The new year is upon us! After all we have experienced in 2020, I imagine you might feel like me – thankful for a fresh start.
I believe because of everything that took place this past year – from the coronavirus pandemic to political turmoil to numerous natural disasters and more – 2021 will be a crucial year of ministry. God is using all of these challenges to open the hearts and minds of many, including Jewish people in Israel and around the world.
That’s why we need you now more than ever!
God has put a massive vision for 2021 and beyond onto our hearts and as we lean into His will we need the consistent prayers and support of friends exactly like you. God will meet our every need in the year ahead. I have no doubt.
I’m asking you to stand with us again as we launch a new year of ministry.
Your partnership tells me you care deeply about the Jewish people. You share our vision “to transform lives and see all Israel saved.” You give and pray to make this a reality and I’m so thankful for you.
Please consider starting out 2021 with a generous gift today.
When you do, your gift will be put to work immediately to support, provide care and transform the lives of Jewish people through six key ministry initiatives:
Sharing the Gospel of Jesus, the Messiah
The heart of Jewish Voice Ministries is to introduce people – especially Jewish people – to a saving knowledge of Yeshua (Jesus) as Messiah and Savior because it’s the “power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile” (Romans 1:16 NIV).
We do this in many ways – including our Outreaches in Africa and supporting Holocaust survivors and other vulnerable populations in Israel. But we also share the Gospel through television and other media and as a key part of all Jewish Voice Outreach programs.
Your support helps make it all possible!
Ministering to the “Lost Tribes of Israel”
Communities of Jewish descendants are living in remote areas of the world – including in Ethiopia and Zimbabwe. That’s why we have been conducting Medical Outreaches to this part of the world for the past 21 years.
These Lost Tribes suffer terrible isolation and poverty and in some areas are relentlessly persecuted by their neighbors. We’re committed to providing physical and spiritual care to these groups of Jewish people – including bringing clean water, plus medical, dental and eye care – as practical expressions of God’s love. At each Outreach we also have a prayer and counseling area and over the years have seen God perform miraculous healings of both body and spirit, including thousands of Jewish people coming to faith in their Messiah, Jesus!
In addition, during our more than 20 years of ministry in Africa, we have helped plant 167 Messianic congregations that are locally led and making a significant difference in their communities. We also provide training and discipleship for the local leaders.
Despite the need to adapt because of the pandemic, life-changing ministry still happened throughout 2020 and will continue in 2021. With your support, we are able to come alongside the Messianic congregations to meet physical and spiritual needs of Jewish people and their neighbors.
Your support fuels all of these life-saving, life-changing efforts!
Caring for Holocaust survivors in Israel
The coronavirus pandemic and subsequent nationwide lockdowns in Israel mean Holocaust survivors face even greater needs.
Many have no family living or close by to assist them. They often live alone, trying to survive on very little money. And they are dealing with critical physical, emotional and spiritual needs.
Your support allows us to partner with local Messianic ministries to provide much-needed dental and vision care for Holocaust survivors and establish relationships with them. We want to let them know how much we care and share the Good News about their Messiah, Jesus.
We support more than 80 ministries and congregations in Israel that are run by local Jewish Believers. That means, with your help, we’re not only ministering to Holocaust survivors, but we’re also able to assist other vulnerable populations in Israel who are struggling with even basic necessities – including widows, orphans, recent immigrants and single mothers.
Standing in support of Israel
For 2,700 years, Jewish people have suffered the most enduring persecution in history. Anti-Semitism is still widespread – we’ve seen recent incidents in the news in the Middle East, Europe and the U.S. Not to mention ongoing threats and hostility against the Nation of Israel.
Your support enables Jewish Voice to speak against the evil of anti-Semitism wherever it occurs. And whenever possible, we offer encouragement and practical help to Jewish people suffering isolation and persecution.
Please stand with us in support of the Nation of Israel and encourage others to pray for Israel and for Jerusalem. We believe the reestablishment of a Jewish homeland is a fulfillment of biblical prophecy and an important landmark leading to the return of Jesus and the establishment of God’s eternal Kingdom.
But it simply isn’t possible without your partnership!
Teaching the Jewish roots of Christianity
God called Abraham and promised that his descendants would be God’s Chosen People and a blessing to all the nations of the world. He kept His promise by sending His Son, Jesus, to be born and live as a Jewish man.
But many Christians today don’t recognize the extent to which their Christian faith is built on a Jewish biblical worldview.
Through your support, you’ll serve Christians through teaching about the Jewish roots of their faith, the Church’s responsibility to Israel and the Jewish people and how to share the Good News of the Messiah with Jewish people.
Reaching people with our media and ministry resources
Millions of people are reached each year by Jewish Voice media and ministry resources. Our flagship television program – Jewish Voice with Jonathan Bernis – and other television specials reach hundreds of thousands with inspirational messages.
Your support also helps Jewish Voice produce a range of quality products to inform and inspire, including books, CDs, DVDs and online media resources.
