Israel (MNN) – The region in and around Israel is a warzone. Hatred and physical devastation lurk in the rubble and leave families and communities decimated.
It’s a generation-defining conflict, and Jews For Jesus is responding to its aftermath. According to Aaron Abramson, the organization’s CEO, Jews For Jesus is “a group of Jewish people from Jewish backgrounds from around the world who have come to understand that Jesus is their Jewish Messiah, the foretold and promised Messiah they were waiting for.”
The organization’s efforts in Israel have expanded over the past ten years, especially in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. “We have a diverse range of ministries that we provide, anything from Russian-speaking ministry to Russian speakers; ministry to Israeli soldiers […] as they’re trying to figure out life and what faith looks like; ministry to children and youth, especially messianic families; ministry that is digital in the online space; and we have a whole bunch of other like arts ministries. Really all of that is contextualized to share the hope that we have.”
All of this has helped Jews For Jesus build the network and resources to be especially potent in the wake of the October 7th attacks and their aftermath.
“We were able to mobilize a whole bunch of Israeli volunteers, so not just believers in Jesus but volunteers who were able to say, ‘Hey, what does it mean to love your neighbor, and can we come alongside these people who are in need?’” Abramson says. “We reached out to provide that support for Israelis and they were desperately looking for hope. […] I was so encouraged that our teams were able to step up, help out, provide, and meet a need.”
That’s not to say everything has been easy. Anti-semitism has been on the rise at a global level. Jewish communities in Israel continue to feel more and more isolated as they lose resources and loved ones.
“It can be very difficult to stand in that space to say, ‘Hey, we want to be the hands and feet of Jesus in these contexts. We want to serve our people, but we also want to represent Jesus in these difficult contexts.”
In the face of that challenge, pray.
“Praying is very, very powerful because there’s a spiritual component to all of this,” Abramson says. “Throughout this period, I’m encouraging Christians to say, ‘Let me reach out to the Jewish people in my community, wherever that may be, and say, maybe you’re hurting right now. I’m praying for you.’”
Learn more about Jews For Jesus here and consider how you might connect with their work. Ask God to use their team to work through the volatile crises in the places they call home.
Header photo courtesy of Unsplash.
