Chairman of Aradhana TV channel Paul Devapriyam Pulla in Ashkelon near the Gaza border during the Christian Media Summit. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Retired teacher P.S. Sadaguna Raj Wood and his wife in Israel during a pilgrimage in May. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Pilgrims with Evangelist E. Satya Suvartha Raju in Israel. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
The ongoing war between Israel and Hamas has affected the Holyland pilgrimage, undertaken by devout Christians from India, particularly from the two Telugu States and rest of South India, this year.
Leading tour operators, many of them Christian TV channels operating in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, have either cancelled or put on hold their yearly trips to the strife-torn country till normalcy returns.
“We have cancelled two tours to Holyland from Hyderabad scheduled this month and November. Each batch comprises 50 people, including the tour director, and covers holy places in Israel, Egypt and Jordan in nine days,” said chairman of Aradhana, a Christian TV channel, Paul Devapriyam Pulla.
Bojja Samuel of Gospel TV said that they had put on hold their next tour to Holyland. “We had planned to send a 40-member group but have been advised by our travel agents in Israel to wait for further information. Till we get the go-ahead, the tours are cancelled,” he said.
Founder of the International Institute of Biblical Studies and Evangelist Showry Babu Kona and a veteran in organising Biblical study tours and pilgrimages, with 30 years of experience travelling to Israel, Palestine, Egypt and Jordan, said that the latest trip to these countries has been cancelled.
According to these Evangelical Ministry representatives, there is a huge demand for Holyland tours from March to November. Every month, at least five to seven batches of pilgrims depart from Hyderabad to visit these countries.
Typically, these operators launch their tours from Hyderabad and travel by flight to Egypt or Jordan and from there the pilgrims are taken by road for a five-day tour of Israel. Places covered include Mount Nebo (Amman and Jordan), Nazareth, Cana, Sea of Galilee, Mt. Tabor, Haifa, Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Tabo border, Red Sea, Sina and St. Catherine’s Monastery. Each person has to pay ₹1.50-1.65 lakh for the tour.
It was only on September 28 that Evangelist and multi-lingual translator S. Satya Suvartha Raju returned from a 10-day trip to Holyland, Jordan and Egypt, taking as many as 58 pilgrims from TS and AP.
“Every time I had escorted a group of pilgrims to Israel, minor skirmishes were witnessed in Bethlehem, Zericho and nearby cities in West Bank. But, the unprecedented scale of violence following the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7 and its aftermath is unimaginable,” Mr. Suvartha Raju.
Retired teacher P.S. Sadagun Raj Wood of Old Alwal, who had visited Holyland along with his wife in May this year, feels that it should be a must-visit destination on the agenda of any Christian. “We had a wonderful time visiting these holy places mentioned in the Holy Bible,” he said.
For people like Mr. Paul Devapriyam and Mr. Showry Babu, a visit to Israel has been an enriching experience every time. Mr. Paul was invited to attend the Christian Media Summit in December 22 where in the Israeli Government facilitated visit of the delegates to Ashkelon, the City that has been badly targeted by the Hamas operatives near Gaza border and showcased their surveillance system.
Similarly, Showry Babu has the distinction of addressing the Israeli Parliament in 2013 and 2015 as a representative of the International Institute of Biblical Studies. With 39 years of experience in visiting Israel, he is the Goodwill Ambassador for the country.