Our new online magazine teaches the Jewish roots of Christianity. It also keeps readers informed on our activities and issues such as current events in Israel and the fulfillment of Bible prophecy.
And just a few months ago, we launched our new podcast A Jew & A Gentile Discuss, bringing a biblical viewpoint to life, faith and current events from different perspectives.
With your gift today, you’ll help support all six of these key ministry initiatives to care for the needs of Jewish people worldwide.
I believe, after what we’ve all experienced in 2020, this new year has the potential to be our greatest year yet for reaching Jewish people with the hope of Jesus, their Messiah!
In particular, the challenges brought on by the coronavirus have created an openness to the Gospel unlike anything we’ve seen in decades. That’s why it’s so important to hear from you soon – for the sake of the Jewish people, who I know you care deeply about.
Thank you for your partnership. And God bless you.
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)
As we leave behind a tremendously difficult year, we look to 2021 with expectation and hope. While 2021 hasn't gotten off to the best start in the U.S., we know that as we move into this new year, we take God’s promises with us – He has a hope and a future for each one of us!
I am encouraged that coronavirus vaccines are being rolled out around the world, and that Israel is vaccinating people in record-breaking numbers. More than 10% of the population have already received the first dose! In addition, earlier this week, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened with government leaders to discuss new lockdown steps in conjunction with the vaccination campaign to prevent further spread of the coronavirus.
In other news, Israel’s leaders failed to pass a state budget and that means another election this March. New political parties are rising up in response.
And, in an unexpected turn, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is collaborating with Israel to eliminate the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA). The UAE had previously funded the UNRWA.
Read more about these news stories right here. And, as always, we treasure your support of Israel and prayers for her people.
On December 21, Prime Minister Netanyahu and Benny Gantz, head of the Blue and White party, failed to pass the state budget. This means the Israeli Knesset (their Parliament) was automatically dissolved on December 23, the Middle East Monitor reported.
The deadline for budget approval was August 25, 2020 – 100 days after the government was formed. But it was postponed four months.
Netanyahu wanted a budget for year 2020, while Gantz wanted a two-year budget covering both 2020 and 2021 – which was agreed upon during negotiations between the two when they formed a coalition government in May 2020.
The May agreement came after three elections within a year produced a stalemate – Netanyahu’s Likud party won the most votes, but not enough parliamentary seats to form a coalition. Polls are currently projecting a similar deadlock, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The result of the dissolution is Israel will face a fourth election in less than two years. It is set to be held on March 23, 2021.
Last week, Ron Huldai, the mayor of Tel Aviv, announced a new center-left political party, The Israelis, to run in the election in March. He has recruited Justice Minister Avi Nissenkorn as his second-in-command.
Huldai said he can’t “stand idly by” as Israel is led by a government that he said has eroded the country’s core values and threatens its democracy, according to The Times of Israel.
“We have grown accustomed to a crazy government. I will no longer stand idly by, I am here to announce a new party,” he said. Huldai also recounted his history as an Israel Defense Forces fighter pilot and an educator. He has been the mayor of Tel Aviv for the past 22 years.
“We can stop with the despair. I’m doing this for my children, and mainly for my grandchildren. Israel can and must be run differently,” Huldai said, declaring himself as the true alternative to Netanyahu.
Huldai’s party joins a crowded field of parties seeking the center-left vote.
Last Friday, Israel vaccinated the one millionth citizen against the coronavirus. That means more than a tenth of the country’s population have received the first of two doses, reported The Times of Israel.
“We are breaking all of the records. We brought millions of vaccines to the State of Israel,” Netanyahu said. We are ahead of the entire world…”
Israel has far outpaced other countries with 11.55% of the population inoculated. The UK is at 1.39%, the U.S. at .84% and the world average is .13%, according to statistics from the Our World in Data website operated by Oxford University.
The Jewish State is currently in its third nationwide lockdown to contain the coronavirus.
Israel began vaccinations on December 20, focusing on healthcare workers and then the over 60 and at-risk populations.
Israel and the UAE are collaborating to get rid of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA), reported the French newspaper Le Monde.
Emirati officials are considering a plan to gradually eliminate UNRWA without making this development conditional on a resolution of the refugee problem, according to the report.
“In doing so, Abu Dhabi would be rallying to a long-standing demand from Israel, which insists that the agency is obstructing peace by nurturing refugees in the dream of returning to the lands from which their parents were driven in 1948,” a tweet of a portion of the report said.
UNRWA was established 70 years ago to supply aid to Palestinian refugees and its mandate is renewed every three years.
In 2018 and 2019 the UAE, along with Qatar and Saudi Arabia, were a major source of funding to UNRWA to offset the halting of funds by U.S. President Donald Trump, according to The Jerusalem Post.
