we are a group formed by British Christians who recognise that Britain was called to help birth the restoration of a homeland for the Jewish people. The name "Repairing the Breach" came to Rosie Ross the founder, whilst on a plane flying between Israel and the UK.

"You shall raise up the foundations of many generations: And you shall be called the Repairer of the Breach" (Isaiah 58:12) 

Join our tour to Israel, 20th to 26th May 2024

Come and share in God's heart for reconciliation as we journey through His Land and meet her people. Worship, fellowship and pray with local Jewish and Arab believers. Visit border communities affected by the October 7th massacre. Meet Israelis who suffered under the British Mandate. Visit biblical and national sites throughout Israel.

Cost between GBP930 - 1,100 (excluding flights and travel insurance)

To download the tour flyer, click the image on the right.
To register your interest, email us at
repairingthebreach2018@gmail.com

click to download information sheet/itinerary
Tour flyer download link

Gidon Ramati with Sally and Francis Prittie and Tamar Taylor at the "Exodus 1947" memorial event in Haifa.

Our Vision

  1. To heighten awareness of Britain's history regarding the Jewish people and the land of Israel, with particular reference to what occurred during the British Mandate period from 1920 - 1948.
  2. To humbly acknowledge before God and the Jewish people our (Britain's) serious failures in overseeing the land of Israel during the Mandate period, particularly focussing on acknowledging our guilt in regard to the Holocaust and Holocaust survivors.
  3. To build healing relationships with Jewish people and their families who suffered under the British at that time.

Those from the UK who themselves, or who had family members who were involved in the Mandate, play an important role.

THE CONTEXT FOR REPAIRING THE BREACH
Revivals in the UK from the time of the Puritans to the Welsh Revival caused many to study the Bible and see how Israel and the Jewish people were key in God's purposes. William Wilberforce and Lord Shaftsbury were two prominent leaders who shared God's passion for the Jewish people's salvation and their return to their land.

In 1917 the Balfour Declaration reflected the desire that many British Christians had to see Bible prophecy fulfilled regarding the restoration of the Jewish people to their ancient homeland. This declaration was incorporated into international law in the San Remo Treaty (1920) and the League of Nations Mandate for Palestine (1922). To understand the significance of the San Remo treaty please watch this excellent short explanation (left) or watch the excellent programme filmed in Jerusalem and featuring key Israeli leaders and diplomats. www.ec4i.org.

"...you have left your first love. Therefore, remember the height from which you have fallen and repent and do the deeds you did at first." (Revelation 2:4-5)

REMEMBERING, REPENTANCE AND THE RECONCILIATION IT BRINGS
Continuing Love Never Fails' (LNF) pioneer work, we have been involved with:

Joan Thomas with Zehava Fuchs at Hadassah hospital after one of the annual Hadassah convoy memorials

COMMEMORATIVE/MEMORIAL EVENTS IN ISRAEL

  • As part of LNF (lnf.org.uk), RTB has participated in various Israeli memorial events to express our sorrow and regret for the failings of the British administration:
  • The 1948 Hadassah Convoy Massacre at Hadassah Hospital Jerusalem,
  • The 1929 Hebron Massacre,
  • Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial day in Jerusalem,
  • Anniversaries of ships deemed illegal by the British for carrying Jewish refugees to Palestine NB the Exodus 1947.

RECONCILIATION BETWEEN BRITISH CHRISTIANS AND JEWISH ISRAELIS

  • Attending and speaking at such events
  • Humbly acknowledging our nation's history and being willing to learn more
  • Fostering relationships with individuals and their families through being ready to listen to their stories of suffering under the British Mandate and show friendship in the face of growing anti-Semitism.
  • Giving and receiving hospitality as we gather with our new Israeli friends and celebrate Jewish and Christian feasts together
  • Arranging tours to the UK for these Israelis to share their first-hand stories
  • Facilitating Mandate history tours to Israel for British people enabling them to participate in commemorative events, meet those who suffered and build friendships with them and their families.

Saying Sorry

In 2015 we held a significant event at Haifa Port and at Atlit former Detention Camp, to express our sorrow for preventing more than 90 ships, carrying tens of thousands of Jews fleeing Europe, from docking. Britain turned them back to Europe or interned these Holocaust survivors in Detention Camps in Atlit, Cyprus and Mauritius. The Marquess of Reading and Colonel Richard Kemp were two of the speakers at the event.

Arie Itamar meeting Tom Dale in Tom's home

In the summer of 2016 we organised a tour to England and Wales for our Israeli friends. They enjoyed hospitality in British Christian homes, toured various places of interest and spoke at several venues, telling stories of their experiences and sufferings under the British administration.

Many British hearts were touched by their suffering and for many this was the first opportunity to learn about this sad period of British history as it is not widely known by the British public. A special moment was when Arye Itamar met with a former Royal Navy man, Tom Dale, whose ship HMS Chequers was one of the ships that seized control of the famous Exodus 1947 ship.

Our friendship with Arie continues. He wrote in April 2020. "It was on 7.5.15, at the Haifa Port ceremony, that I first met the noble people of RTB. Their message of expressing their deep remorse over their nation's failure during the Mandate years and their desire to see a change in the relationship between our nations attracted me strongly and I started to feel a part of and a member of that family. Their attempt to repair our mutual relationship, as well as fighting against antisemitism and for Israel, is a holy mission. As their friends, we, the Israelis, are obliged to give RTB people, our friendship and support."

"Also the sons of those who afflicted you will come bowing down to you."
(Isaiah 60:14)

In 2017, "Repairing the Breach" was invited to participate in two official Israeli commemorations of the refugee ship, EXODUS 1947 and the more than 4,500 refugee passengers - survivors of the Holocaust. Verity Steele, a musician based in Hampshire, U.K. had learned a little British Mandate history for the first time whilst working in an Israeli orchestra in the 1980s. 

