Blessing Bethlehem

Blessing Bethlehem is a charity fundraising initiative with the purpose of helping the persecuted Christians living in the city of Bethlehem and its surrounding areas.^[1] It was launched in September 2016 by the Center for Jewish–Christian Understanding and Cooperation (CJCUC), at the LifeLight Festival in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.^[2]

Blessing Bethlehem

Official logo of Blessing Bethlehem
Founded	September 2016 (2016-09)
Founders	David Nekrutman Pastor Steven Khoury Rabbi Pesach Wolicki
Type	Charity
Focus	Food giveaway program in an effort to help the persecuted Christians of Bethlehem.
Location	Ohr Torah Stone 49 West 45th Street, Suite 701 New York, New York 10036 U.S.A.
Parent organization	Ohr Torah Stone's Center for Jewish–Christian Understanding and Cooperation (CJCUC)
Website	blessingbethlehem.com

History

"Blessing Bethlehem" Founder & Director David Nekrutman with volunteers, 2019

COGIC Bishop of Israel, Glenn Plummer, and First Lady Pauline Plummer handing out Blessing Bethlehem Food Care Packages in Bethlehem, 24 July 2019

From left to right: Former Associate Director of the Center for Jewish–Christian Understanding and Cooperation, Rabbi Pesach Wolicki, David Nehring, Pastor Steven Khoury, CJCUC U.S. Coordinator, Janet Cain launching "Blessing Bethlehem" at the LifeLight Music Festival in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, 5 September 2016

In September 2012, Ohr Torah Stone's Center for Jewish–Christian Understanding and Cooperation (CJCUC), in partnership with Pastor Steven Khoury of Holy Land Missions, launched a Food Voucher Program to help the local Christian community living in Bethlehem. CJCUC's Executive Director, David Nekrutman, began his dialogue with the local Christian Arab community in 2009 through the organization's Bible Study Program.

Nekrutman learned of the Christian Arab community's struggle between their ethnicity and religion and he wanted to alleviate the number one issue - poverty.^[3][4][5][6]

With initial funding from American Jewish donors, the Food Voucher program began by purchasing vouchers from the Rami Levy supermarket chain. In 2013, the International Christian Embassy of Jerusalem (ICEJ) joined the program. In 2016, the Food Voucher Program was renamed "Blessing Bethlehem" and officially launched at the LifeLight Music Festival in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.^{[7][4][2][8][9]}