Brussels, October 17th, 2023 – This Sunday, October 22nd, a European wide rally in Geneva will demand the immediate release of all the kidnapped Israeli hostages which are believed to be held by terrorist organization Hamas in secret tunnels inside Gaza. In a statement on Tuesday, ECI Founding Director Tomas Sandell called upon all people of conscience, and especially Christian leaders, to join the rally. “This is not the time to leave the Jews alone in their suffering but to stand up as one in complete solidarity”, he said.

“For over eighty years the world has been perplexed by the unwillingness of the German church to stand up for the Jews during the time of the Holocaust. Now our generation have a chance to make a difference by expressing our full solidarity with the Jewish people as they are under attack by Hamas terrorists who are driven by the same spirit as the Nazis. Let us remind ourselves of the words of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the German preacher who laid down his life in his fight against the Nazis: “Silence in the face of evil is evil itself.”

“Future generations will judge us harshly in how we respond to these pogroms”, Sandell said. Most Christian leaders have so far remained silent. Meanwhile, the barbaric killings have been openly celebrated in major European cities while the authorities have remained helpless.

He concluded by saying, “Let this Sunday be a turning point for Europe as we stand up as one.”

The rally will take place on Place des Nations outside the UN headquarters in Geneva on Sunday, 22 October, at 15.00.

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The event is organised by an ad hoc committee called Voice of Freedom, which consists of more than 250 international Christian leaders, NGO’s and networks, including the European Coalition for Israel.