Blog

Veronica came to Israel 27 years ago from Mexico, and lives in a kibbutz near Jerusalem. When she and her husband separated 12 years ago, she raised their two boys alone—with no child support, or family nearby. But after the October 7 attacks, life got more challenging.

Her sons, now ages 23 and 21, are in the military. Veronica shared, “It was shocking to suddenly see my son coming into the room and saying, ‘I’ve been called—I have to go.’” She prays for her boys serving with the IDF in Gaza, even as she hears rockets flying over her own area. She adds, “You feel like this is a movie, this is not happening…” So how does she cope?

Thanks to friends like you, Veronica has found help for the past 10 years through CBN Israel’s support group for single moms. Caring donors have created a special community for these women in many ways, which includes shared meals, financial assistance, and holiday gatherings.

In fact, donors were there for Veronica two years earlier, when she received short notice that she had to vacate her home. The kibbutz offered her a much smaller house that was 75 years old, had no kitchen or working bathroom, and was in terrible disrepair. With no job or savings, she wept.

But through CBN Israel, donors provided finances, materials, and a construction worker. Together, she and her sons worked with him to repair, paint, and refurbish it to make it a home.

Your gifts to CBN Israel can also offer a lifeline to Holocaust survivors and immigrants—delivering food, shelter, finances, and more to those in need. And as the war continues, your support is crucial in supplying emergency aid to terror victims, while reaching others in crisis.

Please join us in making a difference for others!

GIVE TODAY

By Marc Turnage

Mentioned more than any other location in the Gospels, apart from Jerusalem, Capernaum sits on the northern shore of the lake of Galilee. The Gospels indicate it served as an important base during Jesus’ ministry around the lake, with Matthew referring to it as “his own city” (9:1). He performed miracles in the village casting out a demon in its synagogue on the Sabbath, healing Simon’s mother-in-law, and caring for many who suffered. Jesus taught in the synagogue built by a centurion (Luke 7:5). 

Capernaum does not appear in ancient sources prior to the first century where both the Gospels and the first century historian Josephus mention it. Its name means the “village of Nahum,” although no indication of who Nahum was is known. Archaeological excavations indicate that some settlement at the site existed as early as the third millennium B.C.; however, the village that Jesus knew began around 330 B.C. and continued until the Arab conquest in A.D. 640, when the layout of the village was significantly altered. Archaeological excavations indicate a population shift and growth took place in the first century B.C., in which the population became markedly Jewish. 

The site of Capernaum today consists of two sites, one controlled by the Franciscans, which contains some houses, the synagogue, and the Christian shrine, and the other site belongs to the Greek Orthodox Church. Excavations on the Greek Orthodox property have been limited. Most of what they excavated dates to the Byzantine period (4^th-7^th centuries A.D.). They did discover a bathhouse (2^nd-3^rd century A.D.), a tomb, which dates to the 1^st century, and some suggest that the sea wall of the harbor goes back to the first century as well. The more popular and developed side of Capernaum belongs to the Franciscans; however, most of the remains that visitors see date to the Byzantine period.

The synagogue that stands in the site today was constructed out of limestone, which had to be brought to the village since the local stone is the black, volcanic basalt. Certain architectural elements of the structure suggest a 3^rd-4^th century date; however, pottery discovered under the floor indicates that the current building was constructed in the 5^th-6^th century. The limestone building rests upon a basalt wall. While visitors to the site are shown this wall and told it dates to the first century, the time of Jesus, this simply does not seem to be the case. The wall supports the limestone structure above it. It is possible that they built this structure on top of the earlier, first century synagogue, but the synagogue of Jesus would have been much smaller, as excavations under the floor of the Byzantine period synagogue have revealed houses in use during the first century. 

The excavated houses date primarily to the Byzantine period; however, excavators uncovered a large courtyard to a house, which dates to the first century. The homes in Capernaum reflect a style of home popular within the ancient world known as the insula. These homes surrounded a central courtyard in which much of the domestic life of the family took place. This style of home illustrates many stories in the Gospels. 

Visitors to Capernaum encounter a large modern church built over a series of ancient ruins, which consist of three phases. The earliest phase consists of an insula home (200 B.C.-A.D. 135). The second phase reflects an insula sacra in which a certain portion of the house became a shrine (2^nd-4^th century A.D.). The final phase (5^th-6^th century A.D.) preserves a Byzantine shrine with three concentric octagonal walls with mosaic floors. This structure architecturally reflects a Byzantine shrine, built over a sacred site, but it is not a church. The excavators explained these three phrases as evidence of this site being the “House of Saint Peter.” 

