Henri Dunant, ’first Christian Zionist’, honored at international commemoration event in Geneva

"Already in 1866, 30 years before the first Zionist Congress, Dunant [founder of the International Red Cross] had proposed a repopulation of Palestine by Jews. As a personal friend of Theodore Herzl he was one of only a few non-Jews to attend the First Zionist Congress in Basel in 1897. He was once referred to by Herzl as a ’Christian Zionist’, this being the first time the term was ever used. [...] "The values of Henry Dunant were the values of most Christian social reformers for the last 300 years, from William Wilberforce, 100 years before Dunant, to Martin Luther King 100 years after him. These great men of faith and social justice had a deep understanding of the struggles of the Jewish people and supported their right to self-determination," Sandell explained. The event clearly illustrated the fact that while the modern state of Israel currently faces a vicious NGO campaign of delegitimization and dehumanization the social pioneers who founded their movements were mostly warm friends of Israel."

Source: European Coalition for Israel

Geneva, 1 November, 2010 - The remarkable life of International Red Cross founder and first recipient of the Nobel Peace Price, HenryDunant was honored on Saturday at a private ceremony in Geneva in the presence of descendants of the Dunant family and the US Ambassador to the United Nations, Betty E. King. Saturday marked the 100th anniversary of the death of Henry Dunant.

Though most people remember Henry Dunant primarily as the founder of the International Red Cross very few know the man behind the vision.

"Henri Dunant was a man of faith who already at the age of twenty had committed his life to be more effective in Christian charity, heat up lukewarm believers and to convert those who had not met God," European Coalition for Israel Director Tomas Sandell said at the event quoting the Henry Dunant Society.

"This is a side of his life that documentaries seldom talk about but which helps explain his life and vision. Henry Dunant was a Christian activist (he helped found the World Alliance of YMCA in 1855), and a fervent believer in the restoration of the Jewish people to their ancient homeland of Palestine. Already in 1866, 30 years before the first Zionist Congress, Dunant had proposed a repopulation of Palestine by Jews. As a personal friend of Theodore Herzl he was one of only a few non-Jews to attend the First Zionist Congress in Basel in 1897. He was once referred to by Herzl as a ’Christian Zionist’, this being the first time the term was ever used.

"Henry Dunant understood already in 1866 what it took others another 80 years to grasp, namely that the Jewish people were entitled to live in their own ancient homeland of Palestine, side by side and in peace with their Arab neighbours. Just imagine how many lives could have been spared if also this life vision would have come to pass during his lifetime," Sandell concluded in his speech.

Calev Myers from the Jerusalem Institute of Justice conveyed a greeting from Jerusalem by illustrating how the ideals of Henry Dunant are today shaping modern Israeli society.

"In the hospital in Ashkelon, on the border to Gaza, we follow the spirit of Henry Dunant, which means that politics has no business within the walls of a hospital and where Palestinians from Gaza and Israeli soldiers are treated side by side. This is the true spirit of humanitarianism which Henri Dunant was dreaming of," he said.

The commemoration event included a guided tour of the Alabama Hall in the Geneva Town Hall where the first Geneva convention was signed in 1864. It was followed by an evening event in Chapelle de L’Oratoire, the church where Henry Dunant was a member and which was the birth place of a spiritual revival which swept Geneva some 150 years ago.

"Revivals bring about reformation and change in society," said Bedros Nassanian, Director of Association Beyond Resources, a new humanitarian organization based in Geneva which co-sponsored the event together with the European Coalition for Israel.

"It was out of this very church that the ideas of an International Red Cross and the first Geneva convention were born," he said.

The commemoration event was organized in order to pay tribute to Henry Dunant while at the same time presenting the man behind the name and the motivation behind his life.

"The values of Henry Dunant were the values of most Christian social reformers for the last 300 years, from William Wilberforce, 100 years before Dunant, to Martin Luther King 100 years after him. These great men of faith and social justice had a deep understanding of the struggles of the Jewish people and supported their right to self-determination," Sandell explained.
The event clearly illustrated the fact that while the modern state of Israel currently faces a vicious NGO campaign of delegitimization and dehumanization the social pioneers who founded their movements were mostly warm friends of Israel.