This past Saturday, in the middle of a circumcision ceremony in a Shabbat worship Service, an armed gunman entered Etz Chaim Tree of Life Jewish Synagogue, shouting hateful slurs, and proceeded to murder eleven congregants in the deadliest attack in American Jewish history.

The gunman, Robert Bowers, told authorities while being taken away in custody:

“I just want to kill Jews.”

We at Jewish Voice mourn the loss of our Jewish brethren and stand in solidarity with the Jewish community worldwide in condemning this attack. We continue to pray for the full healing and recovery of the injured worshipers and law enforcement officers who responded to protect the synagogue members and apprehended the shooter.

As the hours progress, the details unfold, and the numbness and shock of such senseless violence give way to a flurry of emotions and opinions both locally and internationally, the Etz Chaim Synagogue tragedy will doubtless fuel the fires of hostile debate: gun control, the dangers of social media loners’ unchecked hate speech, the sharp political divisions in our nation and the fear and violence they invite.

But before all that, in this tragic hour, we at Jewish Voice remember ‒ and encourage you to remember ‒ several truths which can and should steady our thinking and affect our actions as we grapple with Pittsburgh:

Firstly, anti-Semitism (an irrational hatred toward or prejudice against Jewish people) is alive and well. While the Etz Chaim shooting was unprecedented in its deadly scope within the American Jewish community, acts of violence or destruction based solely on prejudice against and hatred toward Jews are an ongoing reality throughout world history. In fact, several of the victims in Pittsburgh were of the age to have had parents or siblings who could have been killed in the Holocaust ‒ the largest and most destructive anti-Semitic atrocity in the history of mankind. What motivated Hitler was also what motivated Robert Bowers: a prejudice that believed that Jewish people were and are the cause of his problems; therefore, they should be destroyed.

In 2017 alone, the anti-Defamation League reported a 57% increase in documented anti-Semitic acts in the United States ‒ the largest single increase in three decades of tracking. More globally, we at Jewish Voice continue to come face-to-face with threats, acts of destruction, physical violence, and even murder, against members of the Jewish communities we serve around the world ‒ in Europe, Africa, Israel, and beyond. The common denominator? Anti-Semitism ‒ vicious prejudices and seething hatred solely because of Jewish identity. The most unlikely and shocking source of so much of the anti-Semitic thinking we encounter? Leaders and groups who call themselves ‘Christian.’

Now, more than ever, we at Jewish Voice call upon Believers in the Jewish Messiah, Jesus, to unite ‒ regardless of political affiliation or ethnic background ‒ to be re-sensitized to the reality that anti-Semitism is one of the Enemy’s most dangerous, but historically most effective, means to attempt to wipe God’s Chosen People off the face of the earth. And the Enemy’s most diabolical means of circulating such a dangerous worldview? Planting it within the Body of Believers worldwide ‒ the Church. We call upon Believers to reject any theology which rejects God’s Chosen People Israel, and to actively challenge ‒ with truth and love ‒ anti-Semitic words and actions wherever when they arise.

Secondly, we are commanded in the Scriptures to rejoice with those who rejoice, but also to mourn with those who mourn. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated Sunday, “The entire people of Israel grieve with the families of the dead.” Tragedy is not a stranger to Jewish communities worldwide, and when tragedy strikes, we are accustomed to joining together to remember that, though we endure suffering, we live on. We also gather, often reciting the Mourner’s Prayer together, to remember that there is a God in Heaven who lives and endures, whose name endures, and who is able to make peace in our lives and the lives of our people even in times of grief.

At Jewish Voice, we encourage you this week to take time to mourn with those who mourn the senseless loss of life in Pittsburgh. Call and contact your Jewish friends, family members, and neighbors to let them know you are standing with them and with the Jewish community in mourning, and that you share their grief. And, of course, take this opportunity, upon every sighting of the half-staff American flag between now and this Wednesday at sunset, to pray for the Jewish community ‒ in Pittsburgh and in the cities where you live. Pray that God would comfort those who mourn, would bring hope to those who despair, and would bring shalom to those bound up with fear, anxiety, or anger as a result of this tragic past Shabbat.

Thirdly and finally, we exhort you to take bold steps this holiday season, with even more zeal in light of the Pittsburgh massacre, to share with your Jewish friends and neighbors about the One who can bring the only lasting shalom and security: the promised Messiah, Yeshua. The temptation during times of trouble of the Jewish community is for Christians to shrink back, give space, and not ‘offend’ their Jewish friends with their faith. However, we at Jewish Voice encourage and exhort you not to shrink back! Hearts are open to the Lord in times of trouble, and we encourage you to share, in love, the hope and salvation of the One by whose stripes we have been healed ‒ the One in whom all the promises of God for His people Israel (and for all peoples!) have always been ‘yes.’

Pray also for the Messianic ministries and congregations in your area ‒ like Jewish Voice ‒ that we would take bold steps, and that the Lord would open incredible doors in this season to reach out with faith, hope, and love, to our Jewish brethren who are grappling with grief, fear, and confusion. We simply cannot do what we do without your faithful prayers and support.

Thank you for standing with our Jewish people in Pittsburgh and around the world. We count on your love, prayers, and support ‒ even more so in times of trouble.

May He create peace for you, for us, and for all Israel. Amen.

Your friends at Jewish Voice Ministries International

But Violet couldn’t see the shirt. An accident had left her completely blind two years before. Seated among the others, Violet was quiet and withdrawn, almost as if protecting herself.

