Pastor Kostia Tsivin with Beit Hallel Congregation in Ashdod, Israel says he’s not surprised by the report.

(Photo by RDNE Stock project: https://www.pexels.com/photo/photo-of-boy-wearing-traditional-headwear-6114279/)

“We see how many Jewish people who go just as tourists to Europe or live there, they have big problems and they live in real fear. They are scared for their lives, for the lives of their kids.

“I think we will see more and more Jewish people who will come to Israel from Europe in upcoming months and years because antisemitism will continue to rise.”

Antisemitism has been increasing globally in recent years, with a sharp rise in incidents following the October 7, 2023 attacks in Israel. Across Europe, Jewish communities have reported heightened threats, harassment, and violence.

Pastor Tsivin says when he travels to Europe now, he exercises greater caution as a Jewish pastor from Israel.

“When you’re somewhere in…public places, of course, you just use another language. Usually, you don’t speak Hebrew loudly because…if you can, it’s better to use any other language. No attention to yourself, because you understand that these attacks and this hate to Jewish people is real.

(Photo courtesy of DAVIDSON L U N A via Unsplash)

“For example, I know Russian. It’s my first language. I’m Jewish from Russia originally; I was born there. So if I’m somewhere in Europe, especially in the cities where I know that antisemitism is on a high level, I use Russian or English.”

Even amid rising tensions, Messianic Jewish believers continue to share the Gospel and meet practical needs.

“War is a time when people are more open because when you are in fear…you start to think about God [and] something bigger than your life,” says Tsivin. “It’s a time when people are ready to hear; they are ready to receive. So pray that we can reach more people with the Gospel.”

Pray also for Jewish people to know their God-given value and find hope in Christ.

“Every prayer is really important now, and we feel all the prayers. It’s so touching when you know thousands and thousands of people are praying for Israel, for the Church, and of course for our church, especially.”

Learn more about Beit Hallel’s ministry at beithallel-israel.org.

Header photo: EU flag (Photo courtesy of Alexey Larionov/Unsplash)

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.

For Ilya Butolin with Beit Hallel Congregation, his first response when he hears of attacks like this against Jewish communities is something like panic. “What’s going on? Why? Why do they hate the Jews that much, and why in the holidays?” runs through his mind.

Bondi Beach, Sydney, Australia (Photo courtesy Larry Snickers/Pexels)

Yet Butolin reminds us that Scripture teaches there is a spiritual battle playing out in the physical world.

“We can see that it’s two Muslims who did this terror attack,” he says. “But on the other hand, another Muslim stopped the attack. That’s how you can see that it’s really a spiritual thing. It’s not that all the Muslims are bad. But it’s really [in the] spiritual realm. It’s really demons that [are] leading these people to this thing.” 

Australia has seen more than 3,700 antisemitic attacks since the Israel-Hamas war started two years ago. The timing of the Bondi Beach shooting — right before the first night of Hanukkah — sent a message of fear in direct opposition to what the festival means.

“First and foremost, it’s the holiday of light. Funny enough, it’s the only feast that is not mentioned in the Old Testament, but Jesus mentioned that. Jesus celebrates Hanukkah,” says Butolin, referring to John 10:22. “So it’s really a powerful feast for us, for Messianic Jews, for Jews in Israel. It’s a feast of light, of happiness, of victory over the darkness.”

As the Body of Christ, please engage in this spiritual battle by praying. Pray for the families of the 15 victims, that God will reveal the comfort of Christ to them. 

“Nothing can fill up this hole — nothing except Christ, nothing except God, and that’s a time for us to pray for these families, that God will comfort them,” says Butolin. 

“It’s important for us to stand in love and in prayer also for the Muslim people, that they will see the truth as well — not only the Jews — but [that] they will see Jesus as well.”

Header photo of a menorah courtesy of Cottonbro Studio via Pexels.

