“But the plans of the LORD stand firm forever,
the purposes of His heart through all generations.”
Psalm 33:11 (NIV)

Thank you for standing with Israel and for your love and support for the Jewish people. Your partnership means a great deal to me and to the ministry of Jewish Voice.

We also want to offer my encouragement with the words from Psalm 33 above – no matter what is happening in Israel, in our country and around the world, we can be confident in the plans of our God. He is in control from generation to generation and He is worthy of our trust and love!

In Israel this week, the outcome of the election continues to dominate the news as leaders meet to try to create a workable government and avoid yet another election.

You’ll also find news about a new super-fast COVID-19 test developed by an Israeli company, confirmation from the U.S. regarding Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, and Iran continuing to violate the UN nuclear agreement. There is also a story about one Palestinian’s shocking experience after participating in a conference call with Israelis.

Again, thank you for your interest and for your prayers and support.

Netanyahu Secures Most Recommendations but Still Lacks Clear Path to Assemble a Coalition

On Monday, three parties (New Hope, Joint List and Ra’am) refrained from endorsing any candidate for prime minister. This ensures that Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu would have the most recommendations to form a government.

But to assemble a coalition, 61 seats are needed for a majority. After President Reuven Rivlin’s meetings with the 13 factions in the new Knesset (legislature) meant to determine who to task with forming a government, 52 members of the Knesset recommended Netanyahu, 45 recommended Lapid. Yamina recommended its leader, Naftali Bennett, and three parties recommended no one, The Jerusalem Post reported.

So Netanyahu still lacks a clear path to assembling a coalition, but his rivals also did not appear to have many options for clinching a government.

“… Democracy Has Exhausted Itself.”

As he began the meetings, Rivlin lamented that “at the moment, I can’t see a way to form a coalition.”

He also said if his first choice to form a government fails, he may kick the mandate back to the Knesset to make a choice, rather than giving a second person a chance to do so first, according to The Times of Israel.

The president added that “after four election campaigns, democracy has exhausted itself.”

The outcome of Monday’s discussions is up in the air. Neither the pro-Netanyahu bloc of parties nor the anti-Netanyahu camp has a clear path to a majority following the March 23 vote, which was Israel’s fourth inconclusive election in two years.

Super-Speedy Israeli COVID-19 Test Granted European Approval, Could Help Boost International Travel

Last week, an Israeli company said it received European approval for its rapid coronavirus test and was ready to help kickstart international travel.

Their test uses a handheld SpectraLIT machine which eliminates the need for complex lab equipment. It shines light through samples and gives immediate results using the spectral signature (matter reflects different light signatures, depending on its composition).

This means that airport staff who currently are required to collect test samples and send them to labs will simply have a machine at hand and be able to give test results for travelers after just 20 seconds of analysis.

The system, which is being piloted at 36 hospitals around the world, received European Medical Devices Directive approval for a swab version of its test, which allows it to start rollout across the European Union.

“Despite the global rollout of vaccination efforts, COVID-19 still needs rapid diagnostic solutions to take steps back to normality, including international travel, and this represents an important milestone,” Eyal Zimlichman, a senior doctor at Sheba Medical Center who helped develop the technology, told The Times of Israel.

The test was developed by Newsight together with Sheba Medical Center under the newly formed Virusight Diagnostic.

UN’s Nuclear Watchdog Says Iran Is Enriching Uranium

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the United Nation’s atomic watchdog, has determined that Iran is now enriching uranium with a fourth cascade of advanced IR-2m centrifuges at its underground nuclear facility in Natanz, according to a report late last week.

“On 31 March 2021, the Agency verified at [the Fuel Enrichment Plant] that: Iran had begun feeding natural UF6 into a fourth cascade of 174 IR-2m centrifuges,” a report by IAEA cited by Reuters said. UF6 is uranium hexafluoride, which is fed into centrifuges for enrichment.

This move by Iran is the latest bold violation of the nuclear deal. The goal appears to be to pressure the Biden administration as Iran and the U.S. are at a standoff over who should make the first move to salvage the 2015 nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

The Biden administration has repeatedly said it will return to the nuclear deal if Iran first returns to compliance, while the Islamic Republic is demanding that the U.S. lift sanctions before it returns to the deal, The Times of Israel reported.

