Walking in the footsteps of Jesus – Christian tourists flock to Israel

MOIRA SCHNEIDER

“I always had a great love of history,” he says. “We’d reached the stage where our kids were settled, and I could now pursue my dream. It’s lived up to all my expectations. I’m paid to do something I love.”

In addition to his work in general tourism, Lochoff specialises in Christian tourism, having completed an intensive course in Christianity for the purpose. He points out that in 2018, a record year for Israeli tourism, a mere 22% of visitors were Jewish.

“I have a certain affinity with Christian groups, especially from South Africa,” he says. “We left South Africa at the height of apartheid. Now I see South African church groups coming to Israel. They comprise blacks, whites, coloureds, and Indians. There is the most phenomenal relationship between these people, all cemented together by their love of their church and Jesus Christ.”

As to the motivation of these tourists for visiting Israel, Lochoff was told by one participant, “We come here to absorb the spirit of Jesus having walked in these areas.”

In Lochoff’s experience, the groups that visit are mostly not Catholic, in the main comprising Protestants, the Dutch Reformed Church, Apostolic Church, and evangelical churches. His tours focus on sites that are part of the Christian world, although others are included.

He believes that the phenomenon of Christians visiting Israel is growing. “We have this huge backing today of evangelical Christians in the United States, which is a whole different ball game.

“The common denominator is that everybody comes here really clued up.” As for the Holy Land’s politics, Lochoff says it “never, ever” comes up.

“In fact, I put a lot of effort into keeping away from politics,” he says, for fear of igniting “civil war” in the group.

Lochoff says he even prepares material to read in Afrikaans at some of the sites. “I also have a very marked South African accent, which makes it much easier for these people to understand my English.”

When Lochoff and his family celebrated his 70th birthday in South Africa in 2017, they attended a reunion in Worcester with a group he had guided. “My son, David, said to Lynn, ‘These people think Daddy’s Jesus Christ!’

“It’s made a phenomenal impression on me that South Africa could have reached the situation where all these people love each other so much, and are so amazingly communicative with one another,” he reflects.

Mark Hyman is co-chairman of the South African Friends of Israel (SAFI), which creates opportunities for interaction and relationship building with Israel across a broader base than just the Jewish community. It reaches out to the Christian community, which has an affinity and a love for the land of Israel.

From South Africa, evangelical and charismatic churches visit Israel on a far more organised and managed basis than other groups, he says. “There might not be organised pilgrimages by Catholics from South Africa, but the individual Catholic definitely does visit the holy sites.

“They all want to visit where Jesus was born, where he walked. They all want to go to the Galilee,” famous for its biblical associations. While Hyman is unable to quantify exactly how many go every year, he says it runs into the thousands.

Through his chairmanship of Magen David Adom (MDA) SA, Hyman has relationships with various church groups that visit Israel. “I try to ensure that they see the saving of lives there,” he says.

“I ensure that they visit MDA stations, particularly in Jerusalem, and actually see that it is a non-racial, non-political organisation. It adds a dimension to their trip that is unique.”

MDA has 187 first-aid stations across Israel, of which South Africa has built a number. “When you go to the huge first-aid station in Jerusalem, which was built by South Africa, it has an enormous emotional effect on people who say, ‘Wow! They’re helping Arabs, Palestinians, and Jews, and they travel throughout the world when there’s a disaster.’”

The Christian community in this country supports Israel because it believes that without Jews and Israel, it wouldn’t have its religion, says Hyman. Interestingly, the church groups are big donors to the MDA.

“They see that saving lives in Israel is, to a large extent meeting a mandate of Genesis 12:3 which says G-d will bless those who bless Israel, and G-d will curse those who curse Israel,” he says.

“One of the churches gave us over R1 million for an ambulance, and then went to Israel to do a dedication ceremony. We’re busy investing in two more ambulances at the moment for church groups. It makes them feel part of the land.”

Pastor Mukhuba of the Unity Fellowship Church of Soweto does a trip every year with about 1 000 people from her charismatic community of 500 000, and is one of the big donors to the MDA, Hyman says.

The bottom line is that these groups see Israel as the home of their religion. “They want to visit the home of their religion. The Temple Mount is where Jesus delivered his sermons,” he says.