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  The Covenant in Berlin during the war of Lebanon and Israel 2006
• Report about the Covenant from the Jewish Press - Israel

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Comforting the people on every side - The Hebrew Tour of the COVENANT 2005
“The Covenant” sweeps across Israel with a message of hope
By David Schutz

Amid contentious division in the land with the disengagement plan looming, the ICEJ brought the concept of com­forting Israel to a new level this spring as “The Covenant” kicked off a four-week, multi-performance tour, the third of its kind in as many years.

This year’s production, which includ­ed a number of new scenes and additions, brought a special message to approxi­mately 15,000 Israelis, many of whom believe that the international “Christian” community had deserted them in recent months. Thus the recent tour provided many opportunities to demonstrate God’s everlasting love for His people.

“I thought that the whole world was against us, but truly, you (Christians) are more Jewish than I am,” exclaimed one woman, who mentioned she is an observ­ant Jew.

“The Covenant,” a musical that chronicles the touching story of God’s everlasting covenant with His people, was written by Robert and Elizabeth Muren. Two years ago, the ICEJ spon­sored the first national tour of the pro­duction in Hebrew, and it has been an annual occurrence since. This year 17 performances were staged in four cit­ies: Tel Aviv, Beit Yanai, Herzliyah and Eilat.

The cast of the musical was made up of over 80 actors from around the world, plus volunteers who flew in to oversee demanding crew positions. The emotional responses and tearful, grateful embraces of the audience after each show made the effort rewarding.

Throughout the tour, whether stu­dents, elderly, soldiers or national dignitaries, the audience responses to every performance were overwhelming.

“It amazes me that so many people came to do this show simply out of love. These Christians are like my brothers,” one man said.

One audience was composed entirely of raucous new army recruits. The soldiers began applauding, with standing ovations in response to the Israeli national anthem, “HaTikva (The Hope)” until the end of the performance, 10 minutes later.

“The investment made in the show, the costumes, the set, the choreography – it was amazing,” said Pvt. Michal Avramson, 19. “What makes people from other countries come and do this for us?”

The tour was a resounding success, but was not without opposition. A sched­uled performance in Haifa and three in Eilat were cancelled due to pressure from various Jewish groups who are not yet convinced of our sincerity.

But those who saw the performanc­es had no doubt of the pure love directed toward them and their nation, with the reminder that the God of Israel has not forsaken them.

Particularly moving was a perform­ance for the elderly in the city of Herzliyah, where many of the audience were Holocaust survivors. Throughout the show there was widespread weeping and at the end, many of the people were too emotional to speak.

One woman approached a member of the ICEJ staff, pulled back her shirt sleeve to expose the number tattooed on her, and said: “The whole of Europe hates us and you have come here with such love. I will never believe anything bad about Christians again!”

Ehud Manor
This season of “The Covenant” was marked by the sudden death of Ehud Manor, renowned Israeli songwriter and Hebrew translator. Manor, who translated “The Covenant” into Hebrew, died of a heart attack on April 5 at the age of 64. Manor introduced the Tel Aviv debut of The Covenant in Hebrew during the first Israeli tour, in March 2003.

ICEJ Music Director Chuck King, who worked closely with Manor, said, “I feel it was the hand of God that connected us to him. From our initial meeting, Ehud was a man of sincerity, warmth, humor, modesty and genuine friendship.”

Despite a prolonged illness in recent months, Manor translated several new scenes for the Spring 2005 tour.

“Through him, we have been able to reach this nation in a truly unique and lasting way,” King said.

Aaron Peisch
Among the soldiers who came to see “The Covenant” was a special face that stood out among the sea of camouflage green: Pvt. Aaron Peisch, a recent IDF ­recruit and eldest sibling of six cast members - all of his brothers and sisters. Mom Peisch, Pam, was also in the cast.

Aaron, who has performed in “The Covenant” in all tours until this one, was watching the musical with his unit for the first time, instead of acting in it. He was drafted and began his compulsory military service in December.

“I’ve always heard what other soldiers said about it, but I felt it for the first time,” Aaron said. “Now I know why I’m in the army. There are people in this world who love us.”