In a historic first, scores of Noahides from around the world gathered in Jerusalem last week for a five-day conference celebrating their shared faith and support for Israel.
The gathering took place amid widespread international criticism of the Jewish state following the regional wars triggered by the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas massacre.
The First International Congress of Noahides, organized by the Jerusalem-based nonprofit Brit Olam–The Noahide World Center, brought together non-Jews dedicated to living according to the Torah’s universal principles.
The program included sightseeing, Torah study with rabbis and a meeting with Israeli President Isaac Herzog.
Noahides, or “Children of Noah,” are non-Jews who follow the Seven Laws of Noah, a set of universal moral commandments in Jewish tradition that apply to all humanity.
“We are talking about people who are very close to Judaism in their spirits,” Rabbi Oury Cherki, president of Brit Olam, told JNS. “They are not interested in converting but want to be good people who live by the Torah.”
He described the tens of thousands of Noahides around the world as a group “on the periphery of the Jewish people”—true friends of Israel with a universal message.
Finding a spiritual home
Ole Vevle, a 54-year-old Norwegian artist who grew up in a secular environment, said he realized how little he knew about Judaism while making a film about the Hebrew and Christian Bibles.
“I found the Christian and Muslim religions lacking and then came across the concept of the Noahides where I later found my place,” he said.
Gabriel Nicholas Pascal, 31, from Manila, whose mother raised him in an evangelical church, said he discovered Judaism and Israel later in life.
“I didn’t even know that Israel existed as a kid; I thought it was a desert thing,” he said.
Pascal went on to study Torah online with Orthodox rabbis who teach non-Jews.
“My faith in Hashem has never been stronger, and my love for Israel keeps growing,” he said.
A universal moral code
The Seven Laws of Noah, rooted in Jewish tradition, include belief in one God, the establishment of courts of justice and prohibitions against idolatry, murder, theft, sexual immorality and eating flesh taken from a living animal.
At the Jerusalem conference, participants signed a joint statement affirming their belief in the covenant of the prophets and recognizing Jerusalem as the spiritual center of their faith.
The gathering also laid the groundwork for establishing an international rabbinical court (beit din) for Noahide affairs, as well as a framework for individuals to make ceremonial declarations before a religious court in Jerusalem.
Rabbi Yehuda HaKohen, director of Brit Olam’s English-language program, said the movement offers an opportunity for Israel to promote a universal vision rooted in Jewish teachings.
“At a time when liberal ideology is collapsing under the weight of its own contradictions and the US-led global order is crumbling, Israel has an opportunity to present a universal vision that can lead humanity into a better future.”
