More than 2,000 Christians from over 70 nations will arrive in Jerusalem in the coming days to participate in the 43rd annual Feast of Tabernacles celebration, sponsored by the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem.
The week-long festivities, from October 9-16, coinciding with the Jewish holiday of Sukkot, will constitute the largest Christian gathering and solidarity mission to the Jewish state of 2022.
According to the Central Bureau of Statistics, Christians made up 55 percent of the 4.5 million tourists to Israel in 2019—the year prior to the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic. Of these, 28% were evangelicals, who constituted 13% of all tourists to the country that year.
The ICEJ’s Feast will kick off for the first time ever on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, with two nights (Oct. 9-10) of worship concerts at the Capernaum National Park. The festival then moves to Jerusalem for five days of events, including the “Roll Call of the Nations” at the Jerusalem Pais Arena on Tuesday, and the popular Jerusalem March next Thursday afternoon.
The Feast will conclude with 1,000 Christian pilgrims visiting the western Negev for a special solidarity rally and tree-planting ceremony with Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael and leaders of Israeli communities along the Gaza border.