TEL AVIV, Israel -- When Shawn Landis, an evangelical Christian from Pennsylvania, heard about the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on southern Israel, he knew he would go to Israel to volunteer as soon as it was safe.
Five months later, he was chopping vegetables in a Tel Aviv kitchen, preparing meals for Israeli soldiers.
Evangelicals have been among Israel's fiercest foreign supporters for years, particularly in the United States, where their significant political influence has helped shape the Israel policy of recent Republican administrations.
They often believe Israel is key to an end-times prophecy that will bring about the return of the Christian Messiah. Many of these Christians support Israel due to Old Testament writings that Jews are God's chosen people and that Israel is their rightful homeland.
"In the Scripture it instructs us to support Israel, and sometimes the best time to support someone is when they're grieving," said Landis, who has been on four previous faith-based trips to Israel. "Friendship is not just about being there for the good times, it's also about the rough times."
Landis is part of a wave of religious "voluntourism" to Israel, organized trips that include some kind of volunteering aspect connected to the war in Gaza.
Israel's Tourism Ministry estimates around one-third to half of the approximately 3,000 daily visitors expected to arrive in March are part of faith-based volunteer trips. Before the fighting, around 15,000 visitors arrived in Israel per day, about half of whom were Christian, according to Tourism Ministry statistics. In 2019, the latest tourism statistics available that were not affected by covid-19, about 25% of visitors arrived on organized trips, according to the Tourism Ministry.
A study by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem found that almost half of Israelis volunteered in some capacity during the early weeks of the war. But many Israeli volunteers have returned to work and school, and now international visitors are filling the gaps.
In the United States, support for Israel has become a top priority for evangelical Christians during a presidential election year. They are among the most outspoken backers of Israel's handling of the conflict,.
The war began with Hamas' attack in southern Israel in which militants killed around 1,200 people and took 250 others hostage. Israel responded with an invasion of the Gaza Strip that so far has killed more than 30,000 Palestinians.
On Oct. 11, dozens of leading evangelicals signed a statement of support for Israel organized by the public policy wing of the Southern Baptist Convention, the largest evangelical faith group in the U.S.
One of the key pro-Israel groups in the U.S. is Christians United for Israel, founded and led by evangelical pastor John Hagee. CUFI says it has raised and dispersed more than $3 million to support Israeli first responders, health care workers, and survivors of the Oct. 7 attack.
Landis was part of a two-week volunteer trip organized by the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem. The evangelical group has put together five volunteer trips since January and expects to take half a dozen more in the coming month. Normally, ICEJ brings about 6,000 Christian visitors to Israel annually.
'THE BEST WAY'
Like Landis, Claudio Pichardo, a 37-year-old from Colombia studying business in Holland, was inspired by Scripture to join the ICEJ trip. "This is the best way I can help, because posting on Facebook doesn't help," he said.
When the war started, many international airlines suspended flights and tourism stopped, aside from a handful of Jewish and Christian solidarity missions. Some major airlines resumed flights to Israel in recent weeks, and others plan to soon.
Peleg Lewi, the foreign affairs adviser to the Tourism Ministry, said the faith-based solidarity missions raise morale. They can also kick-start overall tourism to Israel after a cycle of war or violence, he said.
With the war in its sixth month, Israel is under growing international pressure to do more to end the suffering of civilians in Gaza, including allowing in more aid. Aid groups say the fighting has displaced most of the territory's population and pushed a quarter of the population to the brink of famine. Hospitals have reported that some children have died of hunger.
Many Israelis fear the world is forgetting about Oct. 7.
SURPRISED, EMOTIONAL
Elizabeth Ødegaard, a trip participant from Norway, said she was surprised by how emotional Israelis get when they meet international visitors who have come to support them.
"Many people tell us, 'The whole world hates us. Everyone is against us,' so I want to say to them, 'You're not alone,'" she said. "I know the people of Israel are important to God. These are my brothers and sisters, and when they attack Israel, they attack me too."
ICEJ trip participants visited hard-hit communities in southern Israel, including the site where the shells of hundreds of burned-out cars are being stored, many from the Tribe of Nova music festival, where 364 people were killed.
"It was humbling and sobering to be there, to know what happened a few months ago and to see Israeli resilience," Landis said.
During such trips, visitors join volunteer initiatives that sprang up in Israel over the past five months, providing extra hands for farmers struggling to harvest crops, cooking meals for families who have a parent serving in the reserves or sorting donations for evacuees still living in hotels.
CITRUS & SALT
One initiative is Citrus & Salt, which previously hosted cooking classes and tours of Tel Aviv's markets for tourists. When the war started, it pivoted to making more than 35,000 donated meals.
"It really helps boost morale for people to come from abroad to Israel in a time of conflict, to physically say, 'I'm here to help. What do you need?'" said Aliya Fastman, a native of Berkeley, Calif., who has lived in Israel for more than a decade and runs Citrus & Salt with her sister. "Chopping onions is no small thing when you fly across the world to do it."