Please pray with me for:
Wisdom for the leaders and people of Israel as the country faces another election this spring
Continued cooperation between Israel and the UAE
Protection for the people of Israel – another pandemic lockdown is being considered
Continued success in rolling out the coronavirus vaccine across Israel
Jewish people to recognize Yeshua (Jesus) as their Messiah
“She’s not my daughter; she’s an orphan. Will you take her?” Clara’s mother lied to the Catholic priest overseeing an orphanage. She also pretended she and the three-year-old girl weren’t Jewish. The priest, already looking after 12 Jewish children, had compassion and took Clara in. Her mother continued the pretense of being Catholic to work at the orphanage and be near her.
Sometime later, the Gestapo came looking for Jewish children. They killed the priest, and Clara ran into the restroom and locked the door. But the men had dogs who sniffed her out. They pounded on the door, shouting at the small girl behind it, “Get out! We know you are Jewish!” When they seized her, they pulled her by the hair to a car where she saw the other Jewish children.
When Clara’s mother learned the children were taken, she confessed to being Jewish so they would take her too. Only her persistence convinced them, and she joined her daughter at the Sered labor camp. What came next, however, was the most traumatic for little Clara.
The Transportation
At Sered, soldiers herded Clara and her mother into a railway car for cattle. They jammed so many people in that not a single person could sit down. Old, young, sick, they all stood – for a journey lasting four to five days. Clara recalls the unbearable smell. People died standing up. When the train arrived at Theresienstadt, the doors opened, and people, both alive and dead, fell out together.
Theresienstadt was a ghetto-labor camp and a way-station for Jewish people being deported to other camps and killing centers. It also served as a grand Nazi deception, a propaganda weapon. It was described as a lovely community where elderly Jewish people could retire safely. Due to outside pressure, the Germans allowed the Red Cross to visit a carefully staged Theresienstadt.
Nazi Deception
In preparation for the tour, Nazis reduced the camp’s population to a more comfortable size by stepping up deportations. They renovated barracks, planted gardens and then put on social and cultural events for the visiting officials. Afterward, life in the camp returned to its horrible normal. Food was scarce, and many children were among those who died of respiratory and other illnesses.
Haunting Memories
Clara remembers the gunshots she heard day and night at Theresienstadt. Executions, sickness and deportations thinned the camp population. Then new trainloads of Jewish people arrived, and the cycle repeated. Clara remembers another sound, too – SS troops laughing and enjoying themselves as they watched entertainment shows in the evenings.
How could such callous cruelty come to be?
Anti-Semitism, simply put, is racism or religious discrimination toward Jewish people, and it has been around for centuries. It has spurred forced religious conversions, expulsions from countries, violence, cruelty and murder. The same prejudice that escalated into the Holocaust still exists today. Each year, people unleash it on Jewish synagogues, cemeteries, businesses and people through vandalism and violent attacks. Anti-Semitism is a hatred that has gone on entirely too long.
Never Forget
January 27 is International Holocaust Remembrance Day. It’s a day to honor the six million Jewish people who died in the Holocaust and those who survived it. It’s a day to remember how far anti-Semitism can go and an opportunity to speak out against it.
Clara was in her eighties when she told her story to one of Jewish Voice’s partner ministries in Israel. She vividly remembered the fears she felt during the Holocaust: fear of the Gestapo, separation from her mom and being alone. Her capture led to a lifelong fear of dogs. And she still doesn’t like being alone – because that’s when fears threaten to overtake her.
Clara volunteers at Yad Vashem, Israel’s Holocaust memorial center. She also receives visits from a JVMI partner ministry and attends their weekly Bible study. She doesn’t know Jesus yet, but she enjoys the atmosphere there and likes learning the Bible.
Remember Clara
This January 27, remember Clara and others who survived the Shoah, the Hebrew word meaning “the catastrophe,” and pray for them. So many of them continue to endure consequences of the trauma they experienced as children.
Many Holocaust survivors often must choose between groceries and medications or heat in the winter. 25 percent of the survivors in Israel live below the poverty line, suffering still. Jewish Voice’s Israel partners provide relief to elderly Holocaust survivors facing financial hardship, dental needs and loneliness. They show the love of Jesus to them and let them know that God has not forgotten them.
We’ve come to our last “Prayer Points” for 2020, and we are ending the year with some wonderful praises. After having to cancel or postpone several Outreaches and congregational trips in 2020, we were finally able to visit both Ethiopia and Zimbabwe in the last months of the year. What a blessing it was to minister in person!
Please join us in these celebrations and ongoing prayer requests:
Medical Clinic in Dawro, Ethiopia
Ministry Trip in Zimbabwe
Congregation and Leadership Development Trip
Let’s pray:
Lord, may we each enter 2021 with thanksgiving and praise and renewed dependence and expectation. You have enlarged our faith and stretched our capacity to trust. May You continue to lead and grow us to follow You wherever Your Spirit leads, saying “not my will, but Yours be done.” In Jesus’ name, AMEN!
We are so grateful for your support and feel blessed to have you as part of the Jewish Voice family. Please watch this special message of thanks from Jonathan Bernis, President and CEO of Jewish Voice Ministries, and Ezra Benjamin, Vice President of Global Ministry Affairs.
May the Lord richly bless you in the coming year!
