Israel’s link to US evangelicals dies

Yechiel Eckstein, an Israeli-American rabbi who raised hundreds of millions of dollars for Israel by promoting closer ties with evangelical Christians around the world, died yesterday. The International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, the charity he founded over 35 years ago, said Eckstein, 67, died at his home in Jerusalem. The US-born Eckstein founded the fellowship in 1983, befriending evangelical leaders in the US and building support for Israel. Eckstein said his decades of efforts helped make support for Israel a top priority in the evangelical world.