and activities
http://gojerusalem.com
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Archbishop Andre Vingt-Trois of Paris arrived with a delegation of 600 |
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The head of the Paris archdiocese, Archbishop Andre Vingt-Trois, arrived in Israel in February, heading a large delegation of clergymen, theologians, pilgrimage tour operators and journalists. The delegation was hosted by Tourism Minister Isaac Herzog at the initiative of the Marketing Administration and the head of the Paris Israel Government Tourism Office. The French Embassy in Tel Aviv contributed to the program as well. |
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Upon landing at Ben-Gurion International Airport, Archbishop Vingt-Trois carried out the traditional ceremony of salt, wine and bread. "We are happy to be in the Holy Land. Jerusalem is the center of religions and it must unite all the religions in line with the vision of Jesus for unity, peace and tolerance," he said. |
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During his visit, the Archbishop, a close associate of the Pope, co-hosted an important dialogue at Tel Aviv University on Ethics and Security in the 21st Century alongside the Chief Israel Sephardic Rabbai Shlomo Amar. The Archbishop also signed a treaty at Yad Vashem vowing to commemorate the Holocaust and commit the Catholic Church to joint research on the Holocaust. At the same time, he declared a visit to Yad Vashem is mandatory for Catholic pilgrims to the Holy Land. During his 4-day visit he also visited historical Jewish and Christian sites including Bethlehem where he conducted a special mass. |
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For more information: http://www.catholicnews.com |
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THE UNIVERSAL EVANGELICAL CHURCH renews flights to Eilat:
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Bishop Edir Macedo, head of the Universal Evangelical Church with members in over 108 countries, broadcasting in over 46 television stations and other forms of media worldwide renewed the tradition of flying direct to Eilat from Brazil. In February, the group, 220 strong, came for 7 days including visits to Eilat, the Tabernacle at Timna Park, the Dead Sea, the Galilee, Tel Aviv and drove up to celebrate Jerusalem. Bishop Macedo has vowed to send each month a delegation on flights to Eilat.
In the above picture, the group is baptized at the Jordan River site.
A second group has already arrived from France. http://www.igrejauniversal.org.br
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ISRAELI AND PALESTINIAN TOURISM COLLABORATION |
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The Israel Ministry of Tourism has invited the Israeli and Palestinian travel trade to join the Tourism Coordination Forum. The Forum is made up of representatives of the private sectors in Israel and in the Palestinian Authority as well as the World Bank. Its aims are to develop and promote the Pilgrimage Route between Bethlehem and Jerusalem and Jericho. To facilitate procedures and ease technical obstacles, the Ministry of Tourism has approved the Palestinian request to allow for a limited amount of Bethlehem tour guides to guide in Israel. In addition, provisions have been made to allow for the smooth passage of the Palestinian private sector members between Jerusalem and Bethlehem. Already an educational training session for 40 Palestinian tour guides and tourism trade personnel is planned to the Dead Sea Region. |
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The Tourism Forum is working together to implement the Vatican Pilgrimage Marathon from Jerusalem to Bethlehem which will be held this year on April 26th. |
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Leading the Israeli delegation are Dan Hotel Chain VP of Marketing and Sales, Mr. Rafi Baeri and Mr. Janos Damon, General Director of the Israel Hotel Managers Association. Mr. George Abueta and Mr. Elias El-Arja are amongst the leading delegates from the Palestinian private sector. |
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PREPARING FOR THE KOREAN FGBMF TRAINING SESSION, 2007 |
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The FGBMF (Full Gospel Businessmen's Mission Federation) was founded by its Chairman, Rev. Yonggi Cho, Senior Pastor of Yoido Full Gospel Church in South Korea. The Federation consists of 50,000 domestic and international members organized according to profession and region into 62 divisions-branches.
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The Federation is planning to hold a Training Session in August 2007 for an anticipated 2,000 members. The organizing committee arrived in Israel to inspect and prepare for the visit in February. |
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SECOND CHRISTIAN LEADERSHIP EXPLORATORY TOUR TO MEGIDDO: |
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On February 22nd, The Ministry of Tourism hosted the second Christian Leadership Exploratory Tour of the archaeological site at the new Megiddo excavations within the prison grounds. |
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The tour included the new archeological site at the prison, lunch hosted by the Megiddo Regional Council at kibbutz Dalia and a discussion regarding the importance of the site for the Christian visitor and an assessment of the visitor potential to the site. |
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The prestigious delegation included heads of the Orthodox and Catholic Church: Archbishop Shirvanian, Rev. Archimandrit Jeronim Cretu, Fr. Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Bishop Giacinto-Boulos Marcuzzo, Fr. Piccirillo, Fr. John Solana, Fr. Rino Rossi and many more. In addition, Mayor of Megiddo Hanan Erez and the Ambassador of Italy and his wife were present.
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The remarks raised interesting viewpoints. Cultural Attache for the Nunciature, Fr. John Solana commented that Megiddo is the gate to the Galilee. Archeologist Fr. Piccirillo of Notre Dame Jerusalem commented that the entire area has biblical roots and should be part of the National Park. Director of the Domus Galilaea, Fr. Rino Rossi remarked that Pilgrims come to follow the biblical evidence or living stones of the Holy Land. Fr. Dr. Tomislav Vuk of the Church of Flagellation added that in Megiddo people were living together – Samaritans, Jews, pagan worshippers and Christians showing that coexistence is possible. Fr. Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Custos of the Holy Land remarked: "Knowledge of it will be of great help to the Christian world". Click here for testimonies
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'University of Israel and Theological Seminary' directors announced their unique program of online graduate study with a mandatory final semester in Israel. |
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Visiting the Ministry of Tourism, the directors met with the Ministry of Tourism staff to describe their program. The first group will arrive in September with 50 students; the second group in January, 2008 group will comprise 300 students. |
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The Tourism Services Department offered its basket of services and will assist with the organizational details. Tourism Services |
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