As the American woman, Rachel, talked with Violet through the translators, she learned that her blindness was caused by an accident. Rachel prayed in Yeshua’s name – the name of Jesus – that all trauma and its effects would depart from Violet.

And God heard.

Suddenly, Violet’s eyes grew large, and shock registered on her face. She looked at her daughter-in-law. She could see her!

Violet jumped from her chair and hugged Rachel. She pointed to the sparkling letters on Rachel’s shirt, describing them and everything she could suddenly see. Violet clapped her hands and broke into a dance. The quiet woman of just a moment before was now “beyond exuberant,” Rachel said.

“To say she experienced joy is an understatement.”

Others in the Prayer Tent rejoiced too, praising God for the real-life miracle that had just occurred. Through the translators, Rachel explained, sharing the Gospel with Violet and her daughter-in-law. Both of the local women prayed and received Yeshua as their Messiah – a second miracle.

The women filled out cards requesting to receive follow-up visits from a local Messianic congregation. With this vital spiritual care, Violet and her daughter-in-law will be able to grow strong in the Word of God and become firmly established in their new faith. The two returned the next day to be immersed.

God doesn’t always choose to reveal Himself through miraculous wonders. But that morning, when Rachel prepared for her day, He had known from eternity past what He was going to do. And it surely delighted Him to select her wardrobe for the day.

The two glittering words written on Rachel’s t-shirt were “Miracles happen.”

When you bless God’s people, you’ll be blessed in return!

You provided lifesaving treatment for an Ethiopian Jewish boy. Here’s what happened …

You can imagine … desperation can drive sick and injured people to do just about anything to get treatment. 

And desperate certainly describes many of the Jewish people (and their neighbors) we care for at our Medical Clinics. Sadly, many struggle mightily just to survive in the most poverty-stricken lands of Africa.

They often have no access to health care. So they must sometimes go to extreme lengths to get help.

Obvious pain

At a recent Medical Clinic in Ethiopia, one of our team members briefly stepped outside a locked entrance to accept a delivery of food. While waiting, he noticed a boy standing across the street who was in obvious need of medical care. Because the boy’s pants were way too short, our staffer could see that his ankles and legs were terribly infected. Bleeding scabs were clearly visible, and he was in obvious pain.

Our team member was so concerned, he walked over and talked to the boy. He learned that the boy had come the day before, but we’d been unable to treat him because his parents were not there to give consent.

Thankfully, we got the necessary consent. Our dermatologist cleaned his wounds and prescribed antibiotics to fight the horrible infection.

Our doctor later said the infection was so advanced that, without the immediate treatment he received at the Clinic, the boy would have actually lost his legs.

God’s timing … God’s providence

One of the most difficult challenges at our Clinics is how to help all of the people who come to us. There are so many, we have trouble treating them all. While we hope and pray God will put those with the greatest need before us, it’s hard to watch people leave untreated.

It was certainly a case of God’s timing and providence. The Lord put this boy at that side entrance on purpose.

Your support brings healing and hope

All of this is made possible by partners like you who pray for this ministry and give to multiply our efforts so that even more Jewish people can be reached with help, healing and hope. Thank you!

Sanctions Continue

Meanwhile, Iran is spending its very tight funds on terror rather than helping its own people, who feel the tightening noose around their economy due to their leaders’ anti-US and anti-Israel actions.

The Trump administration’s initial salvo of sanctions occurred in August. The U.S. restricted Iran’s ability to acquire U.S. dollars and blocked Iran’s trade of precious metals, aluminum, steel, coal and automotive products. European and American companies pulled out of Iran.

Iran has not yet felt the strongest repercussions from the sanctions. The harshest U.S. sanction is set to take effect November 4 to target Iran's energy sector.

The Impact of Sanctions on Iran and Israel

The Washington Times reported of the NCRI event, “The rally was held amid a string of large street protests in Iran over the country’s faltering economy.”  These included a plunge in the value of Iranian currency and persistent workers strikes.

“Many in Paris insisted that the Iranian regime is at its weakest point in decades,” the conservative newspaper reported.

The foiled terror plot was one of many methods Iran planned to use to attack the West and Israel. These terror activities include:

• Helping Hamas build sophisticated terror tunnels that extend into Israel from Gaza
• Providing its Lebanese ally Hezbollah with an advanced weapons arsenal frighteningly close to Israel’s border
• Building up nuclear capabilities that Israel revealed could include small “dirty bombs” for terrorists to take into any community worldwide – believed to possibly be one of the purposes of those terror tunnels into Israel.

President Trump has indicated he is ready to meet with Iran’s leaders at any time to forge a new agreement with Tehran, which would undoubtedly address Iran’s support of terrorism and its many efforts to destroy Israel. Iran has refused a meeting and is trying to side-step the U.S. sanctions through continued support for the nuclear agreement by its other signers: France, Britain, Germany, China and Russia.

Please join with us in praying for:

• An end to Iran’s ability to terrorize the world and build toward its goal to destroy Israel
• The UN to abandon its anti-Israel political agenda
• European leaders to see the need and join President Trump in re-negotiating the flawed Iran nuclear deal.

Your gift today to Jewish Voice supports our programs and partners on the ground in Israel that are actively working toward Arab-Israeli peace. It will also fight anti-Semitism worldwide, bring medical aid and – most of all – the Good News of Yeshua (Jesus) to Jewish people and their neighbors in Israel and around the world.

For your gift of $20 or more, I’d like to show my gratitude by sending you our Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem package.