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The ongoing threat of attacks from Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon causes Israeli families and communities to live in a perpetual state of high alert and anxiety. Every time a siren goes off—at all hours of the day or night—the people in harm’s way have only 10-15 seconds to run to a secure location. No one should have to live this way.

In northern Israel, where many fatalities occurred during the Second Lebanon War in 2006, there is a dire need to help protect border towns and other nearby communities. Today, Hezbollah forces in Lebanon are reported to have more than 150,000 rockets and missiles aimed at Israel. 

It is equally important to safeguard those living in southern Israel near the border with Gaza. From there, Hamas terrorists have been firing rockets and missiles for years, and their range, arsenal and accuracy are only intensifying. In 2021, the world witnessed Hamas fire over 4,000 rockets from the Gaza Strip toward Israel.

But through CBN Israel, friends like you linked arms with local Israeli municipalities to save precious lives! Compassionate donors made it possible to install lifesaving emergency bomb shelters for communities in high-risk areas as well as providing urgently needed relief and trauma counseling for people directly affected by terror attacks. 

Ilan Isaacson is the head of security for the Eshkol Region, an area with 32 communities situated along the Israel-Gaza border. “You are making such a difference,” he said gratefully. “It is so important for our families and communities to have resilience and peace of mind. Thank you!”

At this crucial time in the Holy Land, your support can be a lifeline to those who are in crisis. You can bring groceries, financial help, safe housing, job training, and more—while sharing vital news and stories from Jerusalem. 

Please join us in blessing Israel and her people in need!

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By Marc Turnage

The Mount of Olives is a north-south ridge that sits on the eastern watershed of the hills around Jerusalem. To its east, the land slopes drastically down towards the Jordan River Valley and the area around Jericho, towards the Dead Sea. 

The steep fall-off of the topography east of the Mount of Olives, together with the weather patterns coming from the west off the Mediterranean Sea, which causes the rain to fall along the heights of the hill country, means that the land to the east of the Mount of Olives sits in the rain shadow, with little vegetation. This wilderness provided refuge for those seeking concealment from the authorities. When David fled Jerusalem from Absalom (2 Samuel 15:13-23), he went over the Mount of Olives into this wilderness seeking refuge.

The Mount of Olives in antiquity never belonged inside the city of Jerusalem. It always sat as its eastern boundary separated from the city of Jerusalem by the Kidron Valley. The Mount of Olives also served as Jerusalem’s cemetery beginning in the Chalcolithic period (Stone Age). Tombs from the time of the Judean monarchy (Old Testament), as well as the first century (New Testament) have been discovered on the Mount of Olives. At the foot of the mountain sit three monumentally decorated tombs from the first centuries B.C. and A.D., one of which is the misnamed Tomb of Absalom. 

When Jesus entered Jerusalem on His “Triumphal Entry” (Luke 19:28-29), He approached the city from the Mount of Olives. Pilgrims to Jerusalem today can walk down the Mount of Olives on the “Palm Sunday” processional route, but this would not have been the path Jesus took, as it led through a first century cemetery, which would have rendered Him ritually impure prohibiting Him from entering the Temple. Most likely His route would have taken Him over one the saddles of the ridge on either its northern or southern part. 

The prophet Zechariah proclaimed that at the end of the age, when God’s kingdom is revealed in all the world, that He will stand on the Mount of Olives, which will split east to west, opening a chasm that will cause the mountain to move to the north and south (Zechariah 14:4). The Mount of Olives is not only connected to Jerusalem’s history in both the Old and New Testaments; it is also directly linked to its future. 

Marc Turnage is President/CEO of Biblical Expeditions. He is an authority on ancient Judaism and Christian origins. He has published widely for both academic and popular audiences. His most recent book, Windows into the Bible, was named by Outreach Magazine as one of its top 100 Christian living resources. Marc is a widely sought-after speaker and a gifted teacher. He has been guiding groups to the lands of the Bible—Israel, Jordan, Egypt, Turkey, Greece, and Italy—for over twenty years.

Website: WITBUniversity.com
Facebook: @witbuniversity
Podcast: Windows into the Bible Podcast

“The LORD is my shepherd; there is nothing I lack. He lets me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. He renews my life; He leads me along the right paths for His name’s sake” (Psalm 23:1-3 HCSB).

