Newsletter
Newsletter Support JNS

Americans delivering white roses to US Jewish communities

“As Christians, we must stand with the Jewish people and Israel,” says deputy director of the Philos Project, the group behind the initiative.

A field of roses in Timorim in southern Israel on Aug. 8, 2019. Photo by Mila Aviv/Flash90.
A field of roses in Timorim in southern Israel on Aug. 8, 2019. Photo by Mila Aviv/Flash90.

Americans in 100 U.S. cities are delivering white roses to their local Jewish communities on Thursday, to show solidarity following the Hamas massacre in Israel and the rise in antisemitic incidents around the globe over the last two and half weeks.

“At this moment, it is imperative that Christians physically show up to support Israel and the Jewish community,” said Luke Moon, deputy director of the Philos Project, the organization behind the initiative. “The Jewish community needs to know who their friends are now more than ever.”

The choice of the flowers is a nod to the Nazi-era German resistance group the White Rose.

The Philos Project, which seeks to foster solid bonds between Christian and Jewish communities, was a co-founder of Passages, a faith-based program dubbed “the Christian Birthright” that has brought more than 10,000 Christian students to tour Israel over the last six years.

“As Christians, we must stand with the Jewish people and Israel,” Moon said. “Christians in the past remained silent, and we refuse to do that again.”

An Agudah event drew Trump administration officials and members of Congress, among others.
“Look across the map,” the Pennsylvania senator said. “It’s like how much anti-Israel rhetoric you can cram into your platform.”
“I’m seeing an intensity of antisemitic attacks,” Gov. Ned Lamont told JNS. “A lot of it is energized by what’s happening in the Middle East and on social media.”
The prime minister’s office said that the U.S. president committed to a final deal that will include removal of nuclear material, dismantling enrichment facilities, limits on missiles and halting Iran’s support for terror proxies.
The ruling follows a Board of Immigration Appeals determination that Mohsen Mahdawi is deportable, a decision he is now challenging in federal court.
Rabbi Raphi Steiner told JNS that he worries that his son is growing up in an environment “wondering why some hater decided it would be a good idea to write on his shul that Jews don’t belong here.”