Carpentersville police chaplain Phil Zilinski will be one of several ministers heading to Israel this month to meet with police officers and their families involved in and affected by the Israeli war with Hamas in Gaza.
“This trip is not meant to be political but is a trip for a ministry of presence,” Zilinski said.
The trip is being arranged by the International Conference of Police Chaplains of which Zilinski is a member. Based in Knoxville, Tennessee, the 51-year-old organization’s website says it is “the world’s leading membership, training and advocacy association for law enforcement chaplaincy.”
In addition to being Carpentersville’s police chaplain for about 20 years, Zilinski also works with East Dundee, West Dundee and Sleepy Hollow police and local fire departments should they need a chaplain and serves as pastor of Fox Valley Baptist Church in East Dundee.
Zilinski said this is his first trip to Israel and he will be accompanied by two dozen chaplains of other faiths, including fellow Protestant ministers, Catholic priests and Jewish rabbis.
The group will be based in Jerusalem but plans to travel the 60 miles or so to Gaza during their visit. There they intend to meet with local police officers and the families of officers who lost their lives during the current conflict.
The initial attack in Israel on Oct. 7 resulted in the deaths of more than 1,200 people, and another 240 were taken hostage, according to Brittanica.com. Zilinksi said the chaplains group has been told at least 58 police officers lost their lives.
Israel declared war on Hamas, the controlling party in Palestine, which includes the Gaza Strip. In late January, CBS reported that the Hamas-led Health Ministry claimed more than 25,000 Palestinians have died during the current war.
“We as chaplains are here to minister to folks in the community going through hard times and the officers that deal with trauma,” Zilinski said. “This was an opportunity to minister to officers and families going through a hard time and to offer our presence and support for them.”
While he doesn’t don’t know exactly what he will say to the families, he will do a lot of listening and try to offer comfort, he said.
“Sometimes just being there for a person in a hard time is all they want or need,” he said.
He has had opportunities to take part in trips of this kind before, he said, and never felt led to participate.
“This time something about it struck a chord in my heart and I knew I should go. I really can’t explain it any better than just a gut feeling that I should do this,” he said. “My goal is to be a help wherever I can and to provide blessing and encouragement to the law enforcement officers and their families in Israel.”
Zilinski acknowledged there will be safety issues, but said the group won’t take unnecessary risks and will be with Israeli police most of the time.
The cost of the trip is about $4,000, which Zilinski was able to raise with donations from his congregation, friends and family.
“I am thankful to all the people that I know who have been generous in helping make this trip possible,” he said. “God has given me a great group of friends and family who support me in the vision that God has given me.”
Mike Danahey is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.