Now imagine sending your child to school for the first time in a brand-new country — in the middle of a war.

Beit Hallel Congregation’s Back to School Project (Screenshot courtesy of Beit Hallel Congregation)

That’s the reality for thousands of Jewish immigrant families in Israel this fall.

Beit Hallel Congregation in Ashdod recently ran its annual Back to School Project, which helps immigrants and low-income families who are struggling to afford the basics.

Pastor Israel Pochtar with Beit Hallel Congregation says, “For those who are new in Israel and not well established…they struggle financially to send their kids to school. The needs are bigger than in a normal year when there’s peace.”

The church distributed backpacks and school supplies, turning the project into a celebration. Pochtar says, “We had an opportunity to tell every family and every kid that the help comes from Christians. You’re not alone in this world, but you have Christian friends. You have people who pray for you, stand with you, [and] give.

“This practical help, it’s such an expression of the love of God, and love of Christians who help you in the name of God and the name of Jesus.”

Beit Hallel Congregation’s Back to School Project (Screenshot courtesy of Beit Hallel Congregation)

Nearly all the families who benefit are Jewish immigrants from countries such as Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, and Ethiopia.

“They are not Christians; they’re Jewish. But they hear about us, they hear about our organization and our congregation. They know we are helping people unconditionally, and they come to receive help, and they’re grateful to learn more about that.”

Beyond physical needs, Beit Hallel Congregation seeks to calm fears and encourage children.

“We see kids are nervous. Kids are under stress. So we’re talking to them, encouraging them, telling them stories of others who’ve been in the same situation. It really encourages them and makes it easier for them,” says Pochtar.

Although the main distribution is complete, the project continues in smaller ways as new immigrant families arrive daily. Neighboring cities like Ashkelon and Beersheba have even asked for help after seeing Beit Hallel Congregation’s efforts online.

Beit Hallel Congregation’s Back to School Project (Screenshot courtesy of Beit Hallel Congregation)

“If there are friends who want to help, they are welcome to join,” Pochtar says. “There’s still opportunity!”

Donate to Beit Hallel Congregation’s Back to School Project.

Above all, he asks for prayer. “Pray for us. Pray for Israel. Pray for Jewish people and our team in Israel who are working hard to be a blessing and a light.”

Header photo: Beit Hallel Congregation’s Back to School Project (Screenshot courtesy of Beit Hallel Congregation)

Already, Palestinians are anticipating a new civil administration after the dust settles. The Center for Peace Communications and the We Want to Live movement report that Gazans — including teachers, lawyers, and activists — are leading a grassroots resistance to Hamas influence.

But for now, Pastor Israel Pochtar with Beit Hallel Congregation in Ashdod says there are significant challenges.

“It’s Israel getting into guerrilla war. When we study history, the guerrilla war is the most challenging one. Even big countries struggle with the guerrilla war and the fighters — in our case, terrorists — hiding among civilians. You never know who is the soldier and who is just a peaceful person. It’s very complicated.”

(Photo courtesy of Pastor Konstantin Tsivin/Beit Hallel Congregation)

Beit Hallel Congregation sees the toll this war has taken, particularly on soldiers and their families.

“There is a lot of PTSD for soldiers,” says Pochtar. “When they go out of Gaza, they come to just normal life. The coffee places are open, the restaurants are open. Israel learned how to live peacefully even in the midst of the war, when war is just around the corner. But for soldiers who come out and see that, see kids and family — and then go back to fire, to danger and friends dying and waiting for hostages to be released, it is very difficult.”

In moments like this, Scripture brings encouragement. “So the words of the Bible, when it says, ‘Comfort, comfort, my people says the Lord,’ it really makes sense now even more, because the nation really needs comfort.”

Pochtar urges believers worldwide to pray for both sides of the conflict. “I want to ask all the friends to pray for Gaza — not only for peace, but also for freedom for the Gospel…. And praise the Lord, we have many friends who are waiting for this day and ready to go, ready to bless, help, but also preach the Gospel.”

Ultimately, the conflict is pushing people in Israel and Gaza to search for hope beyond politics.

“Now it’s the time to comfort and to preach Jesus because He’s the only solution for Israel. He’s the only solution for Gaza. It’s the only hope. There are no political solutions. At least, I believe there’s no political solutions during this situation. Only God can change and do miracles.”

Header photo: The fighters of the Multi-Dimensional Unit maneuver on the ground in the Gaza Strip in the Iron Swords War.
(IDF Spokesperson’s Unit/Wikimedia Commons)

This marks the latest phase in the ongoing conflict in the Holy Land — a war that is taking a toll on both Israeli soldiers and civilians, who are feeling the strain of the economic impact.

(Photo courtesy of Beit Hallel Congregation)

Pastor Israel Pochtar of Beit Hallel Congregation in Ashdod says, “The needs are great because the military expenses are very high and it’s affecting the Israeli economy. The prices are growing, the economy is suffering, and we’re going to see consequences more and more because this war is very costly.”

Despite the challenges, the light of Christ is breaking through. Beit Hallel Congregation actively supports Israeli Christians in the military. Pochtar estimates there are at least 1,000 Christian Israeli soldiers, including 35 from his church. He also has two sons in Israel’s military.

