Samaritan members featured in Jewish newspaper

A ministry run by members of Samaritan Ministries was featured on the front page of the March 30 Forward, a Jewish newspaper published in the U.S.

A photo featuring several members of the Tennessee-based Waller family, which oversees HaYovel, ran front and center on page 1 of the weekly over the headline “Christians Called To Serve Jewish Settlers,” with the subhed “They Volunteer in the Vineyards Because the Bible Says So.”

The ministry, founded by Tommy and Sherri Waller, serves Israeli farmers in the West Bank, providing free Christian labor in vineyards and olive groves in what has historically been known as Samaria.

The story by Nathan Jeffay emphasizes the Wallers’ desire to see prophecy fulfilled, citing Jeremiah 31:5 (“Again you shall plant vineyards on the mountains of Samaria; the planters shall plant and shall enjoy the fruit”) and Isaiah 61:5 (“Strangers shall stand and tend your flocks; foreigners shall be your plowmen and vinedressers”).

It’s an even-handed description of HaYovel’s purpose, adding the context of Jews who oppose the settlement movement in the West Bank and who oppose non-Jews even working on Jewish land.