Minister of Tourism Benny Elon held a press conference in New York on Monday to announce Israel's new "Deter Terrorism, Not Tourism" campaign. He spoke of the increased involvement of Evangelical Christians in support of Israel, and was in fact joined by Christian leader Gary Bauer, Chairman of American Values. "In the face of terror," Minister Elon said, "the U.S. administration must understand from our Christian evangelical friends the need to fight terror, and not reward killers. During times such as these, as we are being butchered in the streets of Jerusalem, our Christian and Jewish friends in the U.S. understand that we cannot reward terrorism. We will not remove settlements or make concessions, as our stay in Judea and Samaria is not temporary, and we will not permit the creation of a terrorist state in our biblical heartland." He said that Christian leaders have committed to bringing prayer and solidarity groups to the State of Israel, and that

visits from Christian groups kept Israel's tourism industry from collapsing even as the Palestinians' terrorism campaign plagued the country.



During his trip to the U.S., Elon is meeting with: Roberta Combs, President of The Christian Coalition of America; Pat Robertson, Chairman of The Christian Broadcasting Network; Michael Little, President of The Christian Broadcasting Network; Janet Parshall, national Christian radio talk show host; and many others.



Elon recently introduced a new peace plan entitled: "In the Wake of the War in Iraq - A Historic Opportunity for a Regional Solution to the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict." Further details are available at http://www.therightroadtopeace.com.