The recent opening of the first Seventh-day Adventist publishing house in Israel, "Chaim Veshalom," which is Hebrew for "Life and Peace," marked a milestone for the church, which has ministered in Israel for 107 years.
The recent opening of the first Seventh-day Adventist publishing house in Israel, “Chaim Veshalom,” which is Hebrew for “Life and Peace,” marked a milestone for the church, which has ministered in Israel for 107 years.
“For the first time, the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Israel has her own publishing house, which is going to publish books in Hebrew,” declared Pastor Richard Elofer, president of church in Israel. “The first title will be released soon.”
Present in the Holy Land since 1896, the Adventist Church has, in recent years, grown its ranks to about 2,000 people, many of them immigrants from Europe and the former Soviet Union. These people either were Adventists in their own country or joined the movement through outreach efforts in Israel.
The presence of the small, enthusiastic church has captured local attention: “Ha’aretz,” Israel’s oldest newspaper, sent a reporter and photographer to interview Adventists and view the five congregations in the country as well as the new publishing house. For a country that at times has been hostile to Christian witness and evangelism—more than one bill outlawing or restricting such efforts has been introduced in the Israeli Parliament, only to be eventually defeated—the media attention given Adventists was welcome and highly positive.
The article stressed the industry, honesty, temperate lifestyle and Sabbath-keeping of Adventist believers, with one Israeli employer, identified only as “Eli,” saying, “They’re very neat and well-groomed. They don’t smoke, they don’t drink. They are excellent, diligent workers and completely honest. I trust them with my eyes closed. I bring them to a work site and don’t have to come back to check on them. Their word is golden.”
According to Pastor Elofer, the Ha’aretz report appeared at a time when the largest segment of the Israeli population was likely to see the story: “The report was published in the Friday [Feb. 7, 2003] Hebrew edition of the newspaper. It is the best day because the edition of Friday is the most important with many magazines. Many Israelis don’t buy the edition of each day, but they buy the Friday edition.” The article also appears in the English Internet edition of the newspaper, and can be found at http://www.haaretz.com
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“Our church is growing and the needs for Hebrew literature is growing as well,” said Jose Luis Campos, publishing director for the world church, who was one of several international leaders to gather in Jerusalem for the inauguration.
The Seventh-day Adventist Church has some 60 publishing houses around the world. In 2001, those houses sold $98 million in literature, issued 409 different periodicals and was credited with 87,751 baptisms of new members worldwide, thanks to the work of 16,236 full- and part-time literature evangelists.
Along with the publishing house opening, a small group seminar was held in Jerusalem, Jan. 16 to 18, with participation of Dr. Bertil Wiklander, president of the church’s Trans-European region, of which Israel is a part. The meetings were held in facilities rented from the Hebrew Union College between the Advent House and the Old City of Jerusalem.