Verity Steele playing the viola with Shuli Natan, a well-known Israeli singer.

However, the shocking and traumatic nature of the EXODUS affair took on a far more personal tone when she discovered that her uncle had served on a British Naval Destroyer - one of the ships that intercepted the EXODUS in July 1947, resulting in the repatriation of its human cargo back to Germany, of all places! When she was invited to accompany the renowned Israeli singer, Shuli Natan, performing Yerushalayim Shel Zahav at the first of these ceremonies (July 2017), Verity was able to express her personal sorrow over the sufferings caused to the Jewish people by the cruel and shameful British policies of the time.

We, the RTB group as a whole, had the privilege of meeting survivors and spent time listening to their stories well into the afternoon. At the second event (Sept. 2017), which had been organised by survivors and many of their sons and daughters, we, and a specially organised tour group from the U.K. were able to hand out cards expressing our sorrow. Many hearts were deeply touched as the expressions of our heart brought reconciliation. One Holocaust survivor, Rivka, wrote of her experience that day, saying, "Here I like to tell you dear Jan (Cooper), and all the team that I met, I did not expect that today there are people like you with sea change. That gives me optimism for a better future world?"

Left to right - Yaakov Waiman, Billy Cooper and Arie Itamar at Billy's home

In September 2018 two Israelis came on tour in the UK to tell their stories at six locations from Wales to Westminster. Yaakov Waiman, whose mother Olga was in Auschwitz and then on the Exodus ship, said, "I came as a guest and left as part of a lovely family." He and Arie Itamar met Billy Cooper, a former serviceman who served in Palestine under the Mandate and they listened to each other's stories and had a special time of reconciliation. In Israel on Remembrance Sunday November 2018, Yaakov and Arie laid flowers on the graves of Billy's friends to honour their memory.

In September 2019 Rosie Ross and Jan Cooper joined an Israel Heritage tour to Hamburg organised by the Exodus 1947 families. They had the privilege alongside German Christians, students, teachers and civic dignitaries to be part of ceremonies where the families were welcomed and honoured.

Jan with Ester

Ester Rubinstein aged 12 on the Exodus said, "You are so humble to come from the UK to be with us, to listen and be at our side." At the British former D.P. Camp, now a German naval base in Sengwarden, the German naval officers received all our group in their canteen. Being served hot soup meant so much. Zeev Aarnon said, "When the war was on, the German army denied me food ...now the German soldiers in uniform are serving me. This was an unforgettable moment. A closing of a circle."

The story of the Exodus 1947 has been captured in this musical prepared by March of Life in Germany with whom we have a growing relationship. If you are interested in hosting this musical, do let us know.

"For I will restore you to health and I will heal you of your wounds", says the Lord. (Jeremiah 30:17)

On November 29th 2020 RTB and the Mary Sisters hosted a webinar for Love Never Fails to mark 80 years since the "Patria Disaster". We were most grateful to Anne Heelis of Nachamu Ami, Mike and Lynn McNally of March of Life and Roy Thurley chair of LNF for their key contributions.

The SS Patria, accidentally sunk by Jewish fighters attempting to stop it being used to exile to detention in Mauritius, Jewish refugees escaping the Holocaust.

Survivors from the Patria disaster. Click on the image to go to their stories on our Youtube channel.


The whole webinar is available on the right (1hr, 36mins). Watch highlights of the individual testimonies of those who were on the ship, above and the film made by Cila Ganot featuring Gidon's (survivor) family and members of RTB.

The Patria disaster was the sinking on 25 November 1940 by the Jewish paramilitary organization Haganah of a French-built ocean liner, the 11,885-ton SS Patria, in the port of Haifa, killing 267 people and injuring 172.
At the time of the sinking, Patria was carrying about 1,800 Jewish refugees from Nazi-occupied Europe whom the British authorities were deporting from Mandatory Palestine to Mauritius because they lacked entry permits. Zionist organizations opposed the deportation, and the underground paramilitary Haganah group planted a bomb intended to disable the ship to prevent it from leaving Haifa.

It was a privilege for us to commemorate this anniversary of the Patria disaster with survivors and their families. This event happened within days of other survivors of the disaster commemorating it in Israel and in conjunction with Holocaust centres in different countries.

Following the sinking of the Patria, the British persisted in their plans to detain the refugees from Nazi Europe in a prison on Mauritius. 1580 refugees were held there for 5 years and 128 are buried on the island. You can learn more by watching our film "Young boy in a broken boat" on youtube (see left) telling the story of Isaac Adler, one of the detainees whose pictures and writings vividly portray what he and others endured. You can also discover more by watching our one hour webinar from 21 Feb 2021.

We are deeply grateful to all who share the vision for "repairing the breach" and above all we want to give glory to the God who made heaven and earth through his Son Jesus Christ/Yeshuah Ha Maschiach, our Lord.

Without Him none of this would have come to be.

Related Information

You can watch here a shortened version of Hugh Kitson and Hatikvah Films' excellent portrayal of Britain and the Mandate, "The Forsaken Promise"

The full version can be purchased from Hatikvah Films
These links about the Mandate betrayal are from the more recent documentary "Whose Land?" by Hugh Kitson and Title Deeds media: Episode 8
Episode 9

Episode 10
Another excellent resource is the Hatikvah Films' production "The Destiny of Britain"

Repairing The Breach

"Repairing The Breach" is a member ministry of "Love Never Fails", a coalition of UK-based Christian Israel-related organisations.

You can contact us at repairingthebreach2018@gmail.com