Inuit Make Headlines in Israel

The Haaretz is Israel's left-leaning daily newspaper with a circulation of some 70,000 on week-days and 100,00 on week-ends. On the week-end of Friday, September 12, 2008, the Haaretz carried this headline, Eskimos on the Kinneret? No, this is not a joke. (See headline in English on the left, and in Hebrew on the right in the above picture).

This feature article by Haaretz Correspondent Eli Ashkenazi illustrates just how much fascination that there is in Israel as well as other nations in the Inuit of Canada's North. In point of fact, there were no Inuit (formerly Eskimos) on the traditional canoe that was brought to Israel by some First Nations people from the West Coast in British Columbia for the 7th World Christian Gathering of Indigenous People.

The mere fact that there were Inuit from the northern ends of the earth at the Gathering in Israel from September 9-18, 2008, however, is what captured the imagination of the Haaretz correspondent. Also mentioned as being in the traditional canoe from the West Coast of Canada were the Maoris from New Zealand at the southern ends of the earth. SEE THIS SITE.

Actually, there were no Maoris in the canoe either, but the fact that the Inuit from the Northern ends of the earth and the Maori from the southern ends of the earth were mentioned as being at this WCGIP Gathering is what aroused the newspaper journalist's interest. When the original peoples of the land at both the northern and the southern ends of the earth come to Israel to pray for the peace of Jerusalem (Psalm 122:6), it has special meaning and significance.

Keeping in mind that the "Kinneret" is the "Sea of Galilee," the astonishment that Inuit would be in Israel is revealed by both the Haaretz newspaper headline as well as the headline of the same article on the Internet in Haaretz.com

Haaretz newspaper headline: Eskimos at the Kinneret? No, this is not a joke

Internet headline on Haaretz.com: Eskimos at the Kinneret? No, you aren't hallucinating

Below is an excerpt from the original article by Haaretz Correspondent Eli Ashkenazi.

Inuit and Maories canoeing on the Kinneret Thursday. (Yaron Kaminsky)

Eskimos at the Kinneret? No, you aren't hallucinating
By Eli Ashkenazi, Haaretz Correspondent
Tags: Kinneret, Israel, Eskimos

Bathers enjoying the waters of Lake Kinneret Thursday had a chance to observe a highly unusual sight: a group of Native Americans, Maoris and Inuit sailing past them in a canoe. The visitors were part of a group of 450 members of tribal peoples who are currently visiting Israel for a conference at the Nof Ginosar hotel.

They come from countries as varied as the United States, New Zealand, Finland, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, Canada and several African nations. Most of them belong to evangelical churches and have a high regard for Israel and for Judaism. They are seeking to maintain their evangelical faith while also trying to preserve their native heritage and culture, which European colonizers largely destroyed.

The group conducted ceremonies that included traditional costumes and tribal dances. They also toured traditional pilgrimage sites and met with kibbutz members in the Galilee area. The pilgrims who traversed the Kinneret Thursday in a canoe - the vessel was built to order in Canada - said they hoped the lake will fill up with water during the coming winter.

In describing her guests, Michal Amir Ben Asher of the hotel's management said: "This is a very interesting meeting of cultures. It's very colorful. We get groups of pilgrims all the time here, but this is a unique group indeed." (end of article)

Traditional canoe with representative indigenous people on the Sea of Galilee on Thursday, September 11, 2008.

The Haaretz newspaper article stated of the indigenous people that they "hoped the lake would fill up with water during the coming winter." The water level of the Sea of Galilee is expected to reach a critical low in December, 2008. At that time, if current trends continue, removing water from the lake - one of Israel's major water sources - will no longer be possible because the pumps will be above the water level.

In the picture above, representatives of many of the indigenous tribes of the earth unite in prayer from the Golan Heights looking over the Sea of Galilee, praying for the rain to come in due season. "Ask the LORD for rain in the time (season) of the latter rain. The LORD will make flashing clouds; He will give them showers of rain, grass in the field for everyone" (Zechariah 10:1).

Here are the four Canadian Inuit who attended the 7th World Christian Gathering of Indigenous People in Israel from September 9-18, 2008. From left to right, they are Louisa Brown, Etulu Anningmiuq, Mary Alaku Angiyou, and Gela Pitsiulak.

This Gathering also brought together representatives from many of the circumpolar regions of the earth, including Canadian Inuit, Greenlandic Inuit, and Sami people from Arctic Norway, Sweden and Russia. Two things which unites the indigenous peoples of these lands is a love for Israel, and also a desire to use their spiritual authority to see their ancestral lands healed.

We expect in the future to see the "healing the land" vision next move from Arctic Canada into Greenland, and for there to be a special Gathering of the circumpolar regions in Greenland over the next one to two years. God is connecting the North!