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

“For thus says the high and lofty one who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with those who are contrite and humble in spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite” (Isaiah 57:15 RSV).

The dissonance of this verse is astounding! The God who dwells in the highest heaven, who inhabits eternity, also resides with the contrite and humble of spirit.

Why does He dwell there? To revive them. To lift them up. It seems impossible to imagine that the King of the universe dwells with the contrite and humble.

Within the ancient world, the gods were capricious, caring about their sacrifices and the mighty; human morality did not move the gods. Neither did human poverty. The God of the Bible is fundamentally different.

The suffering, the poor, those on the fringe of society—He identified with them. The mighty, He cast down; the proud, He resisted. The contrite, He revives their heart. The humble, He revives their spirit.

The economy of God’s kingdom turns the normal order of things upside down. He often values what others overlook or despise, and He despises what we tend to value.

The Hebrew word translated as “contrite” literally means “crushed.” Those who are crushed. The God who inhabits eternity dwells among those who feel crushed.

The structure of the verse indicates that the crushed and contrite are also the humble in spirit. The “humble in spirit” doesn’t merely mean those who are humble; it carries with it the sense of those whose spirits are low, depressed. Have you been there? The God of the universe dwells with you.

Our weakness does not hinder or prevent God’s presence. His greatness does not distance Him from our brokenness. Rather, He dwells with us there. He does not leave us there; His presence comes to revive us.

PRAYER

Father, You dwell in eternity, yet You reside with us in our brokenness to revive us. How great are You, O Lord! Amen.

By Nicole Jansezian

The genocidal attacks carried out by Hamas on Israelis on October 7 evoked painful memories of the Holocaust and cast a spotlight on the remaining survivors of the Nazi onslaught in Europe decades ago.

For Holocaust survivors, the horrors of October 7 revived a dormant trauma forcing them to relive their nightmares and threatening their welfare and sense of security.

CBN Israel is partnering with The Jewish Agency to provide affordable housing for more than 27,000 Holocaust survivors and other needy elderly people around Israel.

The CBN Israel contribution enables dozens of couples and single elderly to live in comfort and dignity. Amigour Plugot is a housing program from The Jewish Agency that gives them this opportunity.

“Amigour is one big family, and no one ever feels lonely,” said Phima, a Holocaust survivor originally from Belarus. “Whenever I’m asked where I live, I proudly say Amigour.”

This year’s observance of International Holocaust Remembrance Day, marked on January 27, was all the more poignant amid rising anti-Semitism and the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. Fewer than 200,000 Holocaust survivors—almost half of all Holocaust survivors worldwide—are still living in Israel today.

But around 25 percent of those here in the Holy Land live below the poverty line.

Phima, who is now 85, was 3 years old when World War II reached his town in Slonim, Belarus. His parents fled to Uzbekistan with Phima and his two sisters. Nevertheless, his father disappeared after leaving for work one day and never made it back home. Eleven years later, the family learned that the father and six others had been captured and murdered by Nazi soldiers.

Phima joined the Uzbekistan military when he was 19 before attending university and becoming a history and economics teacher. He and his wife finally made Aliyah in 1996 joining their adult children who had already moved to the Jewish state as young adults. But shortly afterwards one of their daughters died from a deadly disease.

He and his wife, like so many other survivors, struggled financially as they grew older. Due to their dire financial predicament, they were eligible for Amigour’s housing program.

CBN Israel is working with the Jewish Agency to reach its goal of helping people like Phima and his wife live with peace of mind. Amigour’s new assisted living complex, under construction right now, will consist of 90 units with 22 units for couples and 68 units for single residents making room for many more elderly Israelis.

Nicole Jansezian is the media coordinator for CBN Israel. A long-time journalist, Nicole was previously the news editor of All Israel News and All Arab News and a journalist at The Associated Press. On her YouTube channel, Nicole gives a platform to the minority communities in Jerusalem and highlights stories of fascinating people in this intense city. Born and raised in Queens, N.Y., she lives in Jerusalem with her husband, Tony, and their three children.

Based on past conflicts, many feared that with the Hamas atrocities of October 7, and then Israel’s strikes on Gaza, racial tensions between Israel’s Jewish and Arab citizens would follow.