Women in Iran wearing the traditional hijab and loose-fitting clothing required by sharia law. (Photo courtesy of mostafa meraji/Unsplash)

Israel is among those concerned about Iran’s nuclear enrichment program. It has stated that it will not allow Iran to rebuild its nuclear capacities. But Iran insists that its developments are only for civilian purposes. 

It’s complex, isn’t it? Samuel* from Redemptive Stories explains a few things about Iran’s relationships that we might miss. First comes Israel. Why does the Iranian regime want Israel off the map? 

“It’s more complicated than just all ‘Oh, they are Muslims and those are Jews and so they hate each other,'” Samuel says. “There [are] other political and even economic factors that play into this frustration, angst, and hatred that goes back and forth between them.” 

For example, Israel has a voice in the Middle East as an ally of certain Western powers.

“The sanctions that are put on Iran, at least in part, are all related to Israel’s sentiments towards Iran, and the power that they wield within the US as well as Europe,” says Samuel.

The enmity has manifested itself in many conflicts. For years, Iran has waged war with Israel through proxies such as Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis. It has leveraged its influence in nations and groups with high numbers of Shia Muslims, such as Syria and Iraq.

Azadi Square, Tehran, Iran (Stock photo courtesy of Erfan Ro via Unsplash)

“Iran — they’re 94% Shia. Therefore, they are viewed, at least because of their power and their position, as the heart of Shia Islam,” explains Samuel.

“So Hezbollah, being Shia, also leans back to look to Iran for help. And Iran is helping. That is why Israel continues to bomb in the south of Lebanon and to attack targets that are there, because Hezbollah has so far resisted any thoughts of disarming.”

Conflicts in Gaza, Lebanon, Israel and Iran have brought devastation, but “God is a friend near to those that walk through pain,” Samuel says. Pray that there will be enough peace in the Middle East for Christians to bring the love of Christ to the people suffering.

“If you look at the 20 points that have been laid out for Gaza [in the ceasefire deal], they really create opportunities for human flourishing to really occur in that area,” says Samuel. “But is there enough trust to walk them out? That is a different question.” 

*Pseudonym

Header photo: Tafresh, Markazi Province, Iran (Photo courtesy of Mostafa Meraji via Unsplash)

A man we’ll call Brother Izik with Global Catalytic Ministries explains the conflict between Israel and Hamas has many background factors that made it volatile. Just one of these factors is the 1917 Balfour Declaration from Britain during World War I. (Read a quick summary of that event here.)

In history and the current realities, Izik says Christians must ground themselves in one fact: “God loves the Jewish people, and God loves Arabs and Palestinians. If we can keep that in our heart, then we will not isolate our hearts to feel like we have to love one and hate the other,” he says.

Hunger is a rising crisis in Gaza — both physical and spiritual. On the physical side, the UN World Food Program says half a million people in Gaza are on the edge of famine.

On the spiritual side, Izik says, “Tragedies ultimately lead to hunger for something deeper. I believe God is exposing Islam to the Palestinian people. There [are] reports coming out that the Palestinian people in Gaza are starting to say, ‘What has Hamas brought us? What has Sharia law, or the Islamic regime brought us?’” 

The conflict has a layer of spiritual warfare to it as well. Izik points to a future of blessing promised in Isaiah 19:23-24.

“The enemy wants to fight Jews and Arabs in this region being a blessing [to] the entire earth,” says Izik. “It doesn’t quite look like a blessing right now, but ultimately, when I watch these conflicts, I have that in mind.”

As you consider Israel and Gaza, align your prayers with God’s gospel purposes for Palestinians and Israelis. 

“Pray first of all that we won’t be swept away by any propaganda on either side. [Pray instead] that we would be swept to prayer for their salvation and for a hopeful view of God’s promises being fulfilled and ultimately [to] reconcile the world to Himself,” says Izik. 

A mosque destroyed in the Jabalia area of the Gaza Strip (Photo courtesy of Jaber Jehad Badwan via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0)

Header photo is a stock image courtesy of Chuttersnap via Unsplash.

