Barkat gets FOZ award from Evans
Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat was honored Monday night with the “Friends of Zion” Award at a festive dinner hosted by Dr. Mike Evans and the Friends of Zion Museum, the Israel Government Press Office and the Municipality of Jerusalem in front of a crowd of over 150 Christian broadcasters, publishers and journalists from around the world.
Barkat is finishing up the last weeks of his term as mayor of Jerusalem and has announced his interest in pursuing national politics. Formerly a prominent hi-tech entrepreneur, Barkat is credited with increasing the economy of Jerusalem, transforming the city into a start-up capital and doubling its tourism in just a few years. Barkat has also announced his intentions to rid Jerusalem of UNRWA, the United Nations organization accused of allowing educational incitement against Israel and for exacerbating the Palestinian refugee issue.
While presenting Barkat the Friends of Zion Award, Evans told the audience: “We know that Israel’s friends are a thousand times greater than her enemies. It is time to focus on those friends: these amazing Christian Zionist broadcasters, who are one of the keys to building bridges as well as creating friends for Israel and her people.”
The award comes as the Friends of Zion Museum & the Jerusalem Prayer Team surpassed 50 million members on social media, making them one of the largest Pro-Israel platforms in the world. Since FOZ opened its doors in 2015 in the heart of central Jerusalem, the Friends of Zion Museum has gained much fame by revealing the heroic stories of courageous non-Jews who have assisted the Jewish people throughout the Zionist movement as well as during the Holocaust.
In a recently announced $100 million-dollar project, the Friends of Zion Heritage Center is currently building a think tank, research center, Ambassador Institute and an online university, all of which is being utilized to help educate Pro-Israel supporters around the world about Israel’s history, challenges and achievements. According to Evans: “The achievement of 50 million online members has come through the FOZ Museum’s ability to reach out to people all over the world and transform them into friends of Israel.”