God’s name is at stake in us, and we can trust in His care for this very reason. The psalmist used the image of sheep and a shepherd to convey this reality. Shepherding in the land of Israel is challenging. The climate of parts of the land can prove extreme and inhospitable. 

The terrain can prove treacherous for both sheep and shepherd. Human and animal predators pose threats to the sheep; moreover, shepherding often takes place isolated from other people in the midst of a dry, harsh climate. If the shepherd loses his sheep, his name is at stake.

Sheep and goats forage all the time; they move constantly. The image of the shepherd causing them to lie down indicates that they have been satiated; they have enough to eat. Within the wilderness areas of the land of Israel, flash floods are common. “Still waters” offer safe water for the sheep to drink and slake their thirst in the heat. Nourishment and water bring refreshment; this is how God leads His flock. 

Within the lands east of Jerusalem and Bethlehem, where shepherds led their flocks, one finds erosional trails cut in the soil. While rain does not come often, it does come, and the soil sluffs off creating these erosional circles around the hill. This landscape sits in the rain shadow, so it doesn’t get a lot of moisture, which is essential for life. One can get lost on these erosional paths wandering aimlessly in the wilderness. 

The shepherd knows the right path to lead his flock. God knows the right paths to lead us. Shepherds lead their flock from behind or on the side. If they tried to lead from the front, they would lose their flock as sheep and goats have a tendency to wander. The shepherd leads by corralling, but he knows the way to go. 

Very little in our lives today bring our souls renewal and nourishment. God does. He also knows the best paths for our lives, and if we will listen and trust Him, He will lead us in the right way. 

Remember His name is at stake in us. Just as a shepherd doesn’t want to lose any of his sheep, neither does God want to lose any of us. That is a comforting thought. Rest in that today. 

PRAYER

Father, today, renew our lives, and lead us in the right paths, for Your name’s sake. Amen.

By Arlene Bridges Samuels 

Victimized under Vladimir Putin’s campaign of unrestrained violence, Ukraine is another nation to suffer the bitter fruit of oppressive regimes since World War II. At this writing, upwards of 2 million Ukrainians are now classified as refugees fleeing Russia’s brutal military campaign—an evil that has no boundaries and a hatred that murders children. Families are shot dead in the streets, while hospitals, churches, schools, and apartment buildings are bombed. Ukrainians are not strangers to Putin’s imperial whims, of course. In 2014, Russian forces invaded and then annexed the Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula.

But this time, it’s different. An order of magnitude different. 

The Ukrainians now on the run are among 26.4 million refugees worldwide. This global figure tragically soars to 82.4 million people when one includes those who were forcibly displaced by civil war within their nation’s borders, according to a United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees report released in 2021. Refugees are those who have fled war, violence, conflict, or persecution and crossed an international border to find safety in another country. 

However, and thankfully, countries bordering Ukraine—including Moldova, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, and Poland—are intensifying compassionate operations. Their borders are now occupied with scores of Christian and Jewish humanitarian operations that went into action almost immediately. In Israel, hundreds of Jewish Ukrainians are currently returning to their ancestral homeland, aided by Israel’s Jewish Agency partnering with International Christian Embassy Jerusalem.

One common denominator can be found in most refugee catastrophes. Populations flee regimes with leaders holding titles like president, prime minister, or supreme leader. These leaders can nevertheless be described by one or all of these terms: autocrats, communists, dictators, despots, totalitarians, and tyrants. They share the same methods: oppression, torment, persecution, and murder. Some wear a suit and tie with a hidden mantle of skillful propaganda publicly speaking in a calm tone like Putin. Others appear as Hitler once did—in uniform, hypnotically evil, and ranting publicly, yet surrounding himself with elegant art, elite parties, and classical music. Still others are like Iran’s Ayatollah Sayyid Ali Hosseini Khamenei, who rules the world’s first and only Shiite theocracy. He is determined to achieve nuclear capability, and not for peace.

Several developments in Ukraine demand vigilance. After Putin made a nuclear threat last week, on Friday Russian forces bombed a building near Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station—the largest in Europe—then took control of the facility. Ukrainian President Zelensky observed, “We survived the night that could have put an end to history.” 

