Matti Avshalomov, Architect and Zoning Director for Migdal,
David Zwebner, Anne Ayalon and Herzl Getz, Mayor of Migdal.

Here's one of those 'only in Israel' stories which begs to become an award-winning documentary.

Imagine: an aerial view of Tel Aviv, some 30 years ago, with Chava Alberstein singing in the background, or Matti Caspi. The camera swoops down on the Hilton Hotel. Enter 20-year old, pretty, blonde, vivacious Anne - in Israel on an internship for three months. As she opens the door of the hotel she catches the eye of a young security guard, just out of the army and working to pay for his studies. Three months later said guard, Danny Ayalon, asks Anne to marry him – on condition she agrees to live permanently in Israel. Anne converts from Christianity to Judaism, finishes her degree back in the States, and returns to marry the future Israeli Ambassador to Washington and our current Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Fade out with more mood music, and zoom in on the glowing stone walls of Jerusalem, home to three major religions. Focus on the most famous Wall of all and a couple of churches, and a mosque. The lens then discovers David Zwebner: tall, dark, and handsome, dashing between office meetings and prayer meetings and military meetings. A 9^th generation Jerusalemite, David, who grew up in South Africa and Rhodesia (where his father was chief Rabbi) is a busy man. A graduate of Yeshivat Keren B'Yavneh, President of his Jerusalem Synagogue, a reservist in the IDF, Founder and CEO of Commstock, a commodity trading company, David sits on various boards of directors, plays tennis every day, and lives in Jerusalem with Ronit, his wife, their four children and eight grandchildren. But life isn't busy enough for David; he decides to become a licensed tour guide on top of everything else. Studying the history and archeology of the land he loves, and its religions and institutions, David has an epiphany. As he comes face to face for the first time with Christianity he begins to think that the world, including both Jews and Christians, has done Jesus a great injustice.  

"I am an orthodox Jew," says David, "who was taught that even touching the books of the Gospels, let alone entering a church, was abhorrent. This is because of endless Jewish suffering at the hands of the Christians, from the Crusades to the present. But through my studies I came to understand that Jesus was an orthodox Jew too – a Pharisee – who lived during the time of the Roman occupation of Palestine and who was anti the corruption rampant in the Jewish Temple. He foresaw the impending breakdown of our society and the destruction of the Temple, kept the mitzvot and preached the laws of Hillel and Rabbi Akiva – love thy neighbor as thyself.  Christianity started over 300 years after Jesus died." Until then, explains David, Christianity was actually 'Judaism-lite' meant for the Roman pagans; it only really caught on when Helena and her son, King Constantine, believing that 'if you can't beat 'em, join 'em', adopted it as the official religion of Rome.

Here's where the documentary begins to glow with that most ethereal of qualities – a 'Good Idea' combined with the power to 'Make It Happen'.  Back to Anne,

who for 20 years has developed a high powered career in Hi Tech, raised her two daughters and stood by her husband as he worked for Israel, and who now decides that there must be a way that she can make a difference in Israel.

And then it comes to her, in a flash. Why not build a plush resort and spa hotel in the Galilee on the banks of Lake Tiberias, in the very place where Jesus established his ministry 2000 years ago? Anne envisages an elegant, restful space, comprising a hotel and a campus with educational facilities, a performing arts auditorium, an outdoor amphitheater, conference center, broadcast studio and house of worship – everything, in short, to provide a meaningful, spiritual and pleasant environment where Christian pilgrims can rest, work and foster unity through studying the commonalities of Judaism and Christianity. Not to mention fully kosher gourmet food, luxurious beds and swish bathrooms complete with fluffy towels and spa lotions at the end of all that prayer and worship. It's a win-win plan: the Galilee benefits with an injection of capital and added jobs, the country woos more tourists, and the tourists get a wonderful new base from which to see the places where Jesus himself lived and worked.

"There are 3,000,000 tourists to Israel a year," explains Anne, "of whom 65% are Christians. The aim is to bring up to 10,000,000 tourists annually within the next 15 years, and if the proportions remain constant, that's a lot of Christians visiting the Holy Land."

Anne has the understanding: at Ariel Sharon's bidding, the Ayalons developed strong ties with Christian leaders during their tenure in Washington, and Anne's background positions her perfectly to act as a bridge between Christians and Israelis. She also has the figures: 2 billion Christians in the world, 800 million Evangelicals and 300 million strong advocates of Israel - all potential tourists. At the moment Christian pilgrims to the country are based in Jerusalem and tour the Galilee on the fly – rushing from the Sea of Galilee where Jesus walked on water to Gennaseret and the Mount of the Beatitudes where he preached and healed the sick; racing from Capernaum, where he lived, to Migdal, home to Mary Magdalene, and squeezing in other holy sites in a frantic dash to see everything before returning to their hotel in the capital at night.

Anne envisaged a place of refuge right in the center of the birthplace of Christianity,  called 'The Galilean', and she set about researching possibilities - like how to raise the requisite initial $15,000,000 needed to break ground (out of a total of $76,000,000 necessary to complete the project). A mutual friend suggested that she approach Zwebner for help; Anne picked up the phone and dialed, and the concept became a business plan. 

David has the know-how: a successful businessman with years of entrepreneurial experience, he was easily conscripted to the cause. His interest in the religions of the region encouraged him to facilitate cooperation with the Christian community and to   understand some of its intricacies: the widening gap, for example, between Catholics and Evangelicals. The former view themselves as the 'real Jews' and believe that traditional Jews have gone astray, while Evangelicals trust that the prophecies of the Old Testament are coming true, and that the Jews are the chosen people. Quoting Genesis 12.iii they believe that "God blesses those who bless Israel", and align themselves with Jews and their country, even, according to David, sometimes keeping Shabbat and the rules of kashrut!

More and more Christians and Jews are now researching these issues, and David has conscripted many onto his board, including Rabbi Dr. Shlomo Riskin, Rabbi Benny Lau, Mr. Isi Liebler, and Rabbi David Rosen as well as many Jews and Christians in Israel and abroad. To raise money the board has come up with imaginative ideas: for $250,000 investors can ensure a Galilean Club lifetime membership entitling them to 70 free nights at the resort each year, and a host of other benefits. Or, for $100 you can sponsor 1 square foot of the project, and be registered in the Library of the Galilean. There are options in between: donate the altar in the House of Worship for $1 million, or join the Fisherman's Club for an annual subscription of $150. Funds are collected through a nonprofit organization in Israel. The Israeli government has promised a 20% grant after 20% of the funding has been raised, and the founders are hopeful that they will break holy ground by the end of the year.

And that's how the documentary will surely end: a slow-motion unfolding of the campus/resort rising on the lake, with a whole host of people of all religions streaming towards the sparkling waters and smilingly saying to each other: "Meet me in the Galilee."  And peace on earth would surely follow … but that's another movie.

For more information please visit http://www.galileanresort.com