The Islamic Republic of Iran will always be against Israel and America, Christianity and Judaism, among other things. It’s embedded in the regime’s worldview. 

“I think that the regime, as it weakens — which there’s no denying that it’s weakening — that it will all the furthermore lunge out and attack anything that is in opposition to it,” says Kelley.

That puts Iranian Christians in the crosshairs. Unknown Nations partners in Iran requested immediate relocation for up to 500 leaders and their families. Kelley says it’s short-term protection in order to prepare for long-term gospel witness in Iran. 

These Christians “love the Iranian people with a passion,” says Kelley. “[They] aren’t interested in leaving the country of Iran, but they need to be relocated into places where it’s a little more stable, so that they can continue to grow and their ministry can continue.”

Azadi Square, Tehran, Iran (Stock photo courtesy of Erfan Ro via Unsplash)

Unknown Nations trains Christians like these with the future in mind.

“Iranians are looking at the religion of Islam through a new lens today, and there’s an openness because of that to the gospel. The Body of Christ needs to recognize that and lean in. For Unknown Nations, it looks like equipping leaders, the diaspora of the Iranian people — and that involves people groups like the Persian people, who live not only in Iran, but in neighboring countries.”

Kelley calls this leadership training a critical strategy, “all the more so now, because the day is coming [when] Iran will be open, and… that void of leadership is going to be a critical time — whether it lasts for a week, a month, a year, two years — for the Body of Christ to really lean in and pour into [gospel advance in Iran].”

Please pray

Kelly invites you to keep Iran regularly into your prayers. “And not just Iran as a country, but recognizing there [are] 94 nations or people groups inside the country of Iran. Jesus called us to pray for the nations, not a [geopolitical] country like Iran, but the nations.” 

Visit Joshua Project and start with the Persian people or with the Western Baloch. 

Then zoom in and pray for the strategic relocation process for the 500 believers and families Unknown Nations is working with. (Watch a special video directly from Greg Kelley to learn how you can be part of this mission.)

Please pray for the gospel ministry of Christians to increase in Iran. But don’t make “safety” the focus of your prayers. 

“They would ask rather that you pray that they would be bold. Pray they would be courageous,” says Kelley. “Pray that they would have discernment in the face of adversity.”

Header image: People on the Withe Bridge of Ahvaz. (Photo courtesy of Ashkan Forouzani via Unsplash)

“The Body of Christ needs to be engaged in fervent prayer,” he says. 

Questions like these are a good starting point:

• God, what are you saying? What are you doing? 
• Where are you going, and can we collaborate with you, even if it’s just through prayer?

“Many times, prayers will lead to action,” he says. 

People in Israel are not naive to where this conflict could lead. Brother Y’s own family just welcomed a new grandson into a sobering reality.

“I had to run with him to the bomb shelter less than 24 hours after he was born,” he says. “That brings a whole new perspective of ‘God we really need you.’”

He describes the Iranian regime’s vague threats — statements similar to “We haven’t even begun to use the weapons we own”— as psychological warfare.

Brother Y spoke this week with a friend from Iran. Despite the fear Iranians are experiencing, “They’re crying out for freedom…. Many are hopeful, hoping that this will topple this current regime and bring in freedom.”

(Photo courtesy of Dave Herring/Unsplash)

Brother Y believes his people have a strong calling to the nations. When the Gentiles joined Jewish-background believers in the early Church, Scripture says “the hand of the Lord was with them” (see Acts 11:19-30). 

“I believe, as it was, it’s going to be the same during our time when Jews and Gentiles collaborate together and take the gospel strongly,” says Brother Y. 

Still, there’s something he wishes more people understood. 

“We (Israel) have been faced with [the] Islamic desire to destroy us. We decided to take them at face value and just believe what they say, that as soon as they can nuke us, they will,” he says. “Many people around the world are so upset with Israel because they don’t understand that we are standing against global Islam. Not against the Muslims, but Islam and its agenda [which] is to subdue every nation.”