Yet so far, those attacks haven’t happened. One reason is due to people like Saleem Shalash, the Arab pastor of Home of Jesus the King Church in Nazareth, who focuses on being a peacemaker.

“We are trying all the time to build bridges between Arabs and Jews. And especially during these times that hatred is spreading all over, we try to be light in darkness…by taking action and showing the love of Jesus,” Shalash told CBN Israel.

Unfortunately, when Arab Christians help Israeli Jews, they are often viewed with suspicion on all sides. Despite being a minority of minorities in Israel, Shalash has always geared his humanitarian aid distribution to anyone in need—including Muslims, Jews, and Christians.

So, when Israelis fleeing war zones began arriving in nearby Nof Hagalil, the mayor turned to Shalash to help equip the nearly 1,000 evacuees being housed in the city’s hotels. Many arrived with little during the hot weather. Now, with the cold winter temperatures, they need warmer clothing. And they have no income—their jobs are back home. Where could they turn?

Thankfully, friends like you were there. Through CBN Israel, donors partnered with Shalash to buy them new coats, boots, and other items. Even more moving to victims like Yehonatan is that an Arab ministry, joined with Christians, helped them. He shares, “It has touched our hearts at this difficult time, despite the terrible horrors… There is also a good side, and it is amazing.”

Your gifts to CBN Israel can offer hot meals, housing, and crucial aid to more war victims—plus give ongoing relief to seniors and families in desperate need.

Please join us in reaching out to those who have been devastated by the war!

GIVE TODAY

By Marc Turnage

Located on the northwestern shore of the Dead Sea, about seven miles south of Jericho and twenty miles north of Ein Gedi, sits the ruins of Qumran. Eleven caves around Qumran yielded, arguably, the most important archaeological discovery of the twentieth century: the Dead Sea Scrolls. The current name, Qumran, comes from the Arabic word qamar (“moon”), so it was not its ancient name, which remains unknown. Some have suggested that it may be Secacah (Joshua 15:61-62). 

In 1947, in a cave just north of the ruins of Qumran, Bedouin shepherds discovered seven leather scrolls hidden inside. This set off the frantic search by scholars and Bedouin alike to discover more caves and scrolls. Around Qumran, eleven caves were discovered between 1952-1956 that contained scrolls. The discovery of scrolls in the caves around Qumran led archaeologists to excavate the ruins of Qumran in 1951 and from 1953-1956. 

The library of scrolls discovered in the eleven caves yielded approximately 30,000 fragments of scrolls, comprising about 1,000 manuscripts written on leather, papyrus, and one on copper, in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. The library proves incredibly important for our understanding of the text of the Old Testament, as well as ancient Judaism, the Judaism of the first century. 

Every book of the Old Testament, except for Esther, was discovered among the Qumran library. The most copied books were Psalms, Deuteronomy, and Isaiah, which are also the three Old Testament books most frequently quoted in the New Testament. The library also contained non-biblical works written by Jews from the second century B.C. to the first century A.D., with a unique collection of writings belonging to the Jewish sect that lived at Qumran, a group most scholars identify as the Essenes, which are mentioned by several ancient writers. 

Most scholars identify the ruins of Qumran as belonging to a group of Essenes. The site consists of rooms, which have been identified as a scriptorium, where the community members copied the scrolls, a dining room, which is the longest room at the site and had a pantry filled with bowls, plates, and cups. The site also contains pottery kilns, water reservoirs, as well as several large communal Jewish ritual immersion baths. 

The site, which sits in a dry, desert climate, used a series of dams and water channels to bring water from the nearby wadi, which flooded during the winter rains. The dams and channels ensured that water flowed into the settlement and filled the water installations. 

The discovery of the scrolls significantly advanced our understanding of the text of the Old Testament, as well as the world of ancient Judaism, which is the world of the New Testament.  

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 mouth of the righteous utters wisdom; his tongue speaks what is just. The instruction of his God is in his heart; his steps do not falter” (Psalm 37:30-31 HCSB).

Our modern world has provided each of us with a variety of platforms to communicate and let ourselves be heard. Our age of social media offers an opportunity for us to comment, share, and express our opinions, thoughts, and feelings. That’s not necessarily a good thing.

Our ease of communication, having a platform to share our thoughts, has not typically made us better communicators. It certainly hasn’t made us better listeners. Rather, our words can often deepen divides between us; they do not always display wisdom or justice.

