As Israel entered the High Holidays, beginning with Rosh HaShana this past weekend, many people were rushing around to purchase necessities for their traditional festive meals. During this special time of year, it was an extra joy for the ICEJ to partner with local Arab Christians to remember and bless Holocaust survivors at the holiday season.
Israeli Arab pastor Saleem Shalash and his church in Nazareth were once again wanting to show love and concern to their Jewish neighbors during the fall holidays. They were especially keen to reach out to Holocaust survivors, so the Christian Embassy partnered with this Christian Arab congregation to make that happen at Rosh HaShana. In the week leading up to the holiday, the church team eagerly prepared 110 holiday gift parcels and set out to visit and distribute them on the eve of Rosh HaShana to Holocaust survivors in Nof HaGalil and the residents of the ICEJ’s assisted-living home for survivors in Haifa.
The Holocaust survivors were so grateful for the visit and their gifts.
“Saleem Salash came with his wife and some members of their church to wish our residents ‘Shana Tovah’ – a happy and blessed New Year”, explained Yudit Setz, ICEJ’s director of Holocaust projects. “They had prepared beautiful holiday packages with toiletries, a towel and a jar of honey and cakes, and the meeting with the residents was very warm and touching.”
Through your support, the ICEJ continues to extend love and care to Holocaust survivors at the Haifa Home and through similar projects. Please continue to support the amazing work being done at the ICEJ Home for Holocaust survivors. Donate today at: icejmalaysia.com
THE GOOD SAMARITAN PARABLE
LUKE 10:25-37
On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
26 “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”
27 He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’[a]; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.”
28 “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”
29 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
30 In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32 So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’
36 “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”
37 The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”
Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”
Christian embassy provides bomb shelters for towns in Israel’s north
Funds are also going to refurbish 53 existing underground shelters.
(August 10, 2023 / JNS)
With tensions rising on Israel’s border with Lebanon due to recent provocations by Hezbollah, the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (ICEJ) is mobilizing to help vulnerable towns and villages in northern Israel.
This includes placing six new portable bomb shelters and refurbishing 53 existing shelters in the Israeli border town of Shlomi, home to 9,000 residents.
A recent government study found that the north lacks adequate shelters for its growing population, especially given the terror organization’s vast arsenal of more than 200,000 missiles, rockets and mortars. Local officials are working to upgrade existing bomb shelters and add new ones.
Thanks to a Swiss Christian family, over the past week the ICEJ delivered six new bomb shelters to Shlomi, which was struck by a rocket on the first day of Passover that landed in a busy intersection next to a synagogue and bank. These newest shelters are being placed in public areas to serve the entire community, including playgrounds and kindergartens.
Funds are also going to refurbish 53 existing underground shelters in Shlomi. The work will involve sealing water leaks; fixing faulty electrical networks; installing new lighting, water pumps and drainage systems; and adding fans for improved ventilation.
The ICEJ has worked with its partner, Operation LifeShield, for more than a decade to supply some 200 bomb shelters to vulnerable Israel communities. Most have gone to towns and villages along the Gaza border, which face frequent rocket attacks from Hamas.
Local officials were practically gleeful at the quick response. Asaf Gaveh, chief of security for Shlomi, said: “We’re simply not accustomed to asking for something—and then getting it!”