These Yibir are a Somali people, but are related to the Beta Abraham Jewish people of northern Ethiopia.

While they identify themselves as Jewish descendants of ancient Jewish tribes, the Yibir live in the middle of a Muslim-dominated region. In fact, most live in slums on the outskirts of large Muslim cities.

Because they live in areas that otherwise are entirely Muslim, the Yibir are isolated and denied many basic rights simply because they maintain their Jewish identity and refuse to convert to Islam.

For example, Yibir are not allowed to own or rent property to make a living by pursuing their trades. Blacksmiths are common, but they are forced to squat on street corners, covered by only a tarp, stoking their fires to produce basic metal goods.

When we asked one such blacksmith why he didn’t set up his shop somewhere inside where it would be easier to work, he told us it was not allowed – not because he was Yibir, but because he was Jewish!

Yet despite the oppression they suffer, no outside group has stepped forward to help or support these isolated Yibir people.

Jewish Voice has been aware of the Yibir for the past five years. During that time, we’ve been looking for a way to help them.

It has taken time, starting when we first began work in Ethiopia in 1999, to develop relationships and trust among both government officials and leaders of the various Jewish groups in this area of East Africa.

But now, Jewish Voice is preparing to launch a pilot outreach to the isolated Yibir this fall!

Because they live in city slums in areas suffering drought, we know the Yibir have limited access to water. And what water they might have is often contaminated and undrinkable.

For that reason, we’ll be providing them with LifeStraw™ filters, which can make even the dirtiest water safe and healthy drinking water.

We also know the Yibir have very limited access to dentists or eye care. So we’re planning to provide dental care and eyeglasses to those in need during this first pilot outreach.

But as much as anything else, we want to let these dear people know that, while they feel forgotten and unwanted by the world, the Lord knows who they are and loves them.

And as we provide these initial services to the Yibir, we will be determining more specifically what else they need, and how you can help further minister to them in the near future, in the name of Yeshua (Jesus).

This initial pilot project may sound like a small start. But I can honestly say to you that we are very excited about this opportunity!

This will be the first time we’ve been able to provide care for a Jewish group that is isolated in an otherwise entirely Muslim area.

For that reason, we have the opportunity to break through with the love of Jesus to Jewish people that have previously felt completely isolated and alone. And I believe this will make them especially open to the salvation Yeshua offers.

I hope you’ll share in my excitement about our first outreach to the Yibir people, and that you can help make it possible with a generous gift.

Your generosity will provide clean water, dental care and eyeglasses to the Yibir people of Ethiopia. If you can send a gift now, I would like to say thank you by sending you an expression of our gratitude for your partnership in this ministry.

The beautiful maiden kept her background secret. Living in a foreign kingdom wasn’t easy and prejudice was common.

So when Esther was conscripted as a candidate to become the next queen, she wasn’t sure how she’d be treated if people knew she was Jewish. Her cousin, Mordecai, who was her adoptive guardian, advised her to remain quiet.

It was the fifth century B.C.E., and Esther joined hundreds of other young women for 12 months of beautification before being presented to King Ahasuerus. When the time came, he chose Esther.

One day, Mordecai learned of a plot to murder the king. He told Queen Esther what he had overheard, and she informed Ahasuerus. The would-be assassins were caught and hanged, and the events were recorded in the king’s Book of Chronicles. Mordecai had saved the king’s life.

Sometime later, Ahasuerus gave great authority to a man named Haman and ordered all servants and citizens of the land to bow before him. Mordecai, however, would bend his knee to no one but God, and he refused. Haman was enraged and devised a plan to kill not only Mordecai but all the Jewish people. He convinced the king to sign an irrevocable decree placing a bounty on Jewish lives, promising payment to anyone who killed them on a certain day several months in the future.

Mordecai told Esther of Haman’s wicked plan and begged her to go to the king and rescue their people from the coming disaster. Esther was afraid; she knew that coming before the king without an invitation bore the punishment of death if he did not extend his favor.