The psalmist identified a righteous person based upon what comes out of their mouth: wisdom and justice. You can tell a lot about a person by what they say.

The psalmist continues that the righteous have God’s law in their hearts. Our words give evidence to what is in our hearts. If God’s law resides in us, then our words will reflect wisdom and justice. If they do not, then people can rightly question what lies in our hearts.

If, however, we hold the law of God in our hearts, we can have the confidence that our steps will not falter. How do we place God’s law in our hearts? By studying it. Thinking about it. Implementing what we have learned. Controlling our words and behaviors.

It doesn’t just happen. It requires reliance upon the Holy Spirit along with conscious effort and discipline.

Spiritual growth, like growth in any area of our lives, requires discipline, effort, and choices to obey and follow through, even when we don’t feel like it. 

The Bible connects our relationship with God to our behaviors and our words. They testify to what’s in our hearts; they exhibit whether or not we have internalized His law in our hearts.

Living for God means that we choose to bring every thought, feeling, word, and action under His rule to reflect wisdom and justice.

PRAYER

Father, keep our tongue from evil and our lips from speaking guile, and let the words of our mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in Your sight. Amen.

By Julie Stahl

Today, January 27, is International Holocaust Remembrance Day. This year, that day marks the 79th anniversary of the 1945 Liberation of Auschwitz. But on October 7, 2023—what many are calling the deadliest day since the Holocaust—Israel experienced the unthinkable.

Thousands of Hamas terrorists broke through Israel’s defenses by air, land, and sea in multiple locations along its southern border with Gaza. In several communities the killing and devastation were so complete, Israeli archaeologists were called in to employ equipment and techniques—methods normally used for antiquities—to sift through the ashes to find human remains.

The hatred motivating all this was clear. Senior Hamas leader Ghazi Hamad claimed that his organization’s actions were totally justified. 

“We must remove that country because it constitutes a security, military, and political catastrophe to the Muslim and Islamic nation and must be finished,” said Hamad in an interview. He asserted that they would replicate the attack again and again until Israel was wiped out. 

About three weeks after the October 7 attacks, Palestinian activist and terror supporter Ahed Tamimi called for the murder of Israelis living in Judea and Samaria. 

“We are waiting for you in all the West Bank cities from Hebron to Jenin—we will slaughter you and you will say that what Hitler did to you was a joke,” she threatened in an Instagram post. “We will drink your blood and eat your skull.” 

The massive, multi-pronged attack sent Israel reeling and plunged the Jewish state into a war against the Iranian proxy in Gaza. Another Iranian proxy, Hezbollah, joined almost immediately—launching rockets at northern Israel and forcing the evacuation of tens of thousands of Israelis from the north. 

At first the world was shocked by the Hamas massacre, but shortly thereafter a wave of pro-Hamas sentiments and anti-Semitism swept the world. 

However, in the midst of all the horrors, Israelis rose up immediately to fight Hamas and provide for the tens of thousands made homeless due to the war. 

There were many heroic stories from that day, like that of Yedidia Harush, who was part of the 11- man security team from the community of Shlomit, less than five miles from Gaza. The neighboring community of Pri Gan called for their help when Hamas attacked. 

“We got a phone call for our security team from a family from Pri Gan … and he said that outside his house, there were 12 terrorists,” Harush told CBN News. 

“Immediately, the security team got into the cars and drove to Pri Gan,” he said. 

“For two hours, there was a heroic battle of the first-response team with the 12 terrorists. They had special tool kits to open bomb shelters. They wanted to open the shelters and basically massacre the entire community, and then go to the next community and the next community,” Harush explained. 

As the Israeli security team got the upper hand, the terrorists ran away. Sadly, while Pri Gan suffered no losses and the surrounding communities were saved, four of their rescuers were killed in the fight. 

Many others also banded together immediately to help. Restaurant owners prepared thousands of hot meals at their own expense and sent them to reservists as they were called up to go into Gaza. 

Jewish and Christian groups—including CBN Israel—joined together to provide food, water, shelter, trauma counseling, and other essentials for terror victims and war zone evacuees. 

And of course, millions and millions of Christians around the world prayed and gave generously. 

Police commander Roy Valdman, who oversees 850 officers in an area that was attacked by Hamas, believes that despite the shock of October 7, Israel will overcome. 

