Aliyah Blog 76: Christian Zionist Museum (Friends of Zion)

Introduction

I’m getting behind on diary entries about museums, having visited one last week and two this week and still haven’t gotten to write about an event in the desert in the summer. Israel has the most museums per capita of any place in the world and if I had to guess, the most variety. Today, I intended to visit the Jerusalem Music museum … which I did. Music museums just aren’t my taste and I didn’t spend long there. That’s for another blog entry.

Having more time to spend usefully, I saw across the way, the “Friends of Zion” museum which was unexpectedly excellent. The museum is about Christians (and one Japanese guy) who helped the Jews since the time of modern Zionism … the museum is “interactive”. There’s no “stand and read” – there are rooms with a tour guide (only), with a consistent drama / serious / cathartic feeling which they do well. Museums usually don’t “move me”. This one didn’t either. I walked through it. However, I was moved in the non-literal and emotional sense which is too uncomfortable to talk about and is best hidden with corny jokes like that one.

Part I: Biblical stuff

The esthetic in the museum is a warm-ish watercolor-like palette with blur and large pixels / slower meaningful motion bringing on contemplation more than captivation. The first movie was somewhat reminiscent of what you’ll find in the Bible Museum in Washington, D.C. (highly recommended). While the D.C. museum was more directed to heroism in the Bible, here, it is more of background leading up to prophecies by Yechezkel [Eziekiel – the English translation is best used in a Weird Al song] regarding Jews returning to Israel.

Part 2: 1800s Christian Zionists

From this point onwards, I’d say I knew about 10 to 15% of the information I learned at the museum. That is … the museum was a significant source of new information by a lot – and it is presented in a captivating manner that holds your attention.

In this room they tell the stories of four Christian Zionists who believed in the return of Jews to Israel – groups switch between each story projected onto a statute with sound from above (from the ceiling – not the heavens).

Apologies for the lack of clarity on the picture to the right – it was dark and apparently my hand wasn’t so steady. Turns out Presidents George Bush (Senior and Junior) are descended from a theologian also by the name of George Bush.

I don’t want to give everything away though the museum clearly has an agenda … stating only the positive aspects of the people rather than a fuller story¹. Yes, it’s true that George Bush 1796 (should we call him Bush 0 since the others are Bush 1 and Bush 2?) supported Jews returning to Israel … he also thought they would then all convert to Christianity so there’s that. This was the view of the Christian Zionists up until very recently George Bush 2 apparently was unclear if Jews would go to Hell and asked the question sincerely … I can’t find the story now.

Then there’s the founder of the Red Cross, Henry Dunant … he believed in biblical prophecies … Jews returning to Israel. He also sent a highlighted Bible to Theodor Hertzl with all the ‘return to Israel’ prophecies because Hertzl wasn’t set on Israel. Sometimes it takes Christians to remind us what we believe.

Ironically, it took Magen Dovid Adom, Israel’s version of the “Red Cross” albeit Jewish, a long time to be accepted by the Red Cross that said only a cross and Muslim crescent would be accepted. <shrug>

Part 3: Touch the Wall

Above is a small picture of the wall … touch a person and find out more about them. Robinson found Hezekiah’s tunnel … I’m indebted to this man because what a hike that is.

Part 4: The Holocaust

This section was my favorite, in that it was the most impactful. There’s so much I didn’t know here even about people I’ve heard of such as Wallenberg, Sugihara (diplomats who disobeyed their countries to give as many Jews as possible visas and passports up to and including while on trains to concentration camps to save their lives).

The museum explains just how much those who helped save Jewish lives had to lose. Sometimes it was their careers. Sometimes it was their lives. Sometimes it was a Christian nurse who snuck hundreds of children out of the ghetto where 5,000 were dying daily. Sometimes it was an elderly man hiding Jews in his house and when caught told he could go free if he promised not to do it again. No deal. He died in a camp a few days later.

Part 5: Summary 3D Movie

Turns out you can photograph through 3D glasses and it’s not blurry.

The Gift Shop

First, museum gift shops in Israel generally aren’t so great. The ANU museum of the Jewish people has a good one – that’s the only good one that comes to mind. However, points for this gift shop … instead of, “buy our overpriced junk” they have “just give us money because the G_d said it’s a good idea”.

Please, Christians, bless me with your money too! I’m a Jew!

The ticket cost 44 shekels … they sold it to me for 33 though I didn’t ask for a discount. That comes out to a little under $10 on my credit card. Far cheaper than other museums which are usually about 60 shekels. Guess this one is subsidized probably from large Christian organizations.

Meeting Tim Eastwell, Christian Zionist

In some museums they have re-enacters. In this one, I met the real thing. Tim came up to talk to me … I was the only one in the group wearing a yarmulke, and while not a large group, I think there was only one other Jew with us. Maybe that’s why I got a discount? <shrug>

I love these conversations … Tim told me he built a Sukkah on Succos two years ago and right after he took down his Succah on October 6th, he heard about the massacres of October 7th. Shortly thereafter, Tim decided to dedicate himself to help the Jewish people and is now in Israel with his family for a stretch of time.

I quizzed Tim about his beliefs, e.g. “do you believe in a George Bush 0 style Zionism” or a “John Hagee style Zionism” (the latter is kind of like, “Jews are cool and I sincerely care about them and don’t think they’re burning in hell if they don’t covert”). Tim checked out as being in the Hagee style and I like his YouTube channel which is a lot of short videos showing things he’s seen in Israel each day. I’m getting ideas for where to visit next.

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1. When I taught American history, I had the class read a passage about the Texas Revolution and then had open-ended questions for them to debate. What they didn’t know is that there were two different versions … one was the “American mythology” version and the other was the “realist” version as I would like to call it. (Clearly, I’m biased) Eventually someone would realize they were in the bad place and ruin the illusion. The documents are available here for free use. ↩︎