A thin sheet of plastic separates the barren interior landscape of Rita’s home from the frigid terrain of Ukraine’s winter.

A bowl and plate teeter inside a china cabinet behind its one door whose glass is still intact. An oversized piece of floral-patterned material protects supplies behind the glassless other door. 

Electrical wires dangle from a jagged hole near the ceiling. Hints of blue paint under the crackled surface of a drab beige wall panel reveal a glimpse of cheerier times long gone.

A crack in one plaster-covered wall runs so deep it appears like the next rumbling noise could send the front of Rita’s home tumbling outward into the bitter cold.

Inside her broken home, Rita is bundled in a sweater, long pants, boots and a long but thin parka. She has survived in her ravaged community like myriads of others in Ukraine today – with no electricity or source of heat to ward off Ukraine’s below-freezing winter temperatures.

Rita is a single Jewish woman living on her own in battle-scarred Ukraine. Outside the cold concrete walls of her home lay dangers that she never dreamed she’d have to live among. Bombs. Russian soldiers. Desperate people willing to steal from her to save themselves. Unleashed evil, seizing opportunities within the war zone she now lives in. Rita lives afraid.

But one day, compassion knocked on her door. Members of a Jewish Voice partner ministry had heard about her living conditions and visited her. Rita was so fearful and guarded that she wouldn’t let them in her home. They talked to her from the hallway outside her door and told her they wanted to give her a woodstove.

Jewish Voice is funding this woodstove project to get heat into the homes of Ukrainians without electricity. Just $130 provides this electricity-free heat source – something that can be genuinely life-saving and also offer a means to cook food.

The ministry team returned to install Rita’s woodstove and wondered how it was possible that she could live in such conditions. They assembled the stove, and Rita was elated. “Never has there been such heat in the house,” she said. She couldn’t stop thanking them. When they asked if they could take her picture, she became very timid again but wanted to oblige as a sign of her immense gratitude.

The woodstove has made all the difference in Rita’s life. Before, there was nothing but cold for Rita; now, she has lifesaving heat. Before, Rita was alone; now, she knows she is not forgotten. Before, Rita was terrified of everyone; now she knows the love of Jesus revealed through people who showed her His compassion.

What’s more, during their visit with Rita, partners shared the Gospel with her, and she accepted Jesus as her Messiah. Her home is warmed by the heat of a woodstove given in Jesus’ name, and His love for her now warms her heart. Now she knows the eternal hope and newness of life that the Messiah gives those who place their trust in Him. Yes, indeed – a woodstove made a huge difference in Rita’s life.

Would you like to know the joy of helping someone like Rita stay warm this winter and hear the Gospel? The need is urgent across Ukraine as winter temperatures run below freezing. And while woodstoves in the U.S. often cost thousands of dollars, just $130 provides one to a shivering family living right now without heat in war-torn Ukraine.

Your prayers also make a difference. Please pray with us for Jewish people, like Rita, and their neighbors in Ukraine and for our ministry partners who are sharing practical aid and the Good News with them.

Please pray for the following:

• Jewish Voice ministry partners assembling and delivering aid in the name of Yeshua
• The Lord to warm and protect His people this winter
• Jewish people of Ukraine, like Rita, to be so moved by the compassion they receive in Jesus’ name that they see He is the Messiah and receive Him
• Those who are financially poor to become rich in spirit because they know the Lord and receive the abundance of joy found in the Messiah

THIS WEEK’S GLOBAL UPDATE

A Note from Jonathan Bernis

Shalom, my friend!

In this last week of 2022, I hope you can spend a moment to reflect and recall the goodness of God in your life — through overcoming challenges, enduring difficulties, and seeing His love ministering to you.

There’s no scarcity to God’s presence — and no lack in His affections for you. 

As we prepare to start another year, I pray God would give you a fresh revelation of His love and goodness. That like the Psalmist, you could declare, “Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; His love endures forever” (Psalm 107:1).

