TIMES OF ISRAEL
US Christian students come to Holy Land to connect to biblical and modern Israel
by Renee Ghert-Zand
January 14, 2020

Five hundred college students streamed into a large party venue in southern Jerusalem with a panoramic view of the Old City. They noshed on mini shwarma sandwiches and cotton candy, and danced with abandon to Israeli pop music — some creating a mosh pit near the DJ’s stage at the front of the hall. But they weren’t participating in Birthright Israel, the mega project that since it was founded in 1999 has brought upwards of 750,000 young Jews to the country. These young Americans were in Israel this month with Passages, an organization that brings practicing Christian college and graduate students from all over the United States to the Holy Land for a 10-day trip to connect with the biblical roots of their faith, and with modern Israel. READ MORE