Official Press Release
The second Temple Mount Jerusalem Convention (TMJC) 2023 was a resounding success. The event took place on April 9 at the Begin Heritage Center, just outside the Old City of Jerusalem. What better time to come together for the Temple Mount than during Passover, the Festival of freedom, and as millions of Christians world-wide commemorated the Resurrection and new life?
The first convention in December 2018 was an unprecedented new meeting between Bible believing Jews and Christians. At TMJC 23, that relationship and cooperation had matured even more with a new spirit of friendship and solidarity permeating the event. Noticeably many young, new, and creative voices participated.
Cry For Zion, who hosted the Temple Mount convention, was honored and grateful to have a truly amazing lineup of speakers who spoke back-to-back at the all-day event. The pace was packed and the perspectives diverse, but the themes were noticeably complementary, with speakers referring to each other’s comments throughout.
Speakers included former Israeli presidential candidate and MK, Rabbi Yehuda Glick, who shared a wider vision for Temple Mount advocacy. He declared that the event was the launch of a global Zionist movement—not just the important movement of support for the State of Israel, but a global movement among the nations for Zion itself, the Temple Mount, to fulfill its destiny as the House of Prayer for All Nations. He called upon everyone in practical ways to make Jerusalem Day a global celebration with universal significance.
A big shout-out to the organization HaYovel who truly came alongside in heart and vision with the convention. Luke Hilton of The Israel Guys spoke of the need to increasingly normalize Christian ascent to the Temple Mount as an integral part of the pilgrimage of millions of Christians to Israel.
Bishop Glenn Plummer also addressed the convention as official representative of the Church of God in Christ (COGIC), the largest African-American Pentecostal church in America. Some historic churches have bishops of “Jerusalem” in the “Holy Land,” or similar. COGIC took the unprecedented step to recognize the significance of the State of Israel by appointing Dr. Plummer as “Bishop of Israel” where he has now started the Fellowship of Israelis, Ethiopians, & Black Americans.
Bishop Plummer emphasized the Temple Mount Jerusalem Convention’s theme, that according to the Prophet Isaiah, God Almighty Himself is bringing foreigners, “who may look different from you,” from all over the world, and that they should “be welcome” in God’s “House of Prayer for All Nations.”
Delegates were especially struck by Dr. Melissa Jane Kronfeld's heartfelt and powerful presentation. Her new organization “High on the Har” has quickly become one of the most dynamic and exciting movements to join in the struggle for freedom on the Mount, hosting noted profiles such as Ben Shapiro while ascending the Mount.
Common themes throughout the convention were the practical steps that must be taken for the Temple Mount. Common to all of them was the civil right for Jews and Christians to continue to ascend and to pray.
Dr. Kronfeld, who herself commutes daily from Tel Aviv to ascend, called upon Israel’s governing bodies to make official what is already a fact: corporate Jewish prayer services already happen multiple times a day, every single day that the Mount is open.
Along with Rabbi Glick’s calls for making Jerusalem Day a universal movement, Bible Teacher Lars Enarson called on Christians everywhere to adopt a simple part of the Jewish prayer after daily meals, “Please have compassion, Lord our God, on Israel your people, on Jerusalem your city, on Zion the dwelling place of your glory, and on the kingdom of the house of David, your anointed one.”
The convention took the format of a live studio audience as speakers broadcast live to delegates all over the world. Present in the Jerusalem studio were about 70 delegates from multiple countries, including an Iranian Christian pastor who identified himself as a proud Zionist.
Many agreed it is time to shift the image of the Temple Mount from conflict to prayer and music. Israeli music artist Yair Levi is himself a Levite who dreams of performing the Psalms of Ascent on the Temple Mount one day. Levi gave a riveting acoustic performance of songs that Levites sang on the Mount during the festivals, reimagined in new arrangements.
Keeping with this goal, director and filmmaker David Kiern gave an exclusive sneak preview of an upcoming, epic film about the Temple Mount as it has never been shown on screen before. The film, which features artist Yair Levi and other participants of TMJC, is well into post production and awaits its final release date.
All the live-stream delegates who funded the event have been given exclusive access to the Play-On-Demand 7:30 hr video of the convention until May 9th, 2023, when segments may become public.
By popular demand, TMJC is now making tickets to Play-On-Demand video access before May 9, available on TMJC.ORG.
Cry For Zion wishes to thank all the amazing delegates and speakers who made it possible to produce this ground-breaking and educational initiative.
Temple Mount Jerusalem Convention
TMJC.ORG
Hosted by Cry For Zion (cryforzion.com) Doron Keidar, Executive Director
John Enarson, Christian Relations Director