Home > Newsletter > June 2002

THE PRAYER BREAKFAST AT THE ISRAELI EMBASSY

On Thursday, May 2nd the National Prayer Breakfast was held in Washington, DC. I have not attended the National Prayer Breakfast since Yasser Arafat was invited during the Clinton Administration. I did, however, attend a special prayer breakfast for the peace of Jerusalem the next day on Friday, May 3rd.

The "Solidarity and Prayer Breakfast" for peace in Jerusalem was held at the Jerusalem Room of the Israeli Embassy in Washington. Many Christian organizations supporting peace for Israel against terrorism sponsored the breakfast. There was room for only about twenty-five people from each sponsoring group. The Religious Freedom Coalition was the only organization to bring a congressman as a guest. Congressman Jim Ryun attended as a guest of the Religious Freedom Coalition.

Congressman Ryun of Kansas is a truly godly man who holds up Jesus Christ in everything he does on Capitol Hill. An Olympic medalist, Congressman Ryun was the first man ever to run a mile in less than four minutes, and he did this while still a teenager. He still runs today and holds summer running camps for high school age youngsters each year.

In addition to Congressman Ryun, the Religious Freedom Coalition had representatives present from the offices of Majority Leader Dick Armey and Majority Whip Tom DeLay. There were numerous other Christian congressional and Senate staffers present who were invited by the Religious Freedom Coalition.

I also invited representatives of many conservative groups which do not normally get involved in foreign affairs, and many of them were in attendance as well. It was the Religious Freedom Coalition which arranged for former presidential candidate Gary Bauer to be the keynote speaker at the event.

Everyone attending the event showed courage, since the Israeli Embassy in Washington is under constant threat from Islamic groups. In the past the license plate numbers of those visiting the embassy have been taken down by Islamic militants.

Ed McAteer, founder of the Religious Roundtable, had arranged for huge banners representing the various tribes of Israel to be displayed in the room. For decades Ed McAteer has been a tireless warrior for the cause of the continued existence of Israel. A man who holds the Word of God in his heart, Ed McAteer understands the special place of the Jewish people in the heart of God, and he realizes that Christians must reach out to them.