 Yet the threat continues, and the Ukrainian staff at the power plant are now hostages. What is Putin’s plan with Ukraine’s four other nuclear plants and their 15 reactors? The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is especially concerned, since Russian forces have disabled most mobile networks, internet, and telephone lines. IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi commented, “Operating staff must be able to fulfill their safety and security duties and have the capacity to make decisions free of undue pressure.” Ukraine’s regulator reported that radiation levels remain normal at this time, although reduced communications affect nuclear safety and security. As for Russia and any agreements they make, they are violating international norms as members of the International Atomic Energy Agency. The agreements prevent any armed attacks against nuclear plants operated for peaceful purposes, which applies to Ukraine for their electricity.  

Such developments are troubling. As a recent report in the Wall Street Journal states: “The attack removed any doubt that Vladimir Putin is willing to risk nuclear catastrophe. If Ukraine loses the capacity to secure and protect fuel rods, waste and other radioactive material at its civilian nuclear power plants, it will threaten the environment, safety and public health well beyond Ukraine’s borders. Western powers need to be mindful of that danger as they consider how to respond to Moscow’s aggression against Ukraine.”

Another development that could intensify complications and fighting is a report that Russia is recruiting Syrian fighters. One concern is that Russia may be recruiting elite Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) personnel who are trained in urban warfare, which is what Putin needs. Iran has stationed its forces in Syria for the last 10 years to focus on destroying Israel. Russia has backed Syria’s dictator, President Bashar al-Assad, an Iranian surrogate. 

The Syrian refugee crisis began in 2011 during the anti-government uprisings collectively known as the Arab Spring—uprisings that led to large populations of internally displaced peoples. Here is what Putin helped Assad do to the Syrian people: He caused what World Vision calls “the largest refugee and internal displacement crisis of our time.” World Vision further notes that “about 6.8 million Syrians are refugees and asylum-seekers, and another 6.7 million people are displaced within Syria.” What does that mean? That more than half that country’s population—13.5 million Syrians in total—have been forcibly displaced. Of over 11 million people in Syria needing humanitarian assistance, half of those affected by the Syrian refugee crisis are children. The total dead are estimated by the United Nations at 350,000.  

Whether Putin recruits the IRGC in Syria or Syrian soldiers themselves, the outcome remains ominous. Assad, Putin, and Ayatollah Khamenei constitute a terror trio cooperating on multiple levels. Obsessed with power at any cost, they operate from calculating minds driven by self-interest and skewed religious ideologies and are devoid of a conscience when it comes to the deaths of innocent men, women, and children.  

Observing the world through a lens of both the reality of evil and the triumph of goodness is an indispensable balance. Our Lord Jesus alerted us to both. Added to His Life-giving words is the promise and indwelling of His Holy Spirit where we draw His abundant counsel and comfort. 

In our prayers for Ukrainians, for those who are fleeing or remaining, and for organizations, individuals, and nations that shine as lights of love and help, let us be sure to continue our vigilance. 

Please join us this week at CBN Israel in prayer on behalf of Ukraine, the nations involved, and compassionate helpers:

• Pray American and NATO leaders will make the wisest decisions.
• Pray for Ukrainian refugees for food, clothing, and housing at this terrible time.
• Pray for Ukrainians trapped in their country. 
• Pray for safety for President Zelensky, his wife, and their two children. 

As we pray, may be reflect upon Hebrews 12:1-2: “Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

Arlene Bridges Samuels pioneered Christian outreach for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). After she served nine years on AIPAC’s staff, International Christian Embassy Jerusalem USA engaged her as Outreach Director part-time for their project, American Christian Leaders for Israel. Arlene is an author at The Blogs-Times of Israel and has traveled to Israel since 1990. She co-edited The Auschwitz Album Revisited and is a volunteer on the board of Violins of Hope South Carolina. Arlene has attended Israel’s Government Press Office Christian Media Summit three times and hosts her devotionals, The Eclectic Evangelical, on her website at ArleneBridgesSamuels.com.

When they learned that a barrage of rockets from Gaza had hit their apartment building, Nina and her husband rushed home from work. Staring at their destroyed home, they were in shock.

