L: Kendra and Kalem Walder
Photo: Eli Mandelbaum
Christians cross the Atlantic to help with the Israeli harvest
Turning hard work to wine, many Evangelical Christians are making the trip to Israel to help out with local field work and gain a connection to the land they, too, hold dear.
A group of Christians recently made a trip many of them have done before, arriving in Israel to pick grapes at local vineyards—sometimes for up to six months. They do this as a way to help local farmers, while they feel they are doing their share to bring about the land's redemption.
Every year, several hundred of Evangelical Americans arrive in Israel to help with the harvests and fruit picking, as times saving up to afford the trip.
Evangelicals harvest grapes at an Israeli vineyard (צילום ועריכה: אלי מנדלבאום)
"The Bible talks about the vineyards coming back to the land and the Jewish people living here in the land, and we say, 'Hey, let's go help 'em, let's be a part of it. So we come here and we connect," said Kalem Walder, who arrived with his wife Kendra and their children from Tennessee.
The Walders coming to pick grapes (Photo: Eli Mandelbaum)
When asked about the reactions he has been getting from friends and families in the US who hear about his coming to Israel for the harvest, Rodney John from Missouri hides a smile that seems to say he has had this conversation before. "Well, it's kinda interesting. They want to know why I spend money to come to Israel to work in the vineyards with nothing in return. But I explain to them the same thing I said before: about the land being restored, (which) means a lot to me and my family. I just have to explain to them that it's about the world coming to a place where Israel and Jerusalem are the center of the world. I believe in that."
Evangelicals believe in the power of being "born again" after accepting Christianity as a road to salvation, together with managing to convert others to Christianity. This last point has caused many rabbis to criticize their visits as missionary pilgrimages, going as far as refusing to accept any charitable donations from them. Other rabbis, however, have decided to show them hospitality and take them into their settlements during their time in Israel. This difference of perspectives between rabbis has devolved into a war of pasquil,s (wall posters in ultra-Orthodox neighborhoods that often containing polemic texts), with some admonishing the Evangelical visitors and while others defend them.
Walder and his friends, though, pay it no mind. He spoke of learning from rabbis about how Jews exist to share the good of the world with the rest of humanity. "We want to be a part of that," he said.
"It think the world is in a search for good, you know?" said Kalem. "And when I came here and saw the Land of Israel and saw the vineyards here and saw the phenomenal products that were coming out of here, but more importantly, (When I) saw the power of life that was coming from the Land of Israel, I said 'This is something I'd give my life for.'" He continued that "I've been bringing my family here every year, we come for six months a year and we bring thousands of people here to participate in something that we believe is ultimately going to change the world."
Among the different concerns surrounding the Evangelical volunteers was that since the women in the group dress so similarly to religious Zionist Jewish women, their presence in Israeli settlements might cause Jewish Israeli men to wish to pursue romantic relationships with them.
Admitting to certain external similarities, Kendra Walder said,"We believe in the Bible, and we believe in the Torah, and we also believe in what you would call the New Testament, and we believe in dressing modestly, so we look very similar in some ways. But there are differences, for sure."
Ya'akov Berg from Psagot Winery said that he is still stunned by the phenomenon of volunteer Christians who arrive at the vineyards to work for his company. "I couldn't understand it," he admitted. "But beyond the work itself—which assists us in picking the grapes on time, a great achievement in and of itself—what is important here is that this person returns to his home as a goodwill ambassador of Israel."