Thank you for standing with us. And for your love of God’s people. Please continue to pray for Jewish Voice and for the Jewish people in Israel and around the world.  

To the Jew first and also to the Nations,

Jonathan Bernis

President & CEO

Jewish Voice Ministries International

Headline News

Israel’s Latest Syria Strike Targeted Iranian Base, Drone Depot

YnetNews reports that recent Israeli Air Force attacks in Syria targeted a drone manufacturing facility owned by the Lebanon-based Hezbollah terror group and an Iranian headquarters in Damascus.

The UK-based Observatory for Human Rights reported that three people were killed in the raid and that none were Syrian civilians. It also claimed that a weapons storage facility belonging to Hezbollah was destroyed.

The area hit is known for the presence of Hezbollah forces and other pro-Iranian militias. Syrian opposition groups said that the targets were linked to Iran.

Since the beginning of the year, Israel struck targets on Syrian soil no less than 30 times, including the November airstrike near the Syrian border with Iraq against a convoy of trucks.

Updates

President Biden says “Silence is Complicity” on Anti-Semitism

At a White House event celebrating Chanukah, President Biden calls on Americans to join the fight against antisemitism in the United States – a week after launching a new effort to develop a national strategy to counter the anti-Semitic violence and activity that have increased nationwide (and globally) since 2021.

Chanukah Miracle or Government of Darkness: Lawmakers React to Coalition Declaration

Benjamin Netanyahu’s announcement that he had succeeded in forming a coalition was followed with dismay from his opposition claiming the government is Israel’s most hardline ever. The Likud party leader’s allies welcomed the development as Netanyahu informed President Isaac Herzog that he had reached agreements with his coalition partners to form Israel’s 37th government, minutes before the expiration of his mandate.

Pray with Us This Week for: 

• God to continue to protect innocent lives from the fighting in Ukraine and to bring a peaceful end to the invasion by Russia
• God to surround His people in Israel, who are constantly facing threats and violence from surrounding enemies
• Peace in the hearts and minds of the people of Israel and their enemies
• The Jewish people to recognize "Yeshua" as their Messiah

It’s Chanukah — the Festival of Lights, the Feast of Dedication! We hope you have signed up for our Chanukah devotional video series and are enjoying the daily thoughts on this season of miracles. Here are a few prayer points based on those themes.

Join us as we pray for you, for ourselves, and for Jewish people during this Chanukah season.

Let’s pray!

• That Jewish people around the world will know the true Light of Salvation, Yeshua (Jesus), the Light of World – John 8:12
• To have faith for miracles in our own lives, and in the lives of those we minister to, near and far – Ephesians 3:20
• That anywhere there is lack, the Lord would give His abundant provision – Philippians 4:19
• For strength to stand amid the darkness of this age – Ephesians 6:10–13
• That we would seek to be like Jesus, the Servant, represented on the Chanukah menorah by the Shamash (Servant) candle – Philippians 2:5-11
• We are filled to overflowing with the Holy Spirit, experiencing the fruits and the gifts of the Spirit and sharing God’s love with all those He places in our lives – Ephesians 5:18
• That during this season of the Feast of Dedication, we would turn our hearts to Jesus in fresh adoration and dedication – 1 John 4:19

Chanukah Sameach! Happy Chanukah!

May you bask in the Messiah’s love this holiday season! 

If you missed the Chanukah video series, you can find them here.

THIS WEEK’S GLOBAL UPDATE

A Note from Jonathan Bernis

Shalom, my friend!

As anti-Semitic hostilities continue to increase – as exemplified by the recent U.N. resolution you can read about below, and the ongoing war in Ukraine continues, we may feel the tension of uncertainty and the fear of the unknown.

But we have hope. 

We have hope that we’ll never be alone, never lack, never be left to the mercy of our struggles and difficulties. And that we’ll never be without a shepherd – The Shepherd. 

