| abstract
| - In the aftermath of the slaughter of six million European Jews in the heart of Christian Europe, in the 1950s a movement sprung up of Christians who were not only profoundly shocked by this event, but also sought to give expression to a desire for a different relationship. This was to encompass the rejection of attempts to convert Jews to Christianity, and the desire for dialogue and mutual respect in place of confrontation and triumphalism. Among those thinking this way, were some who thought a concrete expression of this new approach could take the form of building a living Christian community in Israel. It would work the land and participate in the hardship of what was still a poor country under threat of war. This idea, after fund-raising and promotion among churches in Germany, The Netherlands, Switzerland and the USA, resulted in the purchase in 1960 of acres ( km2) of land from a Druze sheikh in the Galilee. The first inhabitants moved into the village in 1963. Prominent among them was Dr. Johan Pilon, who was to be its guide and inspiration for over ten years until his death in 1975.
|