Shalom Festival
This colorful and multicultural event takes place annually in Brussels and Antwerp. It is a collaboration between the evangelical Christians and the Jewish community of Antwerp and Brussels. Each while maintaining their own identity, they come out together with a message of peace to the general public, on the street and in the media..
-Some statements at the festival-
And so, for 2,000 years, the Jews from generation to generation have repeated this same Bible verse: “If I should forget thee, O Jerusalem, may my right hand forget me.” Today we have other verses on our lips: “Pray peace to Jerusalem: may those who love you have rest; peace be within your walls, rest in your fortresses. To my brothers and my friends I will say: Peace be in you.”
CHief rabbi Albert Guigui
The Promised Land is at the forefront regarding environmental issues and more and more countries, companies and individuals worldwide are following them. Everyone is aware of the Israeli drop technology. What is less well known is the story behind the agricultural innovations. These started as an answer to a need, when no one wanted to sell seeds to the Jews before the establishment of the State of Israel. Israelites went to work, without a climate march, but with hope! No panic, no cheating, no blaming others. This is how the revival of nature and the planting of trees in Israel came about. That is no near feat when you realize that 60% of the land is desert. Israel knew about Eco realism, even before the term was even coined. The most important message is hope. People are capable of outstanding achievements in problem solving. Israel is a light for the nations indeed.
MichaEl Freilich, member of parliament (N-VA),
former editor of ‘Joods Actueel’
Shalom cannot be blind to the truth and to justice. As descendants of generations who have harmed the Jewish people with terrible pain and persecution, we apologize and more than ever we want to respond to the call from the Tanakh, to pray for your peace and the peace of Jerusalem.
Leo Maeckelberghe, pastor of Philadelphia Evangelical Church in Antwerp Hoboken.
During the terror of the rocket attacks in Yated, a little town near the border of the Gaza Strip, I decided to rise above the fear, to create something out of the destruction. I survived the attacks twice. I remoulded the instruments of death into objects, full of beauty and peace. My message to the opponents is that communication is better than war. My inspiration is the Bible statement of the prophet Isaiah 2:16b. ‘They will beat their swords into ploughshares and their spears into pruning hooks’ (NIV).
Yaron Bob, Israeli teacher and artist-blacksmith of Rockets to Roses.
“The multicultural society in Israel is a reality. 20% of the Israeli population are Arabs.”