“ADONAI is my Shepherd, I shall not want” (Psalm 23:1 TLV).

The Shepherd is always watching, waiting, leading and guiding. That’s the promise from the Scriptures for you today.

That’s why it’s to Him we now turn and ask for His protective presence to be upon all of us – and especially upon His Chosen People. Please join with us in praying for peace and the safety of Israel and the Jewish people.

Thank you for standing with us through your partnership.

To the Jew first and also to the Nations,

Jonathan Bernis

President & CEO

Jewish Voice Ministries International

Headline News

U.N. Resolution Calls Israel's Founding a “Catastrophe”

The United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution last week to mark the founding of the modern State of Israel in 1948 as a "catastrophe."

Palestinians consider the establishment of Israel and its existence to this day as the "Nakba" (“catastrophe” in Arabic), and the world body decided to acknowledge the Palestinian version of events with the resolution, which was adopted by a vote of 90-30 with 47 abstentions.

The United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and most European Union countries, including Germany, voted against the anti-Israel resolution.

The resolution calls for a commemoration of the "Nakba" at the General Assembly Hall at UN headquarters in New York City next year.

Palestinians and their supporters mark the event every year on May 15, which is the day after Israel's independence was declared in 1948. Israel celebrates 75 years since the establishment of the state next year.

Middle East Updates

Gazan Laborer Arrested in Israel as Hamas Spy

Israeli security forces (Shin Bet) have arrested a Palestinian man from the Gaza Strip on suspicion that he spied in Israel on behalf of the Hamas terror group. Saber Mahmoud Yosef Abu Thabat, 28, from the central Gazan city of Deir al Balah, had a permit to enter Israel for work. According to the Shin Bet, Abu Thabat was recruited by Hamas to “gather intelligence and carry out missions in Israel.”

Report: Saudis Say Normalization with Israel “Matter of Time”

Saudi Arabia is looking to normalize relations with Israel, and such a move is a matter of time, according to Saudi Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel Al-Jubeir. The Minister, meeting with members of the American Jewish Community (AJC) in Washington, continued, “The direction of Saudi-Israeli relations is normalization, but it will take more time, and we must not put the cart before the horse.”

Pray with Us This Week

Please pray with me for:

• God to continue to protect innocent lives from the fighting in Ukraine and to bring a peaceful end to the invasion by Russia
• God to surround His people in Israel, who are constantly facing threats and violence from surrounding enemies
• Peace in the hearts and minds of the people of Israel and their enemies
• The Jewish people to recognize "Yeshua" as their Messiah

Breaking New Ground Among the Lemba – in Zambia!

• 4,754 Patients Received Care
• 987 People Received Dental Care
• 1,776 Eyeglasses Distributed
• 1,017 People Heard the Gospel
• 230 People Received Yeshua
• 453 People Requested a Visit to Learn More about Jesus

In late October, we held our first-ever Medical Outreach in the country of Zambia. This was a huge undertaking years in the making. Prayer, scouting trips, meetings with government officials, and additional preparatory trips culminated in this first Medical Outreach to the community of Mumbwa, Zambia.

So many things about this Outreach are worth noting. But, here are a few highlights:

The community and local officials responded with tremendous support, and people quickly trusted that we really were there to serve them with no strings attached.

About 40 to 50 percent of the patients we saw were Lemba. That’s a remarkably high percentage, and we were thrilled to serve so many from our target audience. We conducted three or four transports each day, bringing Lemba patients in from their surrounding communities.

There is already a Messianic Jewish congregation in the area, and many of its leaders and members served with us. They worked in the Spiritual Care Ministry, praying with and for their fellow Lemba, which lends tremendous credibility to the Gospel message we bring.

We encountered a great openness to the Gospel – a hunger for it even – among those who came for prayer. The very first patient who entered the prayer tent sat down and said, “How can I know I’m going to heaven? I want to make sure.”