(Photo courtesy Global Catalytic Ministries)

He adds, “Don’t get me wrong: my nation as it is now is not a righteous nation as a nation. But God still uses the nation to ‘take the heat’ and stop this advance [of Islam].”

“But what we’ve seen throughout history [is] that what brought down kingdoms is the gospel. It’s as radical as elite units going into battle behind enemy lines — only the people going with Yeshua’s message are the ones giving their lives, not taking other people’s lives.”

Please pray

Pray for God’s will in Iran and Israel. Ask Him to bring this conflict to a clear and lasting resolution.

“Definitely pray for Israel that we will not trust in our army and in our own strength,” Brother Y says. “Whenever we did that [in the past], we were severely humbled.”

Pray also that believers will be sanctified. Brother Y points to how God dealt with Jerusalem and its enemies in Zechariah 12. 

“He needs to cleanse and to purge so all of us — in Iran, in Israel — that we will have a spirit of prayer, grace and supplication, that we will humble ourselves so that God can show mercy and compassion.”

Header photo of Jerusalem, Israel courtesy of Dariusz Kanclerz/Unsplash.

“The story of Esther is one woman standing up to reconcile the Persians to their own laws, their own values, as well as to help the Persians and the Jewish people come back together. So telling that to the actors has brought tears on set, and discussions that are just amazing,” says Denise Godwin of International Media Ministries (IMM).

IMM is producing a miniseries about the story of Esther as a message of hope for Iran. The film project includes people from eight different countries and common roots in the Persian culture, but wildly varying backgrounds and challenges. 

“One young man’s brother was killed by the current Iranian regime. A young woman who is Persian but grew up in Israel and feels Israeli in her heart had her friend killed in front of her at an event when a bomb fell,” Godwin says.

(Photo courtesy of International Media Ministries)

“So we’re dealing with people who’ve experienced the opposite of reconciliation, if you will, in real life, and different people who have struggled in rejecting Islam but aren’t sure what they want to embrace.”

In the face of global upheaval involving their countries of origin, the cast of Esther: Queen of Hope is experiencing connection and reconciliation at a personal level, as they hear the biblical story of Esther and the ways it ties into their Persian heritage. 

“When you look at all the personalities and the cultures and also just our own physical challenges to do this, it’s pretty incredible,” Godwin says. “It’s amazing that God can overcome political barriers, even for people. We just have to keep our faith to believe He’s at work.”

Godwin hopes this project will not only help bring about reconciliation for individuals but also entire nations.

“I think this is an opportunity for both Israel and for Iran to reimagine their relationship once we get this done. Clearly, we have to do editing and things after we film, but I really believe this story can reframe how people think about God and the Bible and how their relationship is between these two giant ancient cultures.”

The project began filming a few weeks ago and will continue over the next two months in varying locations and studios. However, they have faced challenges, particularly with funding. 

“We definitely need your prayers for safety, wisdom, and creativity,” Godwin says. “We need your prayers to make sure the gospel is clear to these people who are involved. And we need funding. This is getting tight with the dollar changing and everything. So keep us in your prayers.”

Click to learn more about the upcoming Esther: Queen of Hope miniseries.

Header photo from Esther: Queen of Hope courtesy of International Media Ministries.

Beirut, Lebanon (Photo courtesy of Sara Calado/Unsplash)

The media we consume is shaped by the world around us. In North Africa and the Middle East, recent years have been difficult. Tragedies — from war-torn streets and earthquake rubble to economic collapse — have filled the news, radio, and TV. That’s where SAT-7 ARABIC steps in to say: the news might be bad, but there is still hope!

The headlines coming out of the region reflect the same pressure felt by SAT-7’s Arabic media ministry. Every day, the team faces at least four major challenges, explains Executive Director Rami Al-Halaseh.

1. The first challenge is offering hope in the midst of crisis.

“We want to function with a crisis response approach where anybody who’s watching SAT-7, anybody who follows SAT-7, will find something that will help them go through the crisis, go through the struggle, the challenge, with at least some hope.”

