The Words of the Wilson Family

Last Night's Conference Call

Andrew Wilson
December 8, 2003

Dear brothers and sisters,

Last night our conference call for Jewish outreach was blessed when Rev. Jenkins phoned in from Israel. He spoke from his heart about how much True Father is devoting his heart and prayers for our outreach in America as well as for all the activities of this Middle East dispensation.

As for testimonies, we heard from Gunter Freystatter from AFC Miami, Florida, who has had some great success with a local rabbi with whom he has had passing acquaintance over the years through interfaith activities. Yet until last week he had never been able to approach him directly about a providential activity. (attached)

The rest of the call dealt with practical matters:

1. Using Rabbi Ben Ami: Mel informs us that the rabbi has serious health problems, and hence we should not overwhelm him with callers. Yet for people with whom we have some foundation already, Rabbi Ben Ami is more than happy to help, as he did with Mr. Freystatter's contact. If you have a new contact, it would be better to contact Mel Haft first, at 301-464-3831, before giving him to the rabbi.

2. Tours in Israel: Rev. Jenkins confirms that we will definitely have a variety of tours for guests of different religions. Imams would delight in the chance to worship at the al-Aqsa Mosque, the 3rd holiest site in Islam. For Jews we can go to any number of special places, from the Western Wall in Jerusalem to Elijah's cave near Haifa. They will not all have to endure the Christian tour. Also, those who are interested in jumping into outreach activities will have the opportunity to do so.

3. Imams and border hassles: The most important thing we can do to smooth the way of imams and other Muslim guets to enter Israel is to make sure they are properly registered. Also, send a copy of their registration information to Donna Selig, who is handling all immigration issues in Israel. Her e-mail is DonnaSelig@aol.com. Donna will work with the Israeli border police to smooth the way for our guests to enter Israel without being held up for hours of interrogation--although some interrogation will be inevitable.

However, in the case of Palestinians, it is vital that they have American passports, otherwise they may not be admitted. Hopefully, the registration procedures that HSA has set up will enable HQ to flag any difficult cases.

4. Relatives in Israel: I am still waiting for Israel to send me the flyer, in Hebrew, advertising the rally; as well as the exact information about its time and place. There may be a small delay as they are working to change the venue from a park in Tel Aviv to the more famous Rabin Square. When I receive the flyer, I will send it out to everyone in PDF format.

5. Last-minute flyers: The British Airways charter is the method of choice for people who make arrangements to fly to Israel in the next few days. Furthermore, there are still some independent deals out there. Rev. Joseph Taylor found a flight that leaves on Dec. 20 and returns in the wee hours of the morning of Dec. 23, which would allow just enough time to arrive, attend the rally and get back on the plane. The cost is only $850--if any seats at this discount price are still left. It might be an ideal arrangement for members who are too busy to take much time off from work but want to fulfill the condition of being there. Contact Rev. Taylor at 202-726-2717. Mel Haft made a reservation for his son (a CARP member) to go to Israel tomorrow on a Northwest/KLM flight for $950, but when some other parents looked for the same seat the price had risen to $2500. Look for the deals and be quick about them. Note that HSA still requires a registration fee and per-diem hotel charge for members who come to Israel by these alternative arrangements, depending on their length of stay. Only members who take the super-fast turnaround of Rev. Taylor's flight may be able to waive most or all of these fees. All participants, regardless of how they fly, need to register on the Familyfed website.

6. Download site: HQ has set up a download site for receiving files by FTP, which is much better for receiving large files than the e-mail method I've been constrained to using. Those of you who still want to obtain the approach book but couldn't fit it in your e-mail should look there. Instructions:

On the Web, go to www.peacerally.info

The next conference call will be Wednesday night at 10:00; same number, same code. It will be my last call, as I leave for Israel on Friday morning.

shalom,

Andrew

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