EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: ALL ISRAEL NEWS interviews Iranian representative at the Feast of Tabernacles celebration

‘Israeli night’ celebration was barely disturbed by protests outside

The International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (ICEJ) celebrated its traditional ‘Israeli night’ during the Feast of Tabernacles celebration on Tuesday evening, welcoming numerous Israeli guests who thanked those gathered from around the world for their support of the Jewish state.

Attendees barely noticed the protest being held by about 50 ultra-Orthodox Jews outside of Jerusalem’s Pais Arena and, instead, enjoyed the varied program of the evening, which included speeches by guests of honor such as Israel's Minister of Intelligence Gila Gamliel and the hero of the Yom Kippur War of 1973 Avigdor Kahalani.

One of the many moving moments of the event came as Vahid Norouzi, an Iranian who became a Christian and now lives in the United States, took the stage together with a Jewish performer and sang Psalm 122 in Hebrew and in Farsi.

ALL ISRAEL NEWS conducted an exclusive interview with Norouzi, who shared his incredible story.

Norouzi grew up as a Muslim in Tehran, the capital of Iran.

He later moved to Turkey to earn money as a kickboxer but soon began a search for God, which led him to receive the gospel in an Iranian church in Turkey.

Today, he serves as a Christian worship leader in the U.S. and, via the Internet, in Iran.

To learn more about his fascinating life story and testimony, click here:

Before his performance, Norouzi pointed to the Brazilian delegation in the event hall and expressed his hope Iranians would one day come to Israel in comparable numbers.

“I hope, I pray that one day we see Iranians standing and praying and shouting [here]… Jesus is our God, let’s praise Him!”

Another emotional moment came as a Jewish Agency representative, after thanking Christians for their support of Jewish immigration to Israel, invited a Ukrainian mother and her two children to the stage,

The mother and her children came to Israel with the help of the Jewish Agency, she explained, before revealing that it was the birthday of one of the children and leading the crowd in a rendition of “Happy Birthday to You.”

The speeches were interspersed with performances by bands and artists from various nations, including Fiji, the Philippines, Finland, Germany, and others.

Norouzi closed the evening by performing Israel's national anthem ‘Hatikva.’

The ICEJ Feast of Tabernacles is the largest Evangelical Christian celebration in Israel each year, bringing thousands of tourists to Israel for eight days of celebrations in the Galilee, Jerusalem and the Negev during the Jewish holiday of Sukkot.