We met a Believer who’d had both his legs amputated. He relied on others to carry him to the Clinic on their backs. It took us nearly all day to arrange for a wheelchair to give him. While he waited, he volunteered as a translator in the prayer tent, helping to share the Gospel. He was so happy to receive his wheelchair and even came back the next day to serve as a translator again.

There’s more to tell you, and we’ll share it with you in the coming weeks – stories about others you helped through your gifts to Jewish Voice. In the meantime, take a look at the number of people whose lives you helped change in Mumbwa, Zambia.  Thank you so much!

While Jewish people and international friends of Israel celebrate Israel’s 75th anniversary as a reborn nation next May, the Palestinian people and others who oppose the Jewish State mourn that same event on May 15 with Nakba (“Catastrophe”) Day. And now, the U.N. has made it official, passing a resolution to institute Nakba Day.

Nakba

“Nakba” means “catastrophe” in Arabic. If the word “catastrophe” makes you think of the Holocaust – that vile attempt by Adolf Hitler and Germany’s Third Reich to utterly exterminate the Jewish people through brutal and cruel means – you’re right on track with Jewish thought. The Hebrew word used for the Holocaust is Shoah, which means “Catastrophe.” The Palestinian people view the day Israel became a nation as their own catastrophe, and they petitioned the United Nations for international recognition of their sorrow. They have observed Nakba Day for years, often with violent protests and acts of terrorism against Israelis. Recently, however, they requested that the United Nations officially recognize May 15, 2023, as a day of commemoration for the Palestinian people.

In a shocking moment, on December 2 of this year, the resolution passed in the U.N.’s General Assembly by a vote of 90 to 30, with 47 member nations abstaining. For every one country that voted in support of Israel, three nations called its very existence a “catastrophe.”

The Players

To understand the new resolution, it helps to know who’s involved.

• Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People (“the Committee”) – Established in 1975 by the United Nations General Assembly with the mandate to recommend a program that would enable the Palestinian people to exercise their inalienable rights to self-determination, national independence and sovereignty and return to the homes and property from which they had been “displaced”
• Division for Palestinian Rights of the Secretariat (“the Division”) – a special entity within the United Nations, created in 1977 to help the Committee inform worldwide public opinion on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict toward the end of Palestinians achieving those rights stated in the Committee’s mandate
• UN General Assembly – The main body of the United Nations to which all sub-committees put forth requests for action and ruling
• Egypt, Jordan, Senegal, Tunisia, Yemen and the “State of Palestine” – Requested the U.N. General Assembly to declare a new day of commemoration for the Palestinian people

The Requests

So, what exactly was requested? Here’s what the resolution asked for:

• The organization of international meetings and activities that support the Committee’s mandate
• The participation of the entire international community
• The continued participation of well-known distinguished experts from around the world
• To expand the “Question of Palestine” website
• To produce and widely distribute materials about the subject
• The Division to create an annual exhibit or cultural event about Palestinian rights
• Support and publicity for the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, which is November 29 annually
• And an official declaration of May 15, 2023, as a day commemorating the 75th anniversary of what Palestinians call the Nakba

Makings of the Palestinian “Catastrophe”

While the Palestinian “Nakba Day” and this new U.N. resolution decry the displacement of Palestinians back in 1948 to make room for the new nation of Israel, it was the surrounding Arab nations that urged Palestinians to leave when the U.N. granted the land to Israel.

In the wake of the Holocaust, in the Fall of 1947, the United Nations presented a partition plan to reestablish a homeland for the Jewish people in a non-sovereign area of the Middle East known as “Palestine” – the Israel of the Bible. The plan provided a “two-state solution” by giving the Arab Palestinians a land of their own. Instead of accepting this plan, even before Israel declared itself a nation on May 14, 1948, Palestinians and surrounding Arab countries waged war on the Jewish people settling there.