But Mordecai urged her to intervene saying, “Who knows whether you have attained royal status for such a time as this?”

Esther gathered her courage and agreed to approach the king. Determined now, she bravely asserted, “If I perish, I perish.” First, she called upon her handmaids and all of Israel to fast with her for three days. When she went to King Ahasuerus, he received her. She invited him and Haman to a banquet at which time she would explain her request of the king.

The night before the feast, sleeplessness spurred the king to summon the Book of Chronicles. As a servant read the entries to him, he learned that nothing had been done for the man who had earlier saved his life. He made plans to honor Mordecai and ordered none other than Haman to carry them out.

At Esther’s banquet, Ahasuerus asked his queen, “What is your request?” Esther, who had not yet revealed her Jewish identity, asked that he spare her life and the lives of her people. “We have been sold for destruction, slaughter and annihilation,” she explained.

“Who is he? Where is the man who would presume to do this?” demanded the king. Esther replied, “The man is this wicked Haman!” (See Esther 5-7.)

Haman was hanged on the gallows he had built to execute Mordecai. The king gave Esther Haman’s estate and bestowed great authority upon Mordecai. The previous decree was still in effect and unalterable according to the laws of the land. So the king granted Jewish people the right to assemble and defend themselves. They were allowed to kill anyone who intended to hurt them on the planned day of destruction. Esther chapter nine reports that “no one was able to stand against them.”

God delivered the Jewish people – once again – from enemies who had sought to annihilate them. Purim means “lots,” and the holiday derives its name from the fact that Haman cast lots to determine the day on which to eradicate the Jewish people. The holiday celebrates God’s great rescue.

Purim is the most festive holiday of the Jewish year. The book of Esther records the events and Mordecai’s instructions to celebrate the anniversaries of what turned out to be two days of victory for the Jewish people. “These are to be days of feasting, celebration and sending presents of food to one another and giving gifts to the poor” (Esther 9:22).

Today, Purim is celebrated on one day, the 14th day of Adar on the Hebrew calendar, which occurs in either February or March on the Gregorian calendar. As in ancient days, holiday traditions include giving food gifts, giving to charity and joyous festivities. People gather at synagogue to hear a reading of the book of Esther, called the Megillah (Meh-GEE-lah) and enjoy costume parties and lively plays reenacting the Purim story. Audiences have fun participating by cheering at every mention of the story’s heroes and booing whenever Haman’s name is read. Celebrants stomp their feet and rattle noisemakers called graggers (GRAH-gurs) to completely “blot out” the name of Haman.

The most popular food tradition at Purim is hamantashen (HAH-men-TAH-shen). These triangular cookies are filled with jams, chocolate or other tasty fillings and said to resemble Haman’s hat. In Israel, they are called Haman’s Ears.

Throughout time, the Jewish people have suffered attempts to destroy them. Jewish history is filled with the defined efforts of people and nations determined to enslave, expel or exterminate them. Pharaoh, Haman, Herod, Hitler and many localized pogroms around the world and over thousands of years have failed to reach their objectives because God is a God of deliverance. He has set His hand on the children of Israel as His own people. He made a covenant with them that He will never break. He is faithful. The Purim story highlights God’s faithfulness to His people. It is a story to celebrate!

In 722 BC, Assyria conquered the Northern Kingdom of Israel. Members of these 10 tribes fled, were taken captive or deported to other lands. One of Assyria’s tactics was to remove their prisoners of war from their homelands and bring in other captives to live there. As they conquered an area, they relocated the people to other regions of the empire to speed their assimilation and quash any spark of national identity or hope of return.

In approximately 586 BC, Babylon conquered Judah, destroying the Temple and making prisoners of the southern tribes. Some eventually returned to rebuild Jerusalem, but more than 500 years later, in 70 AD, the Romans destroyed the Second Temple and, again, Jewish people dispersed into the world at large.

