■ WHILE SOME Israelis continue to be suspicious of the intentions of Evangelicals, it is impossible to ignore the help they have given to different sectors of the Israeli population. Holocaust survivors, immigrants from the former Soviet Union, refugees from Ukraine, people without bomb shelters, displaced persons, and many others have been helped by organizations such as the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem, Christians United for Israel, Bridges for Peace, Friends of Zion, and others. International delegations affiliated with these organizations frequently come to Israel and return to their home countries as ambassadors of faith.
A project that has now been undertaken by ICEJ is rebuilding the youth activity center in Kibbutz Be’eri. This is not the only Gaza border community that is being assisted by ICEJ. The Christian Embassy is investing over $5 million in restoration projects in the area.
A special delegation of over 50 global Christian leaders with the ICEJ toured the Gaza border communities this week and held a groundbreaking ceremony with representatives from Be’eri to completely rebuild their youth activity center destroyed during the October 7 massacre.
As the battered Israeli communities along the Gaza border slowly start to rebuild, the Christian Embassy is funding a series of major building projects that will help these communities recover and draw back evacuated families to their homes.
In addition to the youth activity center, other projects include restructuring a retirement home into an elderly care and activity center in Be’eri; renovating a damaged kindergarten to serve as a children’s trauma center in Kfar Aza and turning an abandoned building into an innovative music therapy center; restoring and expanding an animal therapy petting zoo in Kibbutz Urim; building a new greenhouse classroom at an agricultural tech school in Sde Nitzan; and building three large bomb shelters for a new trauma center on the Sapir College campus.
The total costs of these building projects will come to well in excess of $5 million. These funds are being collected from Christians worldwide who want to help residents of these communities reclaim their homes and lives.
Many of the evacuated families experienced traumatic events in their own homes, and those chilling memories will not be easy to overcome. One key to the rebuilding process will be to offer a wide range of community activities and services that will make the return to their homes more attractive. Although the government has established a special fund to help rebuild the homes of those affected, each community must now find the resources needed to help restore their public community buildings.
Over the past 15 years, the Christian Embassy already assisted many of the communities in the Western Negev with more than 160 mobile bomb shelters, dozens of firefighting vehicles, and other emergency aid. This has built a relationship of trust between these communities and the ICEJ.
“This is the most ambitious series of building projects the Christian Embassy has ever undertaken at any one time, and it presents a truly unique opportunity for our Christian supporters around the globe to have a timely, tangible impact here,” said ICEJ president Dr. Jürgen Bühler.
“We especially are seeking to provide trauma care facilities and to meet the special needs of the most vulnerable – the children and elderly,” he added.
■ IN HIS address at the Western Wall during the Remembrance Day Ceremony for fallen soldiers and victims of terror, President Isaac Herzog did not forget to include members of the Druze and Bedouin communities. Recognition of their service and their sacrifice is important.
While Israel is the Jewish homeland, it is also the homeland of its minorities, a factor that should never be forgotten. Just as Diaspora Jews are citizens of the countries in which they live, so, too, are the minorities living in Israel, and as citizens, they play their part in defending the nation.
■ DURING THE COVID pandemic, Prof. Nachman Ash was appointed Coronavirus Commissioner and was well known in most Israeli households. In June 2021, he was appointed director-general of the Health Ministry. He was interviewed daily by the electronic and print media and became something of a celebrity. But as Israel gradually returned to normal, Ash receded from the spotlight.
Prior to his civilian positions, Ash was chief officer of the IDF Medical Corps, a post that he held for four years. He has also taught at various universities.
He was recently elected chairman of Reuth, one of Israel’s most veteran health and social welfare organizations. It maintains a large rehabilitation hospital, sheltered living facilities, and protected community housing in which it cares for new immigrants, low-income senior citizens, and Holocaust survivors to whom it gives a roof over their heads and a good selection of social and cultural activities.
Ash said that he sees his work with Reuth as a mission.
■ STUDENTS AND faculty from every university in Israel have been among the fighting and the fallen in Israel’s war with Hamas and Hezbollah, and some are among those who have received special recognition from the Defense Ministry.
Bar-Ilan University was among the universities that received the Defense Minister’s Award of Recognition in appreciation of the university’s exceptional commitment to student reservists and members of the security forces.
A special selection committee – comprising representatives from the IDF, the Defense Ministry, the business sector, and local government – chose Bar-Ilan for this honor, citing the university’s innovative “Academic Armor” program – an initiative that provides comprehensive academic, financial, and emotional support to reservist students, and includes an unprecedented investment of NIS 50 million in scholarships and academic resources.
Launched at the beginning of the 2023-2024 academic year, the Academic Armor program was created in direct response to the mobilization of over 30% of the university’s student body for IDF reserve duty. Under the program, each reservist student receives a tailored package of benefits, including tuition assistance, administrative support, academic credit, access to a personal adviser, and emotional counseling.
The university also extended support to students displaced from their homes due to the ongoing conflict. Aid measures included housing and academic scholarships, distribution of laptops for remote learning, private tutoring, class recordings, the development of AI-powered learning tools, and professional emotional support from psychologists and social workers.
“This recognition by the Defense Ministry affirms the vital connection between national service and academic excellence,” said Prof. Arie Zaban, president of Bar-Ilan University. “A remarkable testament to this is that one out of every two students on the deans’ list is a reservist – double their proportional representation in the student body.
We remain deeply committed to supporting our students and strengthening Israeli society.”
Zohar Yinon, Bar-Ilan’s CEO and senior deputy president, added: “The Defense Minister’s Award of Recognition validates what many in the security forces already say: Bar-Ilan is the academic home of soldiers.”
Bar-Ilan is one of approximately 20 organizations and employers nationwide to receive the Defense Minister’s Award of Recognition for 2025, acknowledging its extraordinary contribution to Israel’s reservists.
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