An ambitious project that’s on the drawing board to create an Israeli ‘Silicon Valley’ in the Negev Desert city of Arad could be fulfilling prophecy.
That’s the view of Kevin Jessip, President of Global Strategic Alliance which advises national and global leaders in business, faith and politics to advance initiatives for the persecuted church worldwide and for the preservation of Judaeo-Christian principles.
The American businessman from Venice, Florida is supporting the Negev Hi-Tech Project which he sees as the prophetic fulfillment of Ezekiel:36.
It reads in part: The desolate land shall be tilled instead of lying desolate in the sight of all who pass by. So they will say, ‘This land that was desolate has become like the garden of Eden; and the wasted, desolate, and ruined cities are now fortified and inhabited.’
Mr. Jessip told CBN News: “Israel is known as the ‘Startup Nation’, and I believe there’s yet to come some world-changing startups from this place in the area of food and agriculture, water technologies, communications, national security things, things that are being developed now that we already are aware of in all of these areas.”
“We’ve come here as evangelical Christians to stand against any delegitimisation of the state of Israel. We stand against BDS (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions movement). We stand against antisemitism and we thank the Lord for our Jewish brothers who gave us the Word of God. We’re here to gather with them and see the land prosper and grow,” Mr. Jessip proclaimed.
“God does these things by the power of His own name and Who He is, and His word prophesied this would happen,” he asserted.
Former member of the Knesset (Israeli Parliament) Robert Ilatov, an immigrant from the former Soviet Union, is leading plans to realise the project on a tract of undeveloped land in Arad and transform the city of 30,000 into a magnet for young Jews to immigrate to Israel.
“It will be the anchor of this city – educational anchor, research anchor, and economic anchor [as well as an] industrial centre for startup companies. It’s important for many people out of Israel to support Israel, to support the new Zionism, the settlement of the Jewish in this land, to establish and to promote technologies and academia and research and many other fields.”
“They will come – not for money. They want a challenge. People want to do new things. They want to do smart things. So Jews will come to this place if we will do some interesting place for them. And of course we will do it, with God’s help,” Mr. Ilatov explained to CBN News.
Pastor Randy Burt of New Life Church in Venice, Florida, also supports the project. “This is a historically strategic, prophetically strategic moment. To be here in Arad, witnessing fulfilment of prophetic word in the Old Testament and New Testament, and to have the privilege, the honour, to sow into that – not just with finance, but with heart – that is the world to me, because I want to be where God is doing His big thing to honour His word and His people.”