At age 52, Nina felt that life had just begun to settle down. She and her husband live in the Israeli city of Ashdod, have stable jobs, and their children have been doing well. But with their beloved home and precious possessions in ruins, Nina was left dazed and shaken. Added to that, their apartment building was beyond repair and was scheduled to be demolished. All they had left were memories.

Initially, Nina was grateful that the contents of her home were covered by the Israeli government’s war compensation insurance. However, although her possessions were old but in good condition, state appraisers only reimbursed her for the actual value—which was half the amount needed to replace everything. After losing it all, how could they afford to start over? 

Thankfully, friends like you were there for Nina and other victims of the bombing. Through CBN Israel, caring partners provided emergency relief so Nina’s family could purchase immediate essentials to get through this devastating time. They also offered them trauma counseling, which is helping them find hope as they recover. Nina exclaimed, “I want to thank every single donor for your generosity. We are overwhelmed by your kindness and compassion!”

Your gift to CBN Israel can be a godsend to other terror victims—as well as lonely Holocaust survivors, single mothers, refugees, and more. The needs in Israel are great, especially during this pandemic. You can bring food, housing, and financial aid to those with nowhere to turn. 

Please join us in reaching out to the hurting in this special land today!

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By Marc Turnage

The most dramatic geographical feature of the biblical land of Israel is the scar of the Rift Valley. Created by the tectonic plates, this forms part of the Syro-African Rift, the longest scar on the face of the planet. Within the land of Israel, the Rift Valley is referred to as the Jordan River Valley because the Jordan River flows through a large portion of it. Within this valley, Lot chose to settle in the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, which God destroyed (Genesis 13:10).

The Jordan River begins south of Mount Hermon where three headwaters flow together to form the Jordan River. The Jordan River flows south through the upper part of the Jordan Valley, known as the Huleh Valley, then into the Sea of Galilee. It exits the lake on its southern end traveling south over sixty-five miles into the Dead Sea. Over its journey from the Sea of Galilee (656 feet below sea level) to the Dead Sea (1310 feet below sea level), the Jordan River carves a deep and winding course and meanders roughly two hundred miles over its sixty-five-mile journey. 

The Jordan River played a significant role in a number of biblical stories. The Israelites crossed the Jordan River, when it was at flood stage, to enter the promised land and began their conquest of the land (Joshua 1-4). Biblical Israel spanned both sides of the Jordan River, its east and west bank, so too did kingdoms that the kingdoms of Israel and Judah interacted with, like Ammon and Moab. 

Thus, characters in the Bible crossed the Jordan often traveling to the land on the eastern and western sides of the river (Judges 7:22-8:17; 1 Samuel 11; 31; 2 Samuel 2:24-32; 15-19). Elisha followed Elijah on his final day before being caught up into heaven across the Jordan River (2 Kings 2:6-13). After Elijah’s departure, Elisha crossed the river dividing it with Elijah’s coat. Elisha sent Naaman the Syrian to immerse himself in the Jordan River seven time (2 Kings 5:14) to cure him from his skin ailment. 

In the region of the Jordan, John the Baptist baptized Jesus (Luke 3:3). Modern pilgrims today visit a location identified as the traditional site of Jesus’ baptism near Jericho, and just north of the Dead Sea. The identification of this site began in the Byzantine period (4^th-6^th centuries A.D.) to enable Christian pilgrims to Jerusalem to also visit the Jordan River, which is a day’s walk from Jerusalem. The Byzantine Christians, however, did not know that Jewish ritual purity laws of the first century considered the waters of the Jordan River south of the Sea of Galilee impure for ritual immersion (Mishnah Parah 8.10-11). 

It seems unlikely, then, that John would have baptized anyone in the Jordan south of the Sea of Galilee; however, the waters of the Jordan north of the Sea of Galilee are considered pure for immersion. This geographically fits Jesus’ meeting Philip coming out of Bethsaida (on the northeast corner of the Sea of Galilee) the day after his baptism (John 1:43-44). Such a meeting would have been impossible in Bethsaida the day after his baptism if Jesus had been baptized near Jericho.

The Jordan River serves as one of the central geographic boundaries and features that plays so prominently in so many biblical stories. 

