Israel has begun its preparations for the 2,000th anniversary of the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River, which will be marked in 2030.
The Foreign Ministry has established a working group led by Israeli Ambassador George Deek to coordinate with Christian leaders worldwide and manage the expected influx of millions of pilgrims for “an event of profound spiritual significance for more than two billion Christians worldwide.”
The milestone commemorates two millennia since the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River, roughly 6 miles east of Jericho and just north of the Dead Sea.
Many scholars date Jesus’s baptism to the year 27–29, while others place it around 30, depending on how they interpret the chronology in the Gospels and the reign of Emperor Tiberius.
“For me as a Christian and as Israel’s special envoy to the Christian world, this mission is deeply personal,” Deek told JNS on Wednesday. “It is an opportunity for Israel to honor the Christian heritage of the Holy Land, strengthen its dialogue with Christian communities worldwide, and ensure that pilgrims who come here can experience the places at the heart of their faith with dignity, safety and a true sense of welcome.”
Around 185,000 Israelis are Christian, accounting for just under 2% of the population, according to data published by the Central Bureau of Statistics last year.
Nearly 80% of the Christians in Israel are Arab.
Israel stands out as the only country in the Middle East with a growing Christian community.
Jordan is also undertaking massive infrastructure projects and raising funds to accommodate pilgrims at Bethany Beyond the Jordan, an archaeological site on the east bank of the Jordan River, also reputed to be the site of the baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist.