Israel welcomed all Palestinians to become citizens of the newly formed State of Israel, with equal rights and representation. The vast majority refused the offer. Arab countries invited Palestinians to take refuge from the war in their lands, assuring them that it would be a short stay because they believed victory over Israel was imminent. Meanwhile, Arab nations expelled the Jewish people living among them.

What happened to the Palestinians who fled? Did they return? Did they stay to become citizens of the nations that persuaded and welcomed them? Many of them stayed where they had gone, but they were denied citizenship and the rights that come with it. Today, a Palestinian refugee is defined as one who fled at the time of Israel’s War of Independence and their descendants born to them after fleeing. Thus the “Palestinian refugee crisis” was born, and today, far more people are called “displaced” and “refugees” than left the area initially.

Pursuit of a Two-State Solution Today

Today, there is much talk about achieving peace between Israel and the Palestinian people through a two-state solution. However, many Palestinians don’t want it; instead, they prefer a one-state solution – theirs alone, with Israel dissolved and Jewish people expelled.

U.N. Anti-Israel Bias

This most recent resolution approved by the United Nations reflects an ongoing history of anti-Israel bias in the entity. Palestinian representation in the United Nations drives hard for recognition of their viewpoint that sees Israel as their oppressor and occupier. They have pressed for – and won – a permanent slot on the agenda of every Human Rights Council meeting for the discussion of Israel’s violations of Palestinian human rights. Item 7 is a permanent fixture on the schedule, and while it’s worded in a way that indicates it’s for discussing human rights violations occurring amid the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the conversation remains unbalanced. It regularly results in resolutions and condemnations against Israel but rarely does so against Palestinians, though they repeatedly violate the human rights of their own people in their fervor to harm Israel, continue to incite terrorist activity against Israelis and reward them with payments to the families of imprisoned or martyred terrorists.

It's important that we are aware of this continuing anti-Israel bias at the United Nations and in the public viewpoint. People tend to believe the most frequently heard voice. Here’s what we can do:

• Let’s make every effort to present the facts to those who have formed their views based on incomplete or incorrect information
• Let’s ask the Lord for knowledge and courage to speak up – in a loving and kind manner – to inform, counter, and redirect anti-Semitism and anti-Israel bias when we encounter it
• Let’s pray, asking God to reveal the truth of His love for Israel to those who are prejudiced against her
• Pray for God’s protection of Israel and the Jewish people worldwide as anti-Semitism is increasing in these volatile and intolerant times

Another way to support Israel is through Jewish Voice Ministries. Jewish Voice partners with more than 75 ministries in Israel to meet the practical, humanitarian and spiritual needs of Israelis. When you give to Jewish Voice, you support Israel and bless Jewish people around the world by meeting physical needs and sharing the Gospel with them. You’ll make a real difference in Jewish lives.

It might be easy to think of Jewish Voice Ministries International in terms of only serving other nations. Still, we’re committed to proclaiming the Gospel to Jewish people, growing the Messianic Jewish community, and engaging the Church concerning Israel and the Jewish people right here in the United States as well.

A significant way we accomplish a major portion of that work is through the many Messianic Jewish ministries and congregations we support here in the U.S. In today’s Prayer Points, we are focusing on ways we can pray for these groups to flourish and accomplish all that the Lord is calling them to do.

Please join us in praying for:

• Encouragement, fresh vision and resources for Messianic Jewish ministry leaders and congregations
• Innovative, effective strategies and initiatives for reaching Jewish people and their families
• Post-COVID congregation attendance and engagement to increase
• Next generations: leadership development, collaboration and transfer, and also success in engaging youth
• Protection and safeguards against anti-Semitism
• Growing relationships and partnerships between Messianic Jewish congregations and Christian churches within their shared communities, leading to mutual understanding and Kingdom impact

Let's Pray

Lord, as 2022 draws to a close, would You enable these Messianic Jewish ministries and congregations to see all the ways You have blessed and helped them this year? Would You also give them fresh encouragement and vision for all You will call them to and equip them for in 2023? May they have a renewed sense of how you want to use them to reach the Jewish people, their neighbors and communities for the Kingdom in the months and year ahead. For Your Name’s sake, and in Jesus’ name, we ask, AMEN.