Marc Turnage is President/CEO of Biblical Expeditions. He is an authority on ancient Judaism and Christian origins. He has published widely for both academic and popular audiences. His most recent book, Windows into the Bible, was named by Outreach Magazine as one of its top 100 Christian living resources. Marc is a widely sought-after speaker and a gifted teacher. He has been guiding groups to the lands of the Bible—Israel, Jordan, Egypt, Turkey, Greece, and Italy—for over twenty years.

Website: WITBUniversity.com
Facebook: @witbuniversity
Podcast: Windows into the Bible Podcast

“But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, ‘Son, go, work today in my vineyard.’ He answered and said, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he regretted it and went. Then he came to the second and said likewise. And he answered and said, ‘I go, sir,’ but he did not go. Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said to Him, “The first” (Matthew 21:28-31 NKJV). 

We’ve all heard the saying, the road to hell is paved with good intentions. Jesus told this parable to underscore a very important fact: doing God’s will is what matters most. Jesus, His brother James, and even Paul placed a premium on obedience to God’s will. 

Too often within modern Christianity, we place importance on belief, by which we mean an inward psychological conviction. In fact, we often contrast faith against works, doing God’s will. This separation means that it will be harder for us to understand Jesus, because He placed preeminent importance on doing. 

He compared those who hear His word to a man who built his house on a rock. To a woman that called out a blessing for Him, He reminded her that the one who is truly blessed is the one who hears the words of God and keeps them. He told His disciples that if they loved Him, they would obey Him. In fact, Jesus says little about faith and a lot about doing, obeying. 

Within the Bible, faith would better be translated as faithfulness, steadfastness. Such a translation better captures the biblical meaning of the word, and it reflects the aspect of obedience inherent within the biblical idea of faith. It’s not so much about what we think, but what we do, that confesses our trust in God. 

It wasn’t the son who said but did not do, but the one who did the will of his father, that Jesus praises to His listeners. 

We come to know God through obeying Him. It’s not through ecstatic experience or special revelation that we come to know God. If you want to grow closer to God, obey His will. If you want to please Him, obey His will. If you want to remain steadfast, obey His will. This is how we know God. 

Today, pursue doing His will; be the son who did the will of his father.

PRAYER

Father, may we pursue doing Your will today in everything we say and do. May doing Your will be our supreme joy. Amen.

By Ellie Cohanim

Antisemitism is the world’s oldest hatred and has plagued humanity from the beginning of recorded history. As the Trump Administration’s U.S. Deputy Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism, I spent my days tracking antisemitic incidents and attacks around the globe—strategizing on policies that the United States could implement to end Jew-hatred worldwide and advocating for those polices with my foreign counterparts. 

In doing so, I realized that the trend lines have not been on our side. Year after year, study after study has been showing increasing antisemitic attitudes and attacks on Jews—whether the reports are those of how Jews are perceiving the society around them (the survey of the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights, for example) or those monitoring antisemitic attitudes and incidents (from the Kantor Center or Combat Antisemitism Movement). Additionally, and without exaggeration, we would wake up every single morning to news of an incident—a synagogue being attacked, a cemetery being desecrated, a Jew being assaulted—somewhere in the world, which often required response either from one of our embassies or from our own offices at the Department of State. 

In this day-to-day work of combatting antisemitism, it was easy to get lost in the darkness of combatting hate. My own portfolio in the office of the Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism was focused on the Near East and Western Hemisphere regions. In a recent profile of me in the Jerusalem Post (https://www.jpost.com/jerusalem-report/article-694668), I discussed how—as soon as I was tapped for the State Department position—I requested to work on Iran issues. 

The Trump Administration went on to designate Iran as the leading state sponsor of antisemitism in the world—due to the Iranian regime’s denial of the Holocaust as government policy, their terror proxy activity targeting the Jewish state of Israel, their hate-filled propaganda against Jews, and their oppression of Iran’s local Jewish population. The subject of Iranian antisemitism is one I know well. Born in Iran myself, I was forced to flee the country with my family at the age of six due to the rising antisemitism in the country, beginning with the events of the Islamic Revolution of 1979. 