The intent of the JCPOA is to curb Iran’s ability to develop a nuclear bomb. The country started violating the agreement in 2019 in response to a U.S. withdrawal from the deal under the Trump administration and a reimposition of U.S. sanctions against Iran in 2018.

US Report Reaffirms Jerusalem As Israel’s Capital

The U.S. recently released its latest Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. This annual report is the first one authored by the Biden administration and it affirmed that Jerusalem was the capital of Israel.

But it also reintroduced language that spoke of Israeli occupation of territory, a two state solution for peace and gave a nod in the direction of Palestinian Authority rights to sections of Jerusalem.

The report looked at human rights issues in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza as part of its global analysis on nearly 200 nations.

Both the Biden and Trump administrations clarified that the U.S. has recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital since 2017. Neither report clarifies the boundaries of Israeli sovereignty in Jerusalem, but both state that the boundaries are subject to negotiations, according to The Jerusalem Post.

Both reports also affirm Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, which the U.S. recognized in 2019.

Let Us Pray Together

Please pray with me for:

• A peaceful God-inspired solution for Israel’s government following the country’s fourth inconclusive election in the past two years
• Continued support for Israel from the U.S. and wisdom for the U.S. in dealing with Iran and the JCPOA nuclear agreement
• Jewish people to recognize Yeshua (Jesus) as their Messiah

The United States has an established history of standing with Israel. Since President Truman supported the founding of the State of Israel in 1948, the U.S. has been a staunch ally of the Jewish State.

One of the biggest moments in recent memory happened three years ago. On May 14, 2018, in honor of Israel’s 70th anniversary, the new U.S. Embassy opened in Jerusalem. This was after spending decades in its temporary home in Tel Aviv. I’m so thankful that even in the midst of the sweeping changes the new administration is making, they have recently affirmed that the U.S. Embassy will remain in Jerusalem.

America’s continued recognition of Jerusalem as the de facto capital of the Jewish State is a powerful statement to the world of Israel’s right to exist.

It’s so important for us to continue this strong stance because Israel still has many enemies fighting against her. Some are more subtle – like countries within the United Nations which cast Israel as an aggressor against Palestinians. Some are far from subtle – like Iran, Hezbollah and Hamas – who openly call for Israel’s destruction. In fact, as I write this, Iran may be closer to developing a nuclear weapon than ever before. And, unfortunately, anti-Semitism is an ongoing battle for Jewish people no matter where they live.

It is critical for you and me to stand with Israel and the Jewish people.

In doing so, we are part of God’s historic and prophetic plan. The embassy move aligns with this plan to restore Israel with Jerusalem as her capital. It is part of a chain of events leading up to the return of Jesus!

And you and I can be part of more prophecies being fulfilled by declaring your support for Israel and her people right now. A key way you can do this is by sending a gift to support the work of Jewish Voice in Israel.

Our ministry to Jewish people in Israel has always been important, but the coronavirus pandemic and the economic shutdowns hit the country especially hard. So many who were just barely getting by – from Holocaust survivors to recent immigrants to single moms – found themselves in great need for even basic supplies like groceries.

Your support means we are able to step in and help meet these needs while sharing the Gospel. We want each person to come to know the love and hope of their Messiah, Jesus!

As my way of saying thank you for your gift of any amount, I would like to send you our “I Stand with Israel” Car Magnet.

I hope to hear from you soon. The only way this life-changing ministry can continue and prosper is with your support. Thank you.

“Adonai is my strength and my song, and He has become my salvation. This is my God, and I will glorify Him, my father’s God, and I will exalt Him” (Exodus 15:2). 

The word glorify has several related meanings. One indicates that when we glorify God, we worship or praise Him. Another meaning is to reveal God as glorious. Yet another definition of glorifying is to light up or shine.  

When the Lord called His people out of Egypt to be His own, He called us out of slavery to a new, free life. He also called us out to glorify Him. 

In the wilderness, God instructed the Israelites to build the tabernacle where His glory would reside. He chose to make His home with His people, so we would know Him and know that He is our God. It required gold and silver and fine linens, outstanding and beautiful things that would reflect the glorious nature of God. When His glory filled the Tent of Meeting, all Israel stood and worshipped Him.  

Centuries before the Exodus, God told Abraham, the father of the Jewish nation, that he would make his descendants a blessing to the whole world. All were created to give God glory and praise Him – but Scripture tells us particularly the Jewish people. In the book of Isaiah, He says that He formed Israel to proclaim His praise. Psalm 29 instructs us to bow down to His beauty and ascribe to Him the glory He is due.  

