Somewhere above the Atlantic Ocean, I am writing these words on my way to Israel, thinking about a journey that was supposed to take place nearly 60 years ago.
In 1967, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. planned to lead thousands of black Americans on a historic pilgrimage to the Holy Land. The Six-Day War disrupted those plans, and King ultimately canceled the visit amid concerns about the conflict and its political implications. He considered traveling the following year, but in April 1968, he was assassinated. The journey he envisioned never took place.
Today, I am traveling to Israel as part of an extraordinary delegation of approximately 500 black and African Christian pastors and leaders determined to carry that vision forward.
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The pilgrimage is called Unfinished Business. And at a time when antisemitism is rising, Jewish communities are feeling increasingly isolated, and Israel has become the subject of relentless international condemnation, the significance of this journey is difficult to overstate.
As a Jewish American journalist who has spent years reporting on antisemitism, Israel, and Jewish communities around the world, I have witnessed the painful consequences of hatred and the extraordinary resilience of those who confront it.
But this journey is about something equally important: the people who choose to stand beside the Jewish community when that solidarity matters most.
These Christian leaders are not merely offering words of support from thousands of miles away. They are crossing an ocean to meet Israelis, hear their stories, and build relationships that can reach far beyond the borders of the Jewish state.
And there is something profoundly moving about that.
King’s planned journey was interrupted by war and ultimately left unrealized by his assassination. Nearly six decades later, hundreds of religious leaders are helping write a new chapter in the relationship between black Christians and the Jewish people.
It is a reminder that history’s unfinished work can still inspire extraordinary acts of courage, friendship, and faith.
The relationship between black Americans and Jewish Americans has deep roots in the Civil Rights Movement. Jewish activists marched alongside black Americans, participated in voter registration efforts, and helped advance the fight for equal rights. Their partnership was not without disagreements or difficult chapters, but it demonstrated what becomes possible when communities recognize a shared responsibility to confront injustice.
Today, that responsibility is being tested once again.
Across America, Jewish students have faced intimidation on campuses, synagogues have strengthened security, and families have been forced to confront a troubling reality: Openly identifying as Jewish can carry risks that should be unimaginable in a country founded on religious freedom.
At a moment when antisemitism is too often excused, minimized, or disguised as political activism, solidarity with the Jewish people cannot be conditional on public approval. It must be a moral commitment. These Christian leaders understand that standing against hatred means showing up, even when others choose to remain silent.
That is why this historic pilgrimage matters.
Organized by the black Christian Leadership Council on Israel Relations in partnership with Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the delegation includes Christian leaders from across the United States and Africa, alongside American rabbis and influential religious voices.
This is more than a symbolic gathering. It is an effort to renew a relationship with deep historical roots and build a lasting movement of Christian-Jewish solidarity.
Pastor Dumisani Washington, co-founder and co-chairman of the council, has outlined an ambition to bring approximately 5,000 pastors to Israel next year, expanding the impact of this first historic delegation.
Think about what that could mean.
Thousands of religious leaders returning to their congregations with firsthand knowledge of Israel, its people, and the realities they face. Thousands of opportunities to replace assumptions with conversations and political slogans with human experiences.
Dr. Michael A. Stevens Sr., who co-chairs the council, captured the significance of this mission in a powerful statement:
“A war delayed Dr. King, and an assassin’s bullet stopped him. But a bullet cannot cancel a calling.”
Those words reflect the larger purpose of this journey. The mission is not to recreate a visit that never happened or claim to know precisely what King would have experienced. It is to carry forward the belief that faith and moral leadership can build bridges where politics has created divisions.
And perhaps nowhere is that responsibility more urgent today than in Israel.
The Oct. 7 terrorist attacks left families shattered, and communities forever changed. The names and faces of those murdered and taken hostage must never disappear beneath the endless cycle of political debate.
Among the stories being recognized during this delegation are those of Lotan Abir, murdered at the Nova music festival; Elkana Bohbot, who survived 738 days in Hamas captivity; and Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim, the young Israeli Embassy employees murdered in Washington, D.C.
Each represents a life, a family, and a story that deserves to be heard.
As a journalist, I have spent years learning that the most meaningful reporting often begins when people stop speaking in headlines and start speaking to one another.
There is a difference between reading about a tragedy and sitting across from someone who has lived through it. There is a difference between debating Israel from thousands of miles away and standing beside the families whose lives have been transformed by war and terrorism.
These pastors will have an opportunity to encounter that reality themselves.
And when they return home, their voices may reach audiences that political leaders, diplomats, and journalists cannot.
A pastor standing before a congregation and describing a family he met in Jerusalem can make a distant conflict deeply personal. A religious leader who has listened to an Israeli survivor can help others understand that behind every argument about the Middle East are human beings whose lives matter.
That is the power of witnessing.
The real test of this pilgrimage will begin when the participants return home. Their responsibility will be to turn what they witnessed into conversations, education, and the courage to challenge antisemitism wherever it appears.
That is what will determine whether this historic journey becomes the beginning of something lasting.
King’s legacy has been invoked in countless speeches and commemorations. Yet the principles he championed demand more than remembrance. They require the willingness to act, to build relationships, and to recognize the dignity of people beyond our own communities.
There is something especially meaningful about this pilgrimage taking place at a moment when many Jews are asking who their friends truly are.
Five hundred Christian leaders are offering an answer through their presence.
They are demonstrating that solidarity is not limited by religion, race, nationality, or geography. That supporting the Jewish people should not be controversial. And that friendship is most meaningful when it is demonstrated during difficult times.
As I make my way to Israel, I am thinking about the journey King never had the opportunity to complete and the extraordinary people now determined to carry its inspiration forward.
On April 3, 1968, just one day before his assassination, King delivered what would become his final speech. Speaking of the struggle for freedom, he declared, “I’ve seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you.”
King was speaking metaphorically about the future of civil rights, not predicting a journey to Israel. Yet nearly six decades later, those words carry an extraordinary resonance.
We cannot rewrite history. We cannot give King the pilgrimage he never experienced.
But today, hundreds of Christian leaders are traveling to the land he had hoped to visit, carrying forward a vision of faith, friendship, and solidarity.
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King never made that journey to Israel. Now, nearly 60 years later, we are making it in his honor.
And perhaps the most meaningful part of this historic journey will not be what we discover when we arrive, but what we carry home.
Ariella Noveck is a journalist and Washington Examiner opinion contributor specializing in antisemitism, Israel, and Middle East affairs, with extensive experience covering Jewish communities worldwide. Her work includes on-the-ground reporting, interviews with world leaders, and analysis of major geopolitical events. She can be followed on X and Instagram @AriellaNoveck.