Dutch volunteers Anja van der Stok, left, and Jannie Slim, right, pick lemons on a farm in southern Israel, as part of a post-Oct. 7 solidarity tour, Monday, March 4, 2024. Their trip is part of a wave of religious "voluntourism" to Israel, organized trips that include some kind of volunteering aspect connected to the ongoing war in Gaza. Israel's Tourism Ministry estimates around a third to half of the approximately 3,000 visitors expected to arrive each day in March are part of faith-based volunteer trips. Prior to Oct. 7, around 15,000 visitors were arriving in Israel per day, according to Tourism Ministry statistics. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
Dutch volunteer Jannie Slim picks lemons on a farm in southern Israel, as part of a post-Oct. 7 solidarity tour, Monday, March 4, 2024. Her trip is part of a wave of religious "voluntourism" to Israel, organized trips that include some kind of volunteering aspect connected to the ongoing war in Gaza. Israel's Tourism Ministry estimates around a third to half of the approximately 3,000 visitors expected to arrive each day in March are part of faith-based volunteer trips. Prior to Oct. 7, around 15,000 visitors were arriving in Israel per day, according to Tourism Ministry statistics. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
Christian volunteers pick lemons on a farm in southern Israel, as part of a post-Oct. 7 solidarity tour, Monday, March 4, 2024. Their trip is part of a wave of religious "voluntourism" to Israel, organized trips that include some kind of volunteering aspect connected to the ongoing war in Gaza. Israel's Tourism Ministry estimates around a third to half of the approximately 3,000 visitors expected to arrive each day in March are part of faith-based volunteer trips. Prior to Oct. 7, around 15,000 visitors were arriving in Israel per day, according to Tourism Ministry statistics. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
Christian volunteers Anja van der Stok, left, and Jannie Slim, right, pick lemons on a farm in southern Israel, as part of a post-Oct. 7 solidarity tour, Monday, March 4, 2024. Their trip is part of a wave of religious "voluntourism" to Israel, organized trips that include some kind of volunteering aspect connected to the ongoing war in Gaza. Israel's Tourism Ministry estimates around a third to half of the approximately 3,000 visitors expected to arrive each day in March are part of faith-based volunteer trips. Prior to Oct. 7, around 15,000 visitors were arriving in Israel per day, according to Tourism Ministry statistics. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
Christian volunteers pick lemons on a farm in southern Israel, as part of a post-Oct. 7 solidarity tour, Monday, March 4, 2024. Their trip is part of a wave of religious "voluntourism" to Israel, organized trips that include some kind of volunteering aspect connected to the ongoing war in Gaza. Israel's Tourism Ministry estimates around a third to half of the approximately 3,000 visitors expected to arrive each day in March are part of faith-based volunteer trips. Prior to Oct. 7, around 15,000 visitors were arriving in Israel per day, according to Tourism Ministry statistics. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
Christian volunteer Connie Grace from Canada picks lemons on a farm in southern Israel, as part of a post-Oct. 7 solidarity tour, Monday, March 4, 2024. Her trip is part of a wave of religious "voluntourism" to Israel, organized trips that include some kind of volunteering aspect connected to the ongoing war in Gaza. Israel's Tourism Ministry estimates around a third to half of the approximately 3,000 visitors expected to arrive each day in March are part of faith-based volunteer trips. Prior to Oct. 7, around 15,000 visitors were arriving in Israel per day, according to Tourism Ministry statistics. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
Christian volunteers Elisabeth Odegaard, rear right, Claudio Rafael, left, and Jannie Slim, center, clean up after preparing food for Israeli soldiers on a brief respite from combat operations in the Gaza Strip, in Tel Aviv, Wednesday, March 6, 2024. Her visit to Israel is part of a wave of religious "voluntourism" to Israel, organized trips that include some kind of volunteering aspect connected to the ongoing war in Gaza. Israel's Tourism Ministry estimates around a third to half of the approximately 3,000 visitors expected to arrive each day in March are part of faith-based volunteer trips. Prior to Oct. 7, around 15,000 visitors were arriving in Israel per day, according to Tourism Ministry statistics. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
Christian volunteers prepare food for Israeli soldiers on a brief respite from combat operations in the Gaza Strip, in Tel Aviv, Wednesday, March 6, 2024. Their visit to Israel is part of a wave of religious "voluntourism" to Israel, organized trips that include some kind of volunteering aspect connected to the ongoing war in Gaza. Israel's Tourism Ministry estimates around a third to half of the approximately 3,000 visitors expected to arrive each day in March are part of faith-based volunteer trips. Prior to Oct. 7, around 15,000 visitors were arriving in Israel per day, according to Tourism Ministry statistics. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
Food made by Evangelical Christian volunteers for Israeli soldiers on a brief respite from combat operations in the Gaza Strip, in Tel Aviv, Wednesday, March 6, 2024. Israel is seeing a wave of religions "volunteerism," organized trips that include some kind of volunteering aspect connected to the ongoing war in Gaza. Israel's Tourism Ministry estimates around a third to half of the approximately 3,000 visitors expected to arrive each day in March are part of faith-based volunteer trips. Prior to Oct. 7, around 15,000 visitors were arriving in Israel per day, according to Tourism Ministry statistics. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)