New Testament writers all exhort Believers to glorify God alongside of Israel. We’re called to glorify Him with our bodies and with our lives so that others can see God through us. Paul made a profoundly motivating statement about how people responded to his life and testimony when he revealed to the Galatians, “And they praised God because of me.”    

Passover reminds us that God has called us out not only to worship Him but to be a light to the whole world. And isn’t that the kind of life we want as Believers? One that gives Him His proper praise and reveals His goodness and majesty? One that points the people around us to Him? 

“In the same way, let your light shine before men so they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16) 

Scriptures 

Exodus 8:1, Exodus 29:44–46, Exodus 40:34, Exodus 33:10, Isaiah 43:21, Psalm 29:2, 1 Corinthians 6:20, 1 Peter 2:12, Galatians 1:21–24 

Reflection Questions: 

• What are some of the ways you glorify God? How does He shine through you? 

• God has created each of us uniquely. We have different gifts, talents and skills. What are some of yours, and do you think God is glorified when you use them? 

• Who in your life needs to see God more clearly? How can you shine the light on Him to give them hope? 

“So I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, to bring them up out of that land into a good and large land, a land flowing with milk and honey”
(Exodus 3:8). 

Passover is a wonderful time of remembrance when we reflect on & how God delivered and provided for His Chosen People. For 40 years, He sustained our ancestors in the wilderness. In a desolate land, He provided manna for food and water from rocks. Through all that time, the clothing of the Israelites never wore out.

He had promised to give His people a new home, a Land of our own. It was a spacious and good land, fertile and abundant. The Israelites were free, and we were on our way to a new life in the Land God had already allocated to us. 

As Believers, we’ve been given a new life as well. When we received Jesus, God’s Word says we actually became new creatures, and our old life has passed away. And it’s not only new life but abundant life flowing with living water. We are no longer slaves, and Jesus has removed from our backs the burden of our sin.

Remembering the Israelites’ journey in the wilderness, we realize that they didn’t always trust that God’s Word was true. As a result, the whole generation that came out of Egypt – all except Joshua and Caleb – missed out on the Promised Land. 

We, too, can miss enjoying our new life in Messiah when we seek after other things, choose our own way or let fear overtake us. Let’s press on, as Paul urges us, to lay hold of what God has offered us. As we trust in God, we’ll be like a tree planted by a river, with roots consistently absorbing the living water no matter the season.  

“For He satisfies the thirsty soul and fills the hungry soul with goodness” (Psalm 107:9). 

Scriptures 

Exodus 16:15, Numbers 20:8, Deuteronomy 29:4, 1 Corinthians 5:17, John 10:10, John 7:38, John 4:14, Isaiah 53:11, Numbers 14:28–30, Philippians 3:14, Jeremiah 17:7–8 

Reflection Questions 

• What “good land” has God given to us through the gift of Jesus and the Holy Spirit? What is the “abundant life” Jesus talked about?  

• If He has already given it to us, why don’t we continually experience it?  

• What can you do to help yourself more consistently recognize and live in the life God has given you as you engage in your daily life? 

“Adonai went before them in a pillar of cloud by day to lead the way and in a pillar of fire by night to give them light. So they could travel both day and night. The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night never departed from the people” (Exodus 13:21–22). 

God called the Israelites out of Egypt, freeing them from bondage to evil masters, not to be without guidance or covering. He led them with His presence in pillars of cloud and fire. He directed them where to go, when to move and when to rest. The Lord still does this for us today. 

Later, He gave Moses the Torah, full of instructions on how we should follow Him as His specially selected people.  When He sent Jesus to usher in the New Covenant, He gave His Holy Spirit to those who believe in Him, writing His law on our hearts and guiding us into all truth. 

As Jesus selected His disciples, He often simply said, “Follow Me.” When Peter wanted to know John’s future, Jesus essentially told him that his business was to follow Him regardless of anyone else.  

Deuteronomy 13:5 gives us an idea of what it means to follow God spiritually. In telling Israel to follow the Lord, Moses revealed it includes fearing Him – having reverent respect for Him and yes, even some awed fear – obeying Him, listening to His voice, serving and clinging to Him.  