THIS WEEK’S GLOBAL UPDATE

A Note from Jonathan Bernis

Shalom, my friend!

As a partner of Jewish Voice who loves Israel and the Jewish people, I’m sure you’ve seen the latest attack in Jerusalem. It’s no exaggeration to write that God’s Chosen People are surrounded by enemies who want nothing more than to destroy the Israel and the Jewish people.

That’s why I hope you’ll take a minute now to “pray for the peace of Jerusalem” (Psalm 122:6).   

The truth is...against such hatred, violence and death, that’s the only thing you and I can do — the only thing we can control.

Even in your own walk of faith, I encourage you not to feel overwhelmed by the darkness or the enemy today. Don’t give in to dismay. Turn to God. Trust His Word.

Reach out to Him now — on behalf of Israel and the Jewish people. But also with whatever challenge or heartbreak you might be facing right now. And God will give you peace.

Thank you for standing with us through your partnership.

To the Jew first and also to the Nations,

Jonathan Bernis

President & CEO

Jewish Voice Ministries International

Headline News

Jerusalem Bombings: Teenager Killed, 19 Others Injured

The Jerusalem Post reports that at least one person was killed and 19 wounded in two explosions in bus stops at separate entrances to Jerusalem last week, in what police are treating as a coordinated double terror attack.

Both explosions, one at the entrance to the city near the Central Bus Station and the other in the Ramot neighborhood, occurred at bus stops during rush hour.

The bombs were detonated remotely and were reportedly packed with nails and bolts to maximum casualties. One bus near the scene of the first attack was riddled with holes, showing the dispersion of shrapnel.

Following an initial investigation at both scenes, Israeli police are treating the two explosions as a coordinated joint attack and made efforts to uncover additional explosive devices across the city.

Though no group has taken responsibility for the attack, Hamas praised it with its spokesperson, Abd al-Latif al-Qanua, saying that it was “in response to the occupation and its settlers' crimes against our people and Al-Aqsa Mosque.”

Updates from the Middle East

Synagogues in New York City on High Alert After Foiled Attack

New York City’s Jewish community is heaving a sigh of relief after the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) and New York Police Department (NYPD) announced they had stopped “a developing threat to the Jewish community.” But some, while grateful to law enforcement, are worried other threats could be lurking around the corner. Two suspects were arrested at Pennsylvania Station in Manhattan. NYPD officers seized weapons, including an illegal firearm and a large hunting knife; ammunition and a Nazi armband apparently belonging to the suspects, according to reports.

UN Exhibit on Display Showing Jewish Expulsion from Iran and Arab Countries

UN Ambassador Gilad Erdan launched an exhibit at the Manhattan UN headquarters on Tuesday that will be on display for one week. According to a quote from Erdan in The Jerusalem Post, he launched the exhibition “to fight in every way the false narrative that the Palestinians spread at the UN.” The exhibit includes documents illustrating the lives and history of Jewish people in Arab countries as well as Iran. According to The Jerusalem Post, a UN Partition Plan, in which a Jewish and an Arab state were voted upon on November 29, 1947, led to Israel's war of independence half a year later on May 15, 1948.

Pray with Us This Week

Please pray with me for:

• God to continue to protect innocent lives from the fighting in Ukraine and to bring a peaceful end to the invasion by Russia
• God to bring comfort to individuals and families affected by the recent terrorist attack in Jerusalem
• God to surround His people in Israel, who are constantly facing threats and violence from surrounding enemies
• Peace in the hearts and minds of the people of Israel and their enemies
• The Jewish people to recognize Yeshua (Jesus) as their Messiah