By Moses Okorie
The director, Heartland Initiative; an international public diplomacy organization, Mr. Gedaliah Blum has said the nation of Israel values its ties with the African continent, and it means a lot for the Israelis.
He made this known while speaking to NationsPride on Wednesday at the national summit of the Afrian-Israel Initiative Nigeria going on in Abuja, with participants from across the 36 states of Nigeria and the Federal Capital Territory.
According to Blum, “When people take initiative to strengthen their ties with Israel, it means a lot for Israelis because we spend so much time trying to go out to build relationships with others.
“And when this initiative comes in, it’s more organic and local; it really means a lot. And I think that the people here as Christians understand that there’s no real separation between the success of Christians and the Jewish people because we all are rooted in the same Bible, the same values, and those values are what were received from God.
“And so what we’re doing is fulfilling God’s will together. And this initiative is a manifestation, I think, of that understanding from the local Christian population here in Nigeria”.
Gedaliah Blum said though his agency is a non-governmental organization, but he works in cooperation with Government of Israel, and that he has the flexibility of moving around wherever there is a need.
On the ongoing war between Israel and Palestinians, he said it is not political but a spiritual and cultural war, which Israel must sustain to ensure total victory against their enemies.
“So with the war in the Middle East, I want everybody to understand that this war is not a political war. It’s a spiritual war. It’s a cultural war.
“We have those that don’t prescribe to Judean Christian values that are looking to push their agenda on others through the sword. And we’re pushing back. And I think that if peace will only come, not when there is no bullets being shot anymore, but peace will come when our enemies understand that the nation of Israel, the Jewish people and our Christian brothers and sisters are not going to be intimidated”.