2. The second challenge: staying clear of political entanglements.

Called to be a voice for the Church and to shed light on injustice, SAT-7 often navigates complex and controversial stories with wisdom. Still, discussing political topics can be difficult. “We’re a Christian satellite station that presents, and, you know, promotes the message of hope, salvation, and, you know, new life in Christ. However, we cannot really disconnect ourselves as people of the land from the ongoing daily challenges,” he adds.

“If this is unjust, what’s happening, we have to say it’s unjust in our biblical way, not in a political way.”

Woman praying in Cairo church (Photo courtesy of Selim Graphy/Pexels)

3. Another challenge is misinformation, like the claim that no Christians remain in places like Palestine or Lebanon.

Some assume that if there are few news reports about Christians in an area, they no longer exist there. But SAT-7 has interviewed believers living through conflict in Gaza and Lebanon.

“Where we were, we were interviewing Christians, you know, falling under the war itself. Same thing in Lebanon, when people were displaced, and where they had to leave their homes. We interviewed all those people, Christians, who live in the south, but they had to leave because of the strikes.”

“The task,” he adds, “is giving them the voice to share the story!”

4. The final challenge — and a constant prayer request — is for the safety and peace of mind of SAT-7’s team as they serve amid war, inflation, and earthquakes.

“We deal first hand with these things because it’s our people. It’s our staff that is in the studio of Lebanon, where, for example, we’re meeting on Zoom, and then suddenly their windows are shaken because of the air strikes.”

Pray for the safety of SAT-7 ARABIC workers — that they would be protected from persecution, war, economic hardship, and more. Pray for their peace of mind as they continue their mission, and for wisdom as they face ongoing crises.

Header photo courtesy of Alex Azabache via Pexels.

The day before Iran’s October 1 missile attack on Israel, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered a three-minute address with a message of solidarity for the Iranian people. (Watch the video here.)

“[In the message, Netanyahu is] very specific that he’s trying to say to the Persian people that [their] regime that is not really, truly chosen by the Persian people, by the Iranians, is [Israel’s] enemy, not the people of Iran,” says Denise Godwin with International Media Ministries.

The team at IMM is struck by the timeliness of their upcoming dramatic film on the life of Esther.

(Photo courtesy of International Media Ministries via Facebook)

“We are preparing the story of Esther from a Persian historical perspective, with believers who’ve come to Christ from Iran and [who are] trying to take their perspective to the story in the Bible that’s about their people and about Israeli people as well, the way we see it today,” says Godwin. 

IMM glimpses that God is up to something in the midst of this politically charged climate.

“To find this theme of a small person, Esther, standing up for many people; a small country [Israel], standing up for freedom or peace or the right to not be oppressed; or the Iranian people standing up because they don’t like the corruption. There [are] all these repeated aspects of this theme in our everyday lives right now going on around the world,” Godwin says. 

“God is definitely at work in this region. It’s messy, like most of our lives, but God is doing something really dramatic, and we are living on the edge of watching perhaps the world change.”

Esther: Queen of Hope (Photo courtesy of International Media Ministries)

Pray for the team at IMM as they finish Esther: Queen of Hope, but most of all pray for the people of Israel and Iran who are suffering in the conflict between the nations.

“Pray for them (persecuted Iranian Christians) to stand strong. I’m amazed that these people never say, ‘Pray I don’t get arrested. Pray I don’t have any kind of persecution.’ No, they say, ‘Pray that I will stay strong,’” Godwin says. 

“Pray for those that get released from prison. We kind of think the prison is the worst part, but they’ve lived through trauma, and so there’s a life consequence to how they’ve been faithful to Jesus Christ that they’re probably always going to carry. Pray for healing for the trauma that they experience.”

Click to learn more about IMM and their mission to use media to reach the world for Christ.

Header photo of Tehran, Iran courtesy of Hamid Mohammad Hossein Zadeh Hashemi via Unsplash.