Donate or Volunteer for 2021 Shiloh Dig

Dear Friend and Partner of The Jerusalem Connection,

The Jerusalem Connection has spent the last two decades putting a tremendous focus on Aliyah, pro-life efforts in Israel, and assisting Israel’s poor. We affectionately call them Operation Aliyah, Operation Life, and the Elisha Fund. These three ministries remain our top priorities as we plan how Jerusalem Connection can best serve the Israeli people.

Our aim, with these ministries of mercy, is to put hands and feet to the prophecies in the fortieth chapter of Isaiah: “Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.”

With that in mind, we have been intentional in our defense of Israel and the Jewish people in the public arena as well. In our work of educating and activating Christian Zionists, we stay abreast of the ongoing fight against the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions movement with Amy Zewe’s weekly Red Alerts. With your help, we have used the art of Pat Hutchens to continually tell the story of the Holocaust to young people and educators who need to know about the horrors of the past so that they are never repeated in the present. And, of course, we hold our own American government, presidential candidates, and legislatures accountable for their treatment of Israel.

The Jerusalem Connection is pleased to announce that we are adding one more arrow in our quiver. We are joining the financial team for the Associates for Biblical Research in raising funds for archaeological digs in the land of the Bible. The excavation we are highlighting right now is happening this summer, 2021, in Ancient Shiloh.

As lovers of the Bible, we know from the scriptures that Shiloh was home to the tabernacle and the center of sacrificial worship for the twelve tribes of Israel for three centuries. Dr. Scott Stripling, provost at The Bible Seminary and an evangelical believer, is the Shiloh dig director. See the interview with Dr. Stripling that just came out today!

The 2020 excavation season at Shiloh was canceled, like every other excavation in Israel, due to the global pandemic. This would have marked the fourth season at Shiloh. If you have had the chance to visit the ruins at Shiloh, you know that major things have been uncovered in the form of ancient Israelite dwellings, storage rooms from the time of the tabernacle, a Byzantine church, and even an inscription confirming that the mound is indeed the biblical Shiloh. The excavation team believes they are on the verge of major discoveries at Shiloh and this next season could be the most critical yet. Still, the two things every excavation requires are volunteers and funding.

The Shiloh excavation is the largest excavation happening right now in Israel, with over 150 volunteers over the course of a month. Volunteers to the dig are welcome. They offer on-the-job training so no prior experience is required. Volunteers have ranged in age from 12 to 86. There is plenty for everyone to do! If you are interested in volunteering, feel free to email me at srn@tjci.org or visit the website at www.digshiloh.org

The Shiloh excavation keeps to the highest scientific standards and methodologies like wet-sifting and computerization in the field. Illuminating daily life in Israel at the time of Joshua’s conquest and the period of the Judges requires an enormous amount of tools and equipment: cameras, drones, water towers, ipads, buckets, bags, buses, fuel, and lots of sunscreen! This list only scratches the surface. The annual budget is 250,000.

The Jerusalem Connection wants to appeal to all of you to either consider volunteering or donating to the Associates of Biblical Research for Shiloh 2021. We consider this investigation as part of our overall educational mission. We believe the Bible is true and long to uncover evidence of the biblical tabernacle and any associated structures with the biblical sacrificial system.

I know it is difficult to say this, after a rough start to 2020, but we are blessed, and chosen, to be living during these times!

Please donate through our website www.thejerusalemconnection.us/donate/ or mark your check “Shiloh.”

“Go now to my place that was in Shiloh, where I made my name dwell.” Jeremiah 7:12

Blessings,

President, The Jerusalem Connection