Orthodox Jewish rabbi: 'We are not only being attacked by our Muslim enemies, we are being attacked by our Christian friends,' but issues call to joint action

In his opening address at the Jerusalem Prayer Breakfast (JPB) on Thursday, Rabbi Tuly Weisz lamented Jewish-Christian relations being “in a crisis and at a crossroads.”

“I am an Orthodox Jewish rabbi who was asked to open up a Christian breakfast in Jerusalem with a prayer. However, I will be honest, I cannot pray with you today, in fact, I can’t even wear my kippah here today,” said Weisz, as he took off his head covering on stage.

The annual JPB meeting in Jerusalem was attended by government leaders and prominent Christian leaders, gathering in the nation’s capital to pray for the peace of Jerusalem. This year’s meeting took place amid harsh statements made by Christian leader, Mike Evans, who lashed out against the recently formed coalition government. 

Evans, who strongly supports Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, referred to members of the new coalition as “amateur nobodies” and “clowns that entertain Israel’s enemies.” Evans threatened to withdraw Evangelical support for Israel and join the opposition against the coalition.

Rabbi Weisz addressed the threats by saying, “We are not only being attacked by our Muslim enemies, we are being attacked by our Christian friends.”

At the conclusion of his message, Rabbi Weisz told the audience that he did not come to the JPB to pray, but to appeal to them by offering a radically new approach to Jewish-Christian relations.

“We are in a crisis and at a crossroads… You are the leaders. You are the true friends of Zion,” he said as he urged them to consider "a new way of doing things."

“I will introduce you to local, pro-Israel, religious Zionist Jews in and all of your cities and countries so that we can start decentralizing Zionism, building upon the most solid of all foundations, our mutual belief in the Bible and our unconditional love for the God of Israel, the Land of Israel and the people of Israel.”

He went on to propose the renaming of the JPB to the Jerusalem Prayer and Action Breakfast for Christians and Jews, “so that we can fight together, we can support Israel unconditionally together, and that we can pray for the peace of Jerusalem together.”

The Jerusalem Prayer Breakfast (JPB) is a prayer movement that brings together government leaders and influential Christian leaders for a gathering in the nation’s capital to pray for the peace of Jerusalem.