In Pursuit Of Peace: Dr. Falwell Sr. Prayed For And Befriended Israel
Despite over 6,000 miles separating Jerusalem, Israel and Virginia, Dr. Jerry Falwell Sr. made it his mission to care for the Israelis.
Shortly after Israel was declared a country in 1948, Falwell became a Christian, according to Dean Emeritus of the School of Divinity Dr. Ed Hindson. As Falwell attended Bible college and started Thomas Road Baptist Church, he watched millions of Jews return to their native country and believed God was bringing his people home.
Falwell visited Israel around 15 times during his lifetime.
Duke Westover served as Falwell’s chief of staff for 35 years and traveled with him to Israel every time except one trip. His job was to schedule meetings and interviews with the officials in the country.
“Jerry was welcomed with open arms in Israel with the prime ministers and all the ambassadors,” Westover said. “They recognized Jerry as a friend, above all things.”
Co-founder Dr. Elmer Towns said Falwell approached him in their first year of Liberty University and declared he wanted to take every student of their 154-student body to Israel for free.
So, they did in February of 1972. Towns said only 90 students came, and they listened to lectures on Israel at each site. They visited the empty tomb, the Garden of Gethsemane and other locations.
“When we went to Israel, we said, ‘You’re going to go where Jesus walked because when you serve God, you’re going to walk with Jesus,’” Towns said.
Twenty years later, Falwell and Westover took 1,500 people to Israel, the largest group to visit Israel at once, in January of 1999. Out of the group, 900 were Liberty students.
In 1979, Falwell and other pastors were invited by the National Religious Broadcasters on a peace initiative to Israel, Jordan and Egypt. They met with Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, Jordanian King Hussein bin Talal and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin.
Hindson said Sadat flew Falwell and the other pastors on the Egyptian One, the presidential airline, to Jordan. Israelis watched this on television and were anxious to meet with them.
In 1980, Begin awarded Falwell the Jabotinsky Award, an Israeli government award given to Americans who have contributed to the Israeli cause in an outstanding way. Hindson said this award is the highest honor the prime minister can give friends of Israel.
“Everywhere we went, we ran into Israelis who recognized him, came up to talk to him (and) thanked him for his support of Israel’s right to exist,” Hindson said, recalling the two times he traveled with Falwell. “It was really kind of a hero’s welcome that he would always get when he was in Israel. He made an impact, and he felt like God would use that ultimately to also make an impact for the gospel.”
Westover said Falwell was viewed as Israel’s American spokesman, and politicians and businessmen in Israel respected and valued him for standing up for their country.
“Anytime there was an issue that came up in America,” Westover said. “Jerry was always on the right side of supporting Israel.”
Stephen Spector quoted Falwell in his book “Evangelicals and Israel: The Story of American Christian Zionism” discussing one of the reasons he believes supporting Israel is important.
“God has blessed America because America has blessed the Jew,” Falwell said.
Hindson said Liberty has continued to foster a positive relationship with Israel. He spoke at the Jerusalem Prayer Breakfast in 2019.
The breakfast hosted by the Israeli government included roughly 700 Jews and Christians according to Hindson. The goal was to pray for the peace of Jerusalem and Israel.
Under Trump’s administration, the Abraham Accords were signed between Israel, the United Arab Emirates and the United States in 2020 to help foster peace in the Middle East. The accords have normalized relations between countries, meaning they have standardized trade and investment treaties between the countries.
Towns thought if Falwell was still here to see the Abraham Accords, he would call the church to kneel in prayer. He recalled many years of kneeling on platform chairs during prayer meetings with Falwell, crying out to God.
“I think Dr. Falwell would want peace in the Middle East, (and) he would ask the church to pray for peace in the Middle East,” Towns said. “Many times … I heard him praying for the peace of Israel, that God would send his peace.”
Former Senior Director of the National Security Council Robert Greenway architected the accords and will be speaking at a panel on April 1 in the Montview Ballroom B from 1:30 to 3 p.m. hosted by the School of Government.
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