SHOCKING REPORT FROM ISRAEL TO BEGIN THE NEW YEAR

Tonight at sundown, Rosh Hashanah ushers in the start of the Jewish new year. But this time that should be filled with joy and celebration is tempered for the one out of every five people in Israel—including tens of thousands of Holocaust survivors—who are living in poverty. The annual report from the National Insurance Institute revealed that 22% of the population of Israel...more than 1.7 million people...are below the poverty line. We must respond to the urgent need of the Jewish people. Soon, Jews across Israel and around the world will be celebrating the Feast of Sukkot. This feast is first mentioned in the scriptures at Sinai with the giving of the Law in Exodus 23:14-16 as the Feast of Ingathering. It was to be celebrated after the children of Israel entered the Promised Land at the end of the year after gathering the fruits of their labors from the field, as one of the three times in the year when all males were to come and appear before Yahweh God to worship Him. The order for the feast was established during the Israelites' wilderness journey when they dwelt in “booths” (sukkot). During this harvest festival, many people sleep in small booths to remember the wandering of the Chosen People through the wilderness...and they celebrate with feasting for a full week...but for the hungry of Israel, this is no time of joy. Instead, they wonder why they have to go to bed hungry every night...why others enjoy special meals and fun things to eat...why they are left out. Poverty and hunger are very real threats to many Jewish children today, as well as to many elderly Holocaust survivors. As a young Jewish child, I lived in poverty in the projects. I would go to the dump to look for food. I had a stick to dig through the garbage and fight off the rats that were competing with me for the food. I know firsthand how painful it is to go to bed hungry. I will never forget the pit the Lord lifted me out of—thus the reason I care so very much for the suffering, impoverished, and forgotten Jewish refugees in Israel. Jesus said, “I was hungry and you fed Me...What you do for the least of these you have done for Me.” What will you do for Him today? Today, I'm asking you to help provide special Sukkot meals for poor families in Israel. We can turn their hunger and sadness into joy and celebration. We can help make this special time of year happy and meaningful for the poor and hungry of Israel. We can reach out to them in the love of God. In addition, your gift today will equip us to finish our work on the Friends of Zion Heritage Center, Israel's first museum telling the story of Christian love that will open in just a few months. This great lighthouse of love will shine brightly from Jerusalem all around the world.