Presse

The Jerusalem Prayer Breakfast was launched in Israel two years ago and is now being held in countries around the world. This was also the case on 15 May in Basel: around 100 people from politics, business and Christian communities and works met for an impressive morning at the Hotel les Trois Rois in Basel.

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"For us as a team it was very quickly clear that it had to be 'Les Trois Rois' in Basel", explains Annette Walder, president of the association Jerusalem Prayer Switzerland. "Theodor Herzl was staying here when, in his own words, he founded the Jewish state at the Casino in Basel." She is referring to the first Zionist congress, which took place 122 years ago in Basel. "Basel is sometimes referred to as 'the Rütli of Israel' - so the first Jerusalem Prayer Breakfast in Switzerland simply had to be in that place."

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Europe's Jewish roots

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After a sumptuous breakfast in the historic ballroom, the Israeli ambassador to Switzerland, H.E. Jacob Keidar, addressed a greeting to the participants in which he thanked them for their solidarity and friendship with Israel. He referred to the transfer of the American Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem on the same day and called on Switzerland to do the same as the USA.

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Lukas Kundert, President of the Council of Churches of the Evangelical Reformed Church of Basel-Stadt, explained in his speech what constitutes the centre of Europe: Judaism and its capital Jerusalem. In its drive for freedom and emancipation, Europe had cut itself off from its Jewish roots and persecuted the Jews. Kundert pleaded for a new appreciation of Jewish culture in Europe.

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Guests from many countries

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Guests from Israel were also present: Aaron Lipkin, who has been committed to Jewish-Christian dialogue for decades, and Heli Veksler, the wife of Albert Veksler, co-founder of the Jerusalem Prayer Breakfast, who was in Uganda for a Jerusalem Prayer Breakfast on the same day.

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Two worship times framed the greetings and led to the prayer time that followed. This began with the reading and proclamation of Bible verses that confirmed God's promises about Israel. Afterwards the participants prayed at the tables for the governments in Israel and Switzerland.

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A highlight of the prayer breakfast was the two national anthems of Israel and Switzerland. The Israeli anthem was sung by the cantor of the Israelite community of Basel, who then also spoke the Aaronite blessing.

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Annette Walder expressed her satisfaction after the event: "We have received a great deal of encouraging and gratifying feedback. The gratitude and in part palpable emotion of the guests was really impressive for me and a further confirmation that we had done the right thing". She does not yet want to decide how things will continue after the first Jerusalem Prayer Breakfast: "There are ideas that this prayer breakfast could be continued - perhaps in a modified form. But it is too early to talk about that now."

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