One of the first acts committed by the radical revolutionaries was executing the president of the Jewish community, Mr. Habib Elghanian. My own father was threatened to be reported to the revolutionary tribunals as a “Zionist spy,” and my family understood that his life was at risk. We fled the country and arrived in the United States, where we were granted refugee status. Growing up in the United States and becoming a citizen of this great country is what I consider the greatest blessing in my life. Nowhere but in America can a little girl come to a new country with no knowledge of the language, receive world-class educational opportunities, and one day be tapped to represent her government.

Working on Near East Affairs—the State Department’s designation for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region—also afforded me the opportunity to take a small part in making history by being a member of what we termed the “warm peace team”—those of us privileged to work as part of the Abraham Accords team. Antisemitism in the Middle East is “institutionalized antisemitism,” meaning that antisemitism has been taught in schools and in the educational materials, it is broadcast in the media, and it is preached in certain mosques. I held some tough conversations with my counterparts in that region on the need to revise curricula; to pull books like the infamous Russian propaganda piece, The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, from official book fairs; and to stop the broadcast of Arabic language TV series that demonize Jews.

On the flip side, and as part of the Abraham Accords efforts, I was able to find inspiration and sources of light. I worked closely with Bahrain’s King Hammad Global Centre for Peaceful Coexistence on a memorandum of understanding (MOU) they signed with the State Department to combat antisemitism and antizionism, which was followed soon after with an MOU signing with Morocco’s Mimouna Association, a non-governmental organization. 

I also had the privilege of partnering with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s Sheikh Dr. Muhammed al Issa, the head of the Muslim World League, who made history by taking the first delegation of Muslim faith leaders to the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp. I made an official visit to Egypt, where I was invited to attend the opening of the Grand Synagogue of Alexandria. The Synagogue had been part of a multi-million dollar restoration project of historic national monuments—a project launched by Egyptian President Abdel El-Sissi—which included a Coptic church. I also went on an official visit to the United Arab Emirates during Hanukkah 2020, where I participated in a glorious Hanukkah candle lighting ceremony at the base of Dubai’s Burj al Khalifa tower. 

All of these developments in the MENA region—most of them due to the hard work and commitment of many of my colleagues in the Trump Administration to broker not just peace between Israel and her Arab neighbors, but also diplomatic, economic and social ties between these countries—all left me with tremendous hope as I was finishing my term in office in January 2021.

I found one additional source of light and inspiration as I spent my days fighting the growing hatred towards Jews: my partnerships with members of the Evangelical Christian faith community, forged through the course of combatting antisemitism in the Western Hemisphere region. 

While most of the countries in the Middle East region no longer hold Jewish populations, my other region of responsibility—Latin America—faced very different issues of antisemitism, because there are Jewish communities in countries throughout that region.

The Jews of Chile face a particularly challenging environment, as they are a very small community in a country with approximately 400,000 to 500,000 Palestinian expatriates. Many in this Palestinian expatriate population have adopted a virulently anti-Israel, pro-Palestinian narrative. In fact this Palestinian expatriate community, while being mostly of the Christian faith, has imported into Chile the issue of the Israeli-Palestinian dispute although Chileans would not inherently have any particular ties or interest in that Middle East conflict. I was working with the local Jewish community (which was facing antisemitic attacks) at the same time that certain members of the Chilean Parliament successfully passed BDS legislation that would boycott, divest and sanction goods and services from Israel. At this moment, it occurred to me that the tiny Jewish community would always be deeply outnumbered in that country, but that there was one group of allies they had not yet turned to for help. And that was the local Evangelical Church community.

I worked with some good friends who served on President Trump’s Faith Council, and together we connected the local Chilean Jewish community with their Christian neighbors. Through this particular endeavor I understood that, perhaps for the first time in Jewish history, the Jewish people are no longer alone.

I am ever grateful to each Christian woman, man and teenager I meet who stands by the side of the Jewish people and by the side of the Jewish state of Israel. This support has become a source of light and inspiration for me as I daily continue to work on combatting Jew-hatred around the world.

Ellie Cohanim is the former U.S. Deputy Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism and a political and national security contributor to CBN News. You can follow her on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at @EllieCohanim.