Where did the “Lost Tribes of Israel” go?

Captives from the Ten Tribes were taken north, south, and east. Some who fled captivity went south into Egypt while others followed trade routes eastward into the Orient, some continuing their migration across the millennia.

A remnant of the Northern Tribes had migrated to Judah before the Assyrian invasion and escaped only to have their descendants taken captive to Babylon in 586 BC with the two Southern Tribes. These members of Israel either eventually returned with Judah or settled elsewhere in the world.

The “Lost Tribes” found

As they assimilated into the cultures and regions to which they migrated, the “Lost Tribes of Israel” often encountered persecution. Some Jewish people were forced to convert, at least outwardly, to other religions. Others continued their faith and Jewish customs in secret, generation after generation. Hidden from the world at large, they were considered lost until relatively recently in world history. Populations from the “Lost Tribes” have been discovered and verified in surprising places all around the world, including China, Ethiopia, India, Zimbabwe, Somaliland, Afghanistan, Nigeria and other locations.

The “Lost Tribes of Israel” coming home

The Assyrian plan was to dissolve the heritage of their conquests, fully absorbing them into their own empire. But thousands of years proved they were no match for the Jewish people set apart by God. Though scattered throughout the world for thousands of years, the Jewish people have maintained the identity of their forefathers as a distinct people. They kept alive a national sense of self despite having neither nation nor homeland as a people.

In 1948, when the United Nations re-established the nation of Israel and returned to them the land of their heritage, hundreds of thousands of Jewish people from the world over “went home.” Jewish people call this “making Aliyah” (ah-lee-YAH), an aspiration of thousands throughout the world.

Israel has helped thousands fulfill this dream. The most dramatic assistance came in the 1980s and ‘90s, through stealthy airlifts that rescued nearly 22,000 Jews from famine and persecution in Ethiopia. In 1991’s Operation Solomon, 34 commercial jets – with seats removed – flew non-stop missions for 36 hours to bring nearly 15,000 Ethiopian Jews to Israel. Eight babies were born in-flight during Operation Solomon.

Serving the “Lost Tribes”

Many of these communities in Africa have no access to adequate or affordable medical care. Jewish Voice Ministries International (JVMI) conducts weeklong Medical Clinics to provide medical, dental and eye care at no cost to Jewish people and their neighbors in Ethiopia, Zimbabwe and other points of need.

Since beginning this humanitarian aid, Jewish Voice has treated more than 400,000 patients on its Medical Outreaches. Medical professionals and non-medical personnel are needed to make these ministry events successful. Find out how you can serve members of the “Lost Tribes of Israel” and make a lasting impact by participating in a JVMI Medical Outreach. Click here for more information.

Given the amazing benefits they provide, the cost of these miracle LifeStraws is incredibly low – just $15 for a Personal LifeStraw, or $75 for a Family LifeStraw.

That means …

• With your gift of $30, you’ll provide clean water for TWO people
• With $75, you’ll provide clean water for up to FIVE people
• And with a very generous gift of $150, you’ll provide TEN Personal or TWO Family LifeStraws

Along with LifeStraws, Jewish Voice educates the community on the dangers of unclean water and the need for basic hygiene. And, as always, we provide Jewish people and their neighbors in remote areas with medical, dental and eye care.

And most important, we share the Good News of Jesus the Messiah – who called Himself “Living Water” and wants to give them abundant life, now and forever.

But, as always, this kind of truly lifesaving care can happen only through the compassion of our generous supporters – you and other friends and partners.

Give your best gift now, and I’ll send you a special THANK YOU!

Would you consider making a generous gift right now, to help provide clean water to Jewish people in need in Zimbabwe, Ethiopia and elsewhere?

Each $30 you send will provide TWO Personal LifeStraws – clean water for TWO people. And each $75 will provide FIVE Personal LifeStraws or ONE Family LifeStraw. And $150 will provide enough LifeStraws for pure, healthy water for TEN people or TWO families.