U.S. Evangelicals Coax Iranian Jews into Israel
American evangelical Zionists have helped entice dozens of Iranian Jews to move to Israel in recent months by offering cash incentives and warning of potential danger to Iran's Jewish community.
Every Iranian Jew who moves to Israel is promised $10,000, said Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein, director of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, according to The Associated Press. Immigrants also receive aid from the Israeli government upon arrival.
There are about 25,000 Jews in Iran – the largest Jewish community in the Middle East outside Israel.
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Jews in Iran are said to have some legal protection and do not consider themselves particularly in danger inside the overwhelmingly Muslim country. However, their homeland Israel and their present country Iran are notorious enemies. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has threatened to wipe Israel off the face of the earth.
Eckstein and his organization have successfully brought 82 Jews from Iran to Israel since the project began earlier this year, according to AP. He hopes to bring another 60 Jews by the end of the year.
The charity International Fellowship of Christians and Jews has sent millions of dollars from evangelical Christians to Israel each year. It is said to have thus far raised $1.4 million for the project, Eckstein said.
"At the end of the day, this (Israel) is the place for the Jewish people," said a 31-year-old widow with three children who participated in the project to AP. The widow, whose name was withheld to protect her remaining family in Iran, said she did not feel in danger in Iran but accepted the offer to move to Israel for her children's future.
The project's grant is communicated through word-of-mouth and Israel Radio's Farsi-language broadcast.
Some evangelicals believe the return of Jews to the Holy Land will fulfill the biblical prophecy and hasten Christ's Second Coming. Others support the project because they see Jewish immigration as a way to strengthen Israel against Arab threats.
Evangelicals are often described as Israel's best friend and have been a strong political ally, lobbying governments to support Israel in conflicts with her neighbors.
Christian Zionists have poured billions of dollars into Israel over the past 20 years. Annually, evangelical Christians make up one-third of American tourists that visit Israel – second only to American Jews, according to the country's Minister of Tourism.
