Shalom from the Judean Mountains, just south of Jerusalem, and 40 miles from Gaza.
Since Saturday morning, Israel has been subject to a barbaric, horrific, and unprecedented attack from the Iranian backed Islamic terrorists of Hamas. Barrages of thousands of rockets continue as far as my backyard, literally, and Israel was invaded by land, sea, and air. As of this writing, over 1000 Israelis have been killed, most murdered in cold blood as terrorists went door to door, executing people in the streets, in their homes, in front of their relatives, and kidnapping and taking more than 100 hostages to Gaza, including young children and elderly women. Proportionally, this is more than all who were killed in the first week of the Yom Kippur War, a surprise attack 50 years ago this week. And it’s the largest number of Jews killed in a day since the Holocaust.
Israel is reeling. There’s anger, fear, and grief. I write about that in my latest article here. But we are strong, united, and put our faith in the God of Israel. And we have the unconditional rock-solid support of Christian friends like you.
In the first day of the war, I launched an Israel Emergency Campaign, to provide funds strategically in ways that will make the biggest impact. We have deliberately identified three primary areas where the need is and will be great for some time, and that are things that will be harder for you and others to see the tangible impact of. That makes the Campaign less “sexy,” but no less urgent. In fact, because these are things you wouldn’t see from there, they are more urgent because they are receiving less funding.
- Support for the well-being and needs of soldiers, including food, equipment, hygienic supplies, extended life phone chargers to stay in touch with their families from wherever they are deployed, and more. Many deployed so fast on the first day, they have no way of getting this without our help.
- Empowering At Risk Youth, particularly in the Gaza border area where they come from homes that are not safe, and live in communities that are not safe. This is from one of our primary program partners there. https://youtu.be/eGSuC2zKrmo
- Civilian security for outlying/border communities is critical to provide resources for the actual first
responders, before the army can arrive. This week, the failure to do so proved deadly. Here’s just one example. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2HJLcuiXOxU
I appeal to you to act and join us today to support the Israel Emergency Campaign personally, through your church or ministry, and to open it up widely for others to do so as well. We have a special link where all donations will go only for this Campaign, and at which you can also send your prayers and words of support that we will distribute widely on your behalf.
I’ll also gladly host a special briefing or send a personal update to you and your church, thanking you, talking about the need, the impact, and how it encourages us so much. I fear that things may get much worse here before they get better. We need your prayers, and we need your support. Please, join us today.
If you have any questions or thoughts, please be in touch. I wish I could make this appeal to you more personally. I know you understand. Thank you for your time, consideration, and generous support. May you and your loved ones continue to be blessed as you bless Israel.