By Arlene Bridges Samuels

Ukraine has enjoyed freedom ever since 1991, when it crawled out from under the collapse of the Soviet Union. Putin’s callous disregard for Ukraine’s population is a grim reminder of Joseph Stalin, one of the world’s most monstrous killers, who ruled the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) from 1929 to 1953. It is as if Putin has taken on Stalin’s mantle of murder. 

Beginning in the 1930s, Stalin executed a million of his citizens, a number that scholars estimate grew to between 20–60 million people during World War II. It happened through both world wars and the Cold War, and now it’s happening again: Europe is facing a chaotic, complex eruption of evil that threatens the entire continent. And it’s taking place while our world is still reeling from the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, a plague of sorrow and uncertainty. 

However, during the last 30 years Ukraine—the second-largest European country—has enjoyed another kind of outbreak, one that helps sustain it today: It is the largest missionary-sending nation in Europe. While religious preference is practiced among Catholics, Jews, Muslims, and Christians, it has mostly rested historically in the Orthodox Christian denomination. Now, a vibrant evangelical sector is scattered among Ukraine’s 43 million citizens. 

The Southern Baptist International Mission Board (IMB) has played a significant role even under communism, when Ukraine had the second-largest Baptist community in the world, behind only the United States. IMB missionaries from the United States planted churches, taught in seminaries, and shared our Lord Jesus throughout Ukraine. Their ministry has resulted in a Christian force of faith among Ukrainians who capably and devotedly share and stand on their faith at home and abroad. The stability and strength of the Ukrainian Christian community is much needed, since Ukraine—like many other nations—is dealing with corruption and all the other challenges facing the nations of the world.

It is difficult to determine numbers in the current chaos, but stories are emerging about pastors, their congregations, and other Christian ministries that have chosen to remain in their country as an expression of their faith. Examples include Ukrainian Baptist Theological Seminary in Lviv, where in 2013 only 40 students were enrolled. By 2019, the enrollment had grown to nearly 800—Christians who were preparing to become pastors or missionaries to other nations in Europe and Asia. 

Now, the seminary is assisting refugees on their way to the Polish border. In an interview, seminary president Yaroslav Pyzh commented that they feel a special kinship with Gideon’s story in the Bible, since they are a small army going up against a great one and “have a disadvantage in everything.” Yet graduates from the seminary are returning to help, along with currently enrolled students switching from “studying to serving.” Since Sunday, they had helped around 500 refugees, mostly women and children—providing food, clothing, and a resting place on their journey. Pyzh and his wife are housing some refugees in their home and he is recruiting other citizens to do the same. He is maintaining a list of the refugees in the hope that they can be traced later to reunite with their Ukrainian families.

Another example of faith in action is beloved Pastor Gennadiy Mokhnenko, who founded the Republic Pilgrim in 2000. It has become the largest rehabilitation center for children in Eastern Europe. Four thousand street children have passed through the doors where help and hope have thrived. Pastor Gennadiy is himself the father of 38 kids, three of them biological. He is revered throughout Ukraine and abroad for his compassion for neglected, at-risk children. It came to my attention that, last weekend, Pastor Gennadiy undertook a rescue of children from Republic Pilgrim in eastern Ukraine and took them cross country to an unnamed border. Rather than crossing over with them, he returned to help others. 

The courageous Ukrainian Christian community is joined by Christians worldwide—both individuals and organizations, large and small. CBN’s Operation Blessing is on the ground in Ukraine and along its borders providing critical relief to those in need. Samaritans Purse is operating in Moldova on Ukraine’s southwestern border. A Youth with a Mission (YWAM) base in Cluj, Romania, is giving aid and support to Ukrainian refugees fleeing their county. 

Respected Christian organizations located in Israel are mobilizing aid. CBN Israel is already reaching out to Jewish refugees desperately fleeing to Israel from Ukraine. The Jewish Agency for Israel has asked the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (ICEJ) to help Jewish Ukrainians make Aliyah (immigrate) to Israel. Founded in 1980, ICEJ has already actively aided some 45,000 Ukrainian Jews to settle in their ancestral homeland during the last few decades. 

