The Golgotha Crucifix atop the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. Photo: Markus Bollen – Michael Hammers Studios Gmbh.

JNS.org – Around 70 Christian media outlets are scheduled to convene in Jerusalem this fall for a first-of-its-kind Christian media summit.

The four-day event — sponsored by Israel’s Government Press Office (GPO), Foreign Ministry and Jerusalem Affairs Ministry — will see some 140 Christian media associates visit the Jewish state’s capital in mid-October.

The media summit will facilitate tours for participants, including a visit to Gush Etzion — Israel’s largest bloc of communities in Judea and Samaria. The Christian media professionals will also visit Bethlehem and Jerusalem’s Friends of Zion Museum, and will participate in conference sessions on topics related to news coverage of Israel.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Reuven Rivlin and other senior officials are expected to meet with the Christian media representatives during their visit to the Jewish state.

“We thought that the 50th anniversary of the reunification of Jerusalem would be a good opportunity to hold such a conference,” Nitzan Chen, director of the GPO, told Haaretz.

“We hope these journalists will become good ambassadors for Israel and if this conference succeeds, the idea is to hold it every year or two,” he added.

The Christian journalists were invited to Israel following government consultations with the National Religious Broadcasters, a non-partisan, international association of Christian communicators with more than 1,100 member organizations.