In today’s day and age, with anti-Israel sentiments floating ubiquitously through the press and social media, many Jewish Zionists are forced to adopt an us-against-the-world mentality, believing that they are the only group who has ever supported Israel’s right to existence. But thankfully, that is not the case. The Friends of Zion Museum, located in the Nachalat Shiva neighborhood of Jerusalem, dispels that mistaken belief by shining a light on Christians who have advocated for the Jewish state throughout modern history. Through the use of state-of-the-art technology, like gigantic video screens and holograms, and original music scores, the museum introduces visitors of various languages and cultures to all the non-Jewish friends that Zion has had over the years, many of whom risked their own lives to help the Jews.
The museum was opened in September of 2015 by Dr. Mike Evans, a popular author, journalist and outspoken Christian Zionist. The museum’s website describes its purpose: “[The museum] presents a technologically advanced, interactive experience that tells the story of the dream of restoration of the Jewish people to their historic homeland and the brave non-Jews who assisted them in realization of that dream. The Friends of Zion serves as a platform for fighting BDS and anti-Semitism internationally.”
The central motif of the museum is God’s call to humanity to support Judaism and Zionism, a call that came first to our ancestor Avraham but subsequently came to many people throughout history, both Jews and non-Jews. According to the museum, the people who answered the call said “hineni,” which means “here I am” in Hebrew, signifying their responsiveness to God’s mission. Visitors of the museum are introduced to all the non-Jews throughout history who said “hineni,” and visitors are challenged to say hineni themselves, answering the call to help Israel.
The museum’s first exhibit provides an introduction to the museum through a breathtaking aerial video of Israel’s natural beauty and manmade infrastructure accompanied by an original soundtrack. The second exhibit is an artfully animated video history of Jewish heroes Avraham, Moshe and Yechezkel, presented on a 79-foot wraparound screen with a similarly amazing soundtrack. There are then digital exhibits on four 19th-century Christians who dreamed of returning the Jews to their homeland, followed by a giant interactive mural on LCD screens that tells the story of 11 more non-Jewish Israel advocates.
In the next exhibit, on a dark screen, nine “lights in the darkness” shine through. Videos in striking black-and-white tell the stories of the few Christians who could not stand idly by while their Jewish neighbors were murdered by the Nazis. People presented in this exhibit include Oskar Schindler, who saved Jews from the concentration camps by hiring them to work in his factory, and Raoul Wallenberg, a Swedish diplomat who issued thousands of illegal Swedish visas to Jews at great personal risk, among others.
The penultimate exhibit features a combination of CGI, live actors and archive footage that makes it seem as though Christian-Zionist military leaders are telling you their stories themselves. Included in this exhibit is the story of British Major Orde Wingate, who trained Jews in the Land of Israel to defend themselves before Israel became a state, and others like him.
Finally, a 3D video reviews everything said up until now with the beautiful visuals and audio to which visitors have become accustomed. It leaves them with a question: When the call comes to you, will you say “hineni”?
The Friends of Zion Museum is located at 20 Yosef Rivlin Street, a couple of blocks away from the Old City in Jerusalem. For more information about the museum or to make a reservation, email [email protected], call 972-2-532-9400 or visit fozmuseum.com.
By Tani Greengart
Tani Greengart is a rising senior at TABC and editor-in-chief of Kol Torah. He just completed his summer internship at The Jewish Link.