Israel’s Diaspora Ministry has already pledged $3.07 million in aid, saying: “This decision comes from the unique mandate of the State of Israel, and in particular, its Diaspora Ministry, as the nation-state of the Jewish people, to support Jewish individuals and communities in harm’s way.” IsraAID, one of Israel’s expert NGOs, is already on the border of Moldova to provide relief and mental health support for Ukrainian refugees. 

In Christian media, CBN News senior international correspondent, George Thomas, is in Ukraine reporting the true stories of what’s happening on the ground, as is Chris Mitchell, CBN News Middle East bureau chief and host of Jerusalem Dateline. Trinity Broadcasting Network’s Erick Stakelbeck is providing articulate commentary on Ukraine in The Watchman program. 

Trusted Christian media is important, yet prayer is the most critical component to all that is happening in the world. Christians worldwide are not only finding ways to donate to reliable institutions, but they have mounted prayer vigils in person, on Facebook, and via Zoom. Individuals, families, and churches are joining together in prayer for the people of Ukraine. In an interview, Olga Buznitska—who is on the staff of CBN’s Orphan’s Promise—made this profound statement: “Keep praying. Your faith can create history.” 

Ukraine’s Jewish President, Volodymyr Zelensky, is the grandson of Holocaust survivors. He made a comment early on in the Russian invasion, when the Biden administration offered to help him leave Ukraine. His stirring, no-nonsense reply will take its place in military history. Wearing his uniform, standing with a group of his soldiers, he observed, “The fight is here. I need ammunition, not a ride.” His comment is one that Christians can take to heart in our walk here on earth. Our “ammunition” is the Holy Spirit, the Bible, and unified fellowship with other believers. That is where we derive our hope and our courage in a chaotic world, which only the God of the universe knows the beginning from the end.  

Join CBN Israel this week in prayer, including these Bible verses for Ukraine and all nations directly impacted: 

• “The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds” (2 Corinthians 10:4).
• “Be strong and courageous; do not be frightened or dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:9).
• “In every way we’re troubled, but we aren’t crushed by our troubles. We’re frustrated, but we don’t give up. We’re persecuted, but we’re not abandoned. We’re captured, but we’re not killed. We always carry around the death of Jesus in our bodies so that the life of Jesus is also shown in our bodies” (2 Corinthians 4:8-10).
• Blessed is the man [or woman] who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him (James 1:12).

Remember: “Keep praying. Your faith can create history.” 

Arlene Bridges Samuels pioneered Christian outreach for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). After she served nine years on AIPAC’s staff, International Christian Embassy Jerusalem USA engaged her as Outreach Director part-time for their project, American Christian Leaders for Israel. Arlene is an author at The Blogs-Times of Israel and has traveled to Israel since 1990. She co-edited The Auschwitz Album Revisited and is a volunteer on the board of Violins of Hope South Carolina. Arlene has attended Israel’s Government Press Office Christian Media Summit three times and hosts her devotionals, The Eclectic Evangelical, on her website at ArleneBridgesSamuels.com.

The air was filled with red-alert sirens. People were frantically rushing to nearby bomb shelters. This was Irena’s life in the city of Holon near Tel Aviv, during a conflict with Hamas terrorists in Gaza. She was 48, a single mother to her daughter Suzanna—and their city was in the flight path of the rockets that bombarded their community. 

One day, Suzanna feared for her mother’s safety, and begged her to stay home from work. But Irena was needed on the job. On her way there, the sirens wailed, and she noticed a mother trying to get her two children out of the car to safety. Irena stopped and ran with them for shelter, but a missile exploded. The blast ripped through Irena’s leg, as shrapnel pierced her head and back.

Rushed to the hospital, Irena was in critical condition. They stabilized her, amputating her leg to save her life. Still, she was in serious condition, under heavy medication, battling infections and comas, and due for another operation. 

But friends like you were there, providing them with emergency relief funds—as well as offering trauma counseling. Suzanna said gratefully, “Thank you… We were so in need of money after Mom was hurt. I could not pay her rent and bills and would worry about what would happen.” 

Your gift to CBN Israel can provide help to many terror victims—as well as Holocaust survivors, refugees, single mothers, lone soldiers, and more. The pandemic has intensified the needs across the Holy Land. Your generous support can bring groceries, housing, financial aid, and essentials to the hurting. 

Please join us in reaching out today!

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