A Priest, a Rabbi, a Neuropsychologist and a Former State Senator: On a Mission to Israel

By Rabbi Asher Lopatin, Jewish Federation of Greater Ann Arbor

I have been to Israel countless times, but I was excited to lead a JCRC (Jewish Community Relations Committee) mission to Israel this past December with a group that was a little different for me. I was joined on this trip by small group of Christians of different denominations and diverse outlooks – political and otherwise. As a Jew, I was inspired to see how much Israel—the Jewish Homeland and the Jewish State—resonated with my Christian friends. Certainly the Jewish people have a special relationship with the Holy Land, but the Christian relationship with the land where Jesus walked and died (and, in the Christian tradition was resurrected) is deep and powerful. Adding further richness to our time together, our guide was a Muslim Palestinian Jerusalemite citizen of Israel.

Our trip involved seeing Israel’s most important Jewish sites, along with areas that hold deep significance for Christians. Climbing the Temple Mount was one such meaningful experience for all of us in different ways: For me as a Jew, I see the Temple Mount as the holiest place on earth, where the Temples of the ancient Jews stood. For my Christian friends, it was that, plus the place where Jesus overturned the tables of the merchants whom he felt were desecrating the holiness of the Temple Mount. For our Muslim guide, the Temple Mount is the place the Qur’an refers to as “al-Aksa” – the farthest place – from which Muhammad took his night journey to heaven. How wonderful it is that in 1967 Israel reunited a then-divided Jerusalem and took control of this important site following decades of Jordanian rule that barred Jews from entering. Now all religions and nationalities can roam the Temple Mount and draw from its unique spiritual powers.

Also while in Jerusalem, my Christian friends were welcomed to the Western Wall, which is officially a Jewish prayer space, but people of all religions are invited to pray there and feel its energy as the last remnant of the Holy Temple, where Jews have prayed since the Second Temple was destroyed by the Romans in 70 CE.

While Israel was vital, vigorous and bustling, at every juncture we saw the sadness and heartbreak of the 100 hostages still held by Hamas in Gaza. Whether in the beautiful, modern city of Tel Aviv at Hostage Square, or down south in Sderot and really everywhere else, the trauma of the October 7 massacre and rapes and hostage-taking was deep in the hearts of every Israeli.

Our guide, Ameer, was a volunteer for United Hatzalah, Israel’s volunteer-based emergency medical services organization. He shared with us his experiences going into towns in the Gaza Envelope on October 7 to save many innocent lives. His stories made it clear to our group just how deep the emotional wounds of that day and the last year still are to Jews and Muslims alike.

Other memorable moments of our trip included enjoying Israel’s finest sufganiyot during Chanukah and stopping by the refreshment station of the Shuva Brothers, where soldiers can stop for food and any other supplies to keep up their energy—and where my Christian fellow traveler Father Ed Fride was embraced with an enthusiastic hug by one of the three Jewish Israeli Shuva brothers. In fact everywhere we went, everyone – Jews and Arabs – were overjoyed to see us and to feel our support for all those dwelling in the Holy Land.

As I reflect on this trip, I’ve been thinking about the contrast at the core of Israel itself. There is so much joy and hope and life, and so much pain and sacrifice to establish and maintain a Jewish state:

Let us pray for the peace of Israel and for all those who live in the Middle East –Israeli, Arab and Palestinian, Christian, Muslim and Jewish.