“Israel is strong—the army, the police—we’re strong, we’ll prevail, we will win. … We can defend our people because there’s nowhere to go,” Valdman said. 

He warned the West that the battle against Hamas is the battle against terrorism—that fighting ISIS, Al Qaeda, and Hezbollah isn’t just Israel’s problem. 

“No one wants to live next to an enemy like that. It’s a terror organization—it can hurt you in a heartbeat, and not just hurt you; it wants to butcher you and kill you,” Valdman said. 

Nevertheless, he is convinced that Israel will rise up as it did after the Holocaust. 

“For us, no other time since the Holocaust, after 6 million of our Jewish family were murdered, did we say never again. So, for us, it’s never again.”

Julie Stahl is a correspondent for CBN News in the Middle East. A Hebrew speaker, she has been covering news in Israel full-time for more than 20 years. Julie’s life as a journalist has been intertwined with CBN—first as a graduate student in Journalism at Regent University; then as a journalist with Middle East Television (METV) when it was owned by CBN from 1989-91; and now with the Middle East Bureau of CBN News in Jerusalem since 2009. She is also an integral part of CBN News’ award-winning show, Jerusalem Dateline, a weekly news program providing a biblical and prophetic perspective to what is happening in Israel and the Middle East.

By Nicole Jansezian

With his family in South Africa and a minimal grasp of Hebrew, Gershon Brodovcky spent 18 years living in Nof Hagalil feeling isolated until a social worker encouraged him to check out the Alma Center.

“It changed my life,” Gershon, 73, told CBN Israel. “I can’t put it to words.”

Now Gershon is thriving. He found a place where he can build relationships and practice cultivating bonsai plants—an expertise of his that he had to give up when he moved to his small apartment.

Alma, an organization which CBN Israel supports on a monthly basis, serves dozens of elderly Israelis—including Holocaust survivors—in the city of Nof Hagalil in the Galilee region.

“It helps so much to give this type of support. Many organizations donate twice a year or just at the holidays,” said Dmitry Schneidmann, who oversees CBN Israel’s programs for Holocaust survivors and the elderly. “I believe it is important to be a monthly partner, especially in peripheral areas such as this.”

Each month, CBN Israel covers the costs of hot meals for participants and delivery to others who are homebound and cannot make it to the center. CBN Israel has also donated one-time gifts for kitchen renovations and for new equipment whether ovens or refrigerators in the homes of some of the beneficiaries.

Throughout the week, 150 elderly people come to Alma. A bus picks them up in the morning. They arrive to a full breakfast followed by all sorts of activities from art to lectures, music, gardening, and more. The participants learn how to use computers and apps on smartphones. Of course, they also have a chance to socialize and eat a hot meal before they go home.

But most importantly, Alma has cultivated a sense of family, said Miri Koren Yavich, director of the center. 

“This is a natural medicine,” Miri told CBN Israel. “Here they have family, activities, and friends. It’s their home. I know them well and can tell if they’re having a good day or a bad day just by their face, their smile.”

The alternative, Miri explained, is sitting at home alone in front of a TV. 

“They can’t cook, they can’t do their own shopping so at least after a day at Alma, all they have to do is go home and enjoy their evening,” Miri said. 

During the war, the center had to close for the first few weeks. After they got permission to reopen, Miri feared many would be too scared to leave their homes. 

It was the opposite. 

“They didn’t just come back, they ran back,” Miri said.

Many of the participants are Holocaust survivors. There is also a large population of new immigrants making for a variety of languages peppering the center including Russian, Spanish, Romanian, and English. They recently established a club for new immigrants from the tribe of Menashe—Jews from India.

Alma welcomes all citizens of Israel—Jews, Muslims, and Christians—without regard to nationality or religion. At the center, they celebrate the different cultures through events and festivals focusing on the food and traditions of the various groups represented. 

Dmitry said Alma acts as a natural absorption center for these immigrants who get a chance to deepen their understanding of Jewish traditions and integrate into Israeli society better than if they were stuck at home.

“As an immigrant myself, I understand the importance of this,” he said. 

Nicole Jansezian is the media coordinator for CBN Israel. A long-time journalist, Nicole was previously the news editor of All Israel News and All Arab News and a journalist at The Associated Press. On her YouTube channel, Nicole gives a platform to the minority communities in Jerusalem and highlights stories of fascinating people in this intense city. Born and raised in Queens, N.Y., she lives in Jerusalem with her husband, Tony, and their three children.