As the political crisis in Israel continues, Seventh-day Adventists in the region are praying for peace, says Richard Elofer, president of the Adventist Church in Israel. In a special worship service in the Jerusalem Adventist Church on Saturday, October 14, Adventists gathered to ask God to “influence the hearts of both Yasser Arafat and Ehud Barak to stop the violence and to try and negotiate more,” says Elofer.
When asked whether the conflict is affecting relations between Jewish and Palestinian Adventist church members, Elofer says: “Of course the hearts of the Jewish members will be with their brothers and sisters, and the hearts of the Palestinian members will be with their brothers and sisters. But even so we have no difficulty, because we all believe in the one Jesus, we pray together, we have love for one another.”
On October 8 and 9, the Russian Jewish Adventist Church in Tel Aviv held a 24-hour prayer vigil that coincided with Yom Kippur-the Jewish Day of Atonement. From Sunday evening to Monday evening, says Elofer, the members prayed for peace in Israel.
Elofer makes it clear that the Adventist Church will continue to have “no political involvement in the conflict.” He also reports that none of the approximately 1,000 Adventist Church members in the region are located in the conflict zones. “At the moment we don’t have churches in Gaza or the West Bank, and there have been no problems at the churches in Jericho, Jerusalem, and Nazareth.”
The Israeli-Palestinian violence of the past two and a half weeks, which has left more than 100 people dead, has deep historical and cultural roots, says Elofer. “I hope this conflict will stop, but I don’t see any solution soon,” he adds. “There are so many interests involved, not only from people living in Israel but also outside Israel.”
Beginning September 28, the current spate of violence between Israel and Palestine was sparked by Palestinian riots over the visit of an Israeli politician to a Jerusalem shrine, holy to both Jews and Muslims. An emergency peace summit between Mideast leaders, brokered by United States President Bill Clinton, convened in Egypt on October 16.