Delegates and community leaders from Noahide communities across six continents gathered in Jerusalem on Monday for the opening of the First International Congress of Noahides.
Organized by the Jerusalem‑based Noahide World Center (Brit Olam) under the leadership of President Rabbi Oury Cherki, the five‑day gathering is being held at the Seven Arches Hotel on the Mount of Olives.
Noahides: Non‑Jews who observe Jewish traditions
The event marks the first time scattered communities adhering to the Seven Laws of Noah—active in more than 70 countries worldwide—have united to create permanent organizational structures and global governing bodies.
Noahides are non‑Jews who accept and observe the Seven Laws of Noah, a set of universal moral imperatives derived from the Torah. These laws prohibit idolatry, blasphemy, murder, theft, sexual immorality, cruelty to animals, and mandate the establishment of a legal system of justice.
Judaism does not seek to convert non‑Jews; unlike proselytizing religions, it maintains a clear distinction between Jews and non‑Jews while offering an autonomous spiritual path rooted in the ancient biblical covenant.
While remaining distinct from Judaism, Noahides look to the Torah and traditional rabbinical authorities for spiritual guidance, using the Hebrew Bible as their foundational text for ethical monotheism.
Designed as a founding assembly rather than a conventional conference, participants—led by Rabbi Cherki, senior lecturer at Machon Meir and head of the Bayit Yehuda community in Jerusalem’s Kiryat Moshe neighborhood—are engaged in workshops to build shared institutional frameworks. These include establishing the first international Beit Din, a rabbinical court of guidance, with Rabbi Cherki serving as Chief Justice alongside senior and regional judges.
The schedule features workshops developing foundational texts such as the Brit Shalom legal codex—authored by Rabbi Cherki to guide practical application of the Seven Laws—and the Brit Olam siddur, a universal prayer book adapted for Noahides to address God directly.
Additional sessions focus on drafting a unified educational syllabus, forming six continental regional councils, and creating a three‑arm financial funding model under a signed Founding Charter. Delegates also participate in guided heritage tours of ancient Jerusalem and Shiloh, the historic site of the Mishkan (Tabernacle).
Rabbi Singer’s Counter‑Missionary Legacy
Rabbi Tovia Singer, a prominent speaker and director of Outreach Judaism—an international counter‑missionary organization that combats fundamentalist Christian groups and cults targeting Jews for conversion—opened the congress.
Through extensive public lectures and media productions aimed at preserving Jewish affiliation, Singer has unintentionally attracted a large non‑Jewish audience. Many seekers have studied his material and chosen to become Noahides.
Reflecting on the historic setting, Singer noted that the hotel, built when Jewish access to East Jerusalem was restricted, now fulfills biblical prophecy. He told delegates: “This hotel was completed in 1964… the people who built it never dreamed that the Jews would ever return here. There were no Jews in Jerusalem for 19 years, from 1948 to 1967. The people who built this building thought that the Jewish people and the nations of the world who worship the God of Israel would never return. But I have a Bible… that tells us days are coming, saith the Lord, that all the nations speak in a pure speech of one accord. Welcome to the first international congress.”
Prominent Chabad Rabbi Manis Friedman also addressed the assembly, blessing the gathering and observing that humanity is reaching a tipping point where individuals across cultures and philosophies recognize the reality of God.
Serving the Creator through everyday actions—whether baking bread, producing goods, or fulfilling professional duties—makes every human being a universal partner in creation, Friedman explained.
Rabbi Yehuda HaKohen, head of Brit Olam’s English‑language division, emphasized that the congress transcends the Seven Laws, aiming at a broader historical turning point. “What this is really about is how a non‑Jew partners with the nation of Israel in fixing the world and bringing history to its goal,” he said, describing the event as a monumental step forward following the revival of Jewish sovereignty.
HaKohen told The Jerusalem Post, “Until now we’ve been focused on protecting ourselves from external threats, but we’ve reached a point in our development where we need to formulate a universalist orientation. At a time when liberal ideology is collapsing under the weight of its own contradictions and the US‑led global order is crumbling, Israel has an opportunity to present a universal vision that can lead humanity into a better future.”
Critics of the Noahide Congress
While organizers and participants view the congress as a historic milestone, the event has provoked strong criticism online, especially among conservative evangelical and independent Christian commentators.
Online platforms and prophecy programs such as the Lion of Judah channel have issued warnings that the Noahide movement’s push for international rabbinical courts and centralized global governance mirrors apocalyptic predictions about a single enforced world religion that would suppress traditional Christian faith.
Skeptics highlight Maimonides’ rulings that classify mainstream Trinitarian Christianity as Avodah Zarah (idolatry), which would be prohibited under Noahide law.
The gathering will culminate in two ceremonial milestones: signing of the founding document and a formal reception scheduled for Thursday at Beit HaNasi, the official residence of the President of the State of Israel.
Rabbi Oury Cherki declared, “On the day after the declaration is signed, a Noahide in Manila or in Texas will no longer stand alone before his questions. Communities will be recognized, leadership will be accountable, and a living connection to Jerusalem will be restored. We are moving from scattered individuals to a covenantal structure, and that is the difference between a sentiment and a civilization.”
Rabbi Chaim Goldberg, CEO of the Noahide World Center, added, “For two thousand years the nations were asked to watch Israel from the outside. This is the first time they are being received inside, not as guests, but as builders of the same structure. We are not adding a second floor to an old building. In Jerusalem, together, we are pouring a new foundation.”
Rod Bryant, a Texas‑based Noahide leader, told The Jerusalem Post, “This Congress has given new life to the international Noahide leaders who have been alone in the world. This week has exceeded all expectations. Bringing unity among our international Noahide partners and the nation of Israel.”