But, Isaiah notes that each one of us has gone our own way rather than following the Lord. As Moses prepared to die, he presented a choice to the Israelites, explaining that choosing to follow and obey God was the same as choosing life for themselves. The same choice is ours each day.  

As we remember Passover, the Exodus and the wilderness, we are grateful for the Lord’s leadership of the Israelites then and thankful too for how He guides us into life today. 

“But thanks be to God, who in Messiah always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us reveals everywhere the aroma of the knowledge of Himself” (2 Corinthians 2:14). 

Scriptures 

Exodus 15:13, Joshua 1:8, Jeremiah 31:31–33, John 16:13, Isaiah 53:6, Luke 5:27, John 21:22, Deuteronomy 30:19–20 

Reflection Questions 

• In a world that emphasizes influence and leadership, we’re all called to follow. Are you more prone to following, or do you catch yourself wanting to take the lead? 

• How do you think your life or employment role affect how you follow God? 

• For you, as a Believer, in what ways is choosing to follow God each day the same as choosing life over death?  

“I will take you to Myself as a people, and I will be your God. You will know that I am Adonai your God, who brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians”
(Exodus 6:7). 

The Israelites had suffered as slaves in Egypt for 430 years. When God called them out of bondage, He called them into a deeper relationship with Him. He promised to be their God, and they would be His people, and He would walk among them. He said they would be His “inheritance” and His treasured possession. 

The God who created the universe and who owns the whole Earth selected a people to be His special prize – Israel. Passover commemorates the Lord saving His people and drawing us closer to Him. We belong to Him, and He belongs to us.

As Believers in Jesus, we have been brought near to God, reconciled to Him through Messiah’s sacrifice. The Jewish people were first His children, but Gentile Believers have been adopted into the family, and He is Father to us all. We belong to Him, and the Holy Spirit bears witness confirming that we are part of God’s family. Nothing and no one can change our relationship with Him now that we have trusted Jesus.

We have been drawn into a priceless relationship with the Almighty God. As His children, we’ve been given the tremendous privilege of calling Him our “Abba,” or “Father.” It is a precious gift to savor. 

“But whoever did receive Him, those trusting in His name, to these He gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:12). 

Scriptures 

Exodus 19:5, Leviticus 26:12, Deuteronomy 4:20, Deuteronomy 14:2, Ephesians 2:3, Romans 5:12, Romans 14:8, John 10:29  

Reflection Questions 

• Think about how God’s love compelled Him to provide the remedy for the separation that your sin caused between you. 
• What does it mean to you that God has called you to be His own? 
• How does that affect your daily life and interactions with Him? 
• Spend some time thanking Him for your salvation and being a part of His family. 

“Adonai gave the people favor in the eyes of the Egyptians and let them have what they asked for. So they plundered the Egyptians” (Exodus 12:36). 

God saved the Israelites out of bondage in Egypt and sent them off into the wilderness as free people. Our ancestors had to leave in a hurry – so much so that their bread didn’t have time to rise, and they took the dough still in their bowls. Yet, even in their haste, they were able to take their livestock. Not only that, God instructed the Israelites to outright ask the Egyptians for their valuable articles of gold, silver and clothing – and Egypt obliged. God supplied the Israelites with an abundance as they set off into their new lives. 

Like the Children of Israel, we, too, have been supplied by God, equipped for the new life of freedom He has given us. Not only has He promised to take care of our practical needs for things like food and clothing, but He has also given us an abundance of spiritual riches.  

Scripture reveals that, through the Holy Spirit, God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing along with everything we need to live godly lives. He has supplied us with spiritual armor, spiritual gifts, His Word, and everything we need for doing His will and the works He has prepared for us.  

God provided for the Israelites as they left Egypt – and through 40 years of wandering – and we can trust Him to prepare us for our life journeys as well.  

“His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and virtue” (2 Peter 1:3). 

Scriptures 

Exodus 12:34–38, Matthew 6:31–33, Philippians 4:19, Ephesians 1:3, Ephesians 6:10–17, 1 Corinthians 12:27–28, Ephesians 4:11–13, 2 Timothy 3:17, Hebrews 13:31, Ephesians 2:10, Deuteronomy 29:4  

Reflection Questions 

• When we first place our faith in Jesus, we may not realize it at the time, but we embark on a journey. Take a few moments to look back on your life since then. 

• How did God spiritually equip you for the various life events and challenges you’ve faced along the way?  

• What has He supplied you with for your journey with Him?