Israel (MNN) — With no end in sight for the Iran war, the conflict is leaving invisible scars across the Middle East. 

In Israel, the trauma runs deep.

“Iran continues to launch its ballistic missiles and hit Israeli cities. Many people live in kind of an anxiety-filled environment,” says Pavel Shifman, Trans World Radio’s director for Israel. 

In the weeks since Israel and the United States attacked Iran on February 28, Israel has also received missile strikes from Iranian proxy Hezbollah in Lebanon and, most recently, Houthi rebels in Yemen. 

“The situation of the war is not something unusual for the Israelis. Since the establishment of the State of Israel, it has been going through a major war or conflict every 10 years,” says Shifman. 

“But the interesting part is that Israel did not start those conflicts. [Yet] Israel always won those conflicts.” He ascribes these victories to God protecting the Jewish people and fulfilling Old Testament prophecies where He promises to gather His people back to the land.

In this latest conflict, the TWR Israel team says many people have stopped responding to sirens, “because they can’t handle the stress of running to bomb shelters three, four, five [times] a day or night,” says Shifman. 

“They haven’t slept well during the last 30 days because Iran deliberately attacks the civilian population and shoots missiles like every other hour. So some people just decide to stay at home, and whatever happens, happens.” 

TWR Israel on the move

With Passover being celebrated this week, it’s a critical time to be praying for the Jewish people. 

“We want to show them who Yeshua is, who Jesus is,” says Shifman. “Israel lives in kind of a two-name reality. They never pronounce His name correctly. In fact, they refer to Him in history as ‘that man.’”

“Yeshua” means “salvation.” But many Jews refer to Jesus as “Yeshu.” Shifman explains that “Yeshu” is “basically a curse that says, ‘may his name be wiped out from our tradition and our history.’ They don’t even understand that, but that’s how things developed over the years.”

TWR Israel’s team shares the gospel of Christ through social media channels, Bible distribution, and Zoom calls with people who are interested in learning more about the Bible, Jesus, and faith. 

Shifman says the Zoom study calls are important because, “According to the National Bureau of Statistics, 43% of Israelis identify themselves as secularists. They don’t believe in the Bible. We need to bring the reality of God into their lives, to connect all the dots and bits and pieces and show them that their God is there.”

Isaiah 53 and Jeremiah 31 are key passages, Shifman says, that point to the Messiah and to the New Testament (or new covenant). 

Pray for Israel

Pray for open hearts among the Jewish people to Christ the Messiah, especially during Passover celebrations, which have many signs that point to Jesus. 

Shifman adds another prayer request: “The rise of anti-Semitism is really high these days. We want people to change their attitude towards the Jewish people, and see how God loves His people, and so we do too, especially as believers and followers [of Christ].”

 

 

 

Header photo courtesy of TWR.