A Christian ecumenical village in western Galilee offers a unique resident-study program of Judaism and Jewish-Christian relations.
By Janet Mendelsohn Moshe
Nes Ammim is a small village located in Western Galilee, not far from the ancient port city of Akko. It was founded in the early 1960s by Dutch, German and Swiss Christians who believed that the Holocaust had roots in Christian theology and wished to show solidarity with the Jewish People. They hoped to contribute economically to the Jewish state while fostering mutual respect and understanding.
The name "Nes Ammim" was taken from Isaiah 11:10, and means a 'banner of the peoples'. The idea of Nes Ammim was to renew and deepen the relationship with the Jewish people, explains Jan Montsma, from the Netherlands. It was important to revise our doctrines regarding Judaism, and to remind Christians that the Jewish interpretation of the Scriptures is as valid as our own.
Jan and Janny Montsma came to the village in 1994. Taking early retirement from his managerial position in IBM, Jans administrative skills were soon put to use in the village. Janny, a primary school teacher, began managing the hotel's gift shop, and enjoyed meeting local craftspeople. They stayed for four years before returning home, but the Montsmas remain active supporters of the village, and Jan is presently helping to find new areas of economic expansion for Nes Ammim.
Like many other agriculture-based villages in the area, Nes Ammim has hit hard times. "Unfortunately our orchards are being farmed by our neighbors, and our greenhouses that once bloomed with roses are empty," sighs Rev. Andreas Grefen, Director of the Educational Department of the village. But he sees the future lying with developing the reason for the village's establishment: education and dialogue. "We regard Nes Ammim as a microcosm of cross-cultural learning," he explains. "A visitor can experience life in Israel, while
witnessing firsthand the development of coexistence and co-operation."
Nes Ammim's well-run and strictly kosher guesthouse attracts both local vacationers and Christian tourists from all over the world. Seminars on Christian-Jewish relations and on early Christianity in the Galilee are run regularly.
For those who are more serious about their commitment to Nes Ammim, there is an option to spend a year or more in the village as full members of the community, working in the village as well as participating in the study courses that are offered. Nes Ammim has long-and short-term residents ranging from 19 - 80 years of age. Those who stay for two years or longer must have skills that are useful to the community. Young children receive excellent day care in the village, and when they reach school age, they attend a primary school in nearby Moshav Regba, and secondary school in Kibbutz Kabri.
"Our children adapted to life in Israel very quickly," explains Rev. Grefen. "We moved to Nes Ammim from Germany in 1999 when Sascha was 11 and Lena-Elena only 7." The Grefens' move was something that they had waited to do as a family. "My wife Gaby had volunteered in Israel in 1981, and she always dreamed of living and working here for a period of time," he recalls. "As a social scientist, she taught subjects related to the Holocaust as well as the history of Judaism." The Reverend studied theology from 1979-86. "During my studies, the church demonstrated the roots of Christianity embedded in Judaism, and discussed the guilt of the church towards the Jews over the past 2,000 years." From 1989-99, Rev. Grefen served as a pastor near Dsseldorf, where he and his wife endeavored to improve Jewish-Christian relations in the area.
Today they enjoy the quiet pace of Galilee life as well as interacting with people from all over the world. "While our focus at Nes Ammim will always be the special relationship between Christianity and its older brother Judaism," he says, "perhaps we can also help to facilitate contacts between different communities in Israel. To that end, we have already held Jewish-Arab summer camps and seminars. We hope that we can serve as a model of good-neighborly relations."