“We’ve never had such a big number of Christians who are in the army, who are sharing their faith and becoming a living letter of Jesus, of God for all people,” says Pochtar. “We have lots and lots of powerful testimonies and saved lives!”

As the Church continues to encourage believers in Israel’s military, Pochtar emphasizes, “We want to create a platform for our guys. I mean, we have the way they need help, but also we help them to be a message, to be a voice. Also, we tell them when we come, ‘I want to let you know Christians are praying for you.'”

You can get invested spiritually with Beit Hallel Congregation’s informative prayer resources.

“We do send prayer guides on how to pray for Israel, specifically, once a week,” says Pochtar. “So if people who want to pray, not only generic prayers, but specific prayers, they can sign up for our email…and take it into their prayer lives.

“When people pray, we do feel it. Israel needs prayer, and we believe in the power of prayer.”

Header photo courtesy of Pastor Konstantin Tsivin/Beit Hallel Congregation.

Beyond the military movements, Pastor Israel Pochtar of Beit Hallel Congregation in Ashdod says this is a spiritual war.

Photo taken after the Hamas attack on Israel, October 7, 2023. (Photo courtesy of Kobi Gideon, GPO/Wikimedia Commons)

“People who attack Israel, they’ve been proclaiming the name of their god. They’ve been screaming and shouting, ‘Our god is greater than the God of Israel. So we let’s do violence and let’s kill and destroy in the name of our god.’ That shows you right away that it is spiritual warfare.”

Pochtar says from the attacks on October 7th, “I’ve seen all sorts of footage. It’s been posted by Hamas [and] by just civilian people…. It’s heavily spiritual. I really feel like lots of demonic powers were released…because normal people, sober [people] cannot do that. We heard about some of the evil events in Ukraine, but those people had been drugged and drunk and they did crazy stuff. Not on the same scale, but they did.”

As more information is verified from the Hamas terror attacks one month ago, the world has learned horrifying accounts of Israeli babies beheaded, parents and children burned together, women raped, and bodies showing signs of torture.

“With Hamas, we’re talking about sober people, religious people who will do that — for the sake of their god. It’s a war between Allah [and] the God of Israel who is also the God of Christians, our God.”

Steeple in Jerusalem, Israel. (Photo courtesy of Jonny Gios/Unsplash)

The Church across Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza is the spiritual frontline because the only thing that will change hearts and save souls in both the Muslim and Jewish worlds is Jesus Christ.

Pochtar says Christians are showing profound unity. “When this disaster happened on October 7, first of all, I received phone calls from Arab pastors. I have a number of Arab pastors who are my friends…. They called me and said, ‘Israel, we are crying with you. We are crying for your nation, for our nation. So we are with you. Let us know if we can help you in any possible way. We can host people.’ That was amazing.

“So to see the support of Arab Christians, they’re not blind. They don’t just think of ethnicity. They really understand the Bible. They know what happens in their hearts for their own people. Yet, they also support Israel and they value friendship with Jewish families because we are brothers. We are family in Christ, and this is very, very precious.

“Together, we really make a difference. Together, we are a powerful testimony of what Jesus can do when we both serve Him and focus on the Kingdom of God and His principles.”

Please continue to pray! Jehovah Sabaoth — the Lord of Heaven’s Armies — is at work, as people across Israel and Gaza are seeing angels and meeting Jesus.

“We hear stories of Israelis who’ve been encountering Jesus in that way; some Muslims have been encountering Jesus in that way,” says Pochtar. “So many spiritual things can happen.”

Click here to learn more about Beit Hallel Congregation’s ministry.

Header photo shows a column of smoke resulting from the Israeli bombing of the Gaza Strip, March 5, 2023. (Photo, caption courtesy of Mohammed Ibrahim/Unsplash)

With Houthis joining the fray, world leaders face growing fears of all-out regional war in the Middle East. It also brings Houthi-sponsor Iran closer to the Israel-Hamas conflict.

Meanwhile, Israelis continue to watch the skies for increased rockets and missiles that make it through Israel’s defense system. The southern city of Ashkelon continues to suffer direct hits. In Tel Aviv, a Hamas-claimed rocket hit an apartment building on Friday, injuring four people.

In Ashkelon and other southern Israeli towns, people have started living in bomb shelters.

Pastor Israel Pochtar with Beit Hallel Congregation in Ashdod says, “People actually run into the bomb shelter but eventually, they stop running because it’s too much. Now, they live in the bomb shelters.

(Photo courtesy of Beit Hallel Congregation)

“Here and there, they go out to take a shower or grab some stuff, grab some food from the house, also risking their lives because there are all sorts of rockets falling in Ashkelon. They just literally live in bomb shelters.”

Christians in Israel are visiting these bomb shelter residents in Ashkelon to deliver relief supplies, while at other times encouraging them with God’s Word.

Pochtar says, “Today, I’m going to visit another one (bomb shelter) at nighttime. I’ve been there in the daytime, but I’m going to visit them at night and bring them some more pillows [and] water. Because they also don’t go to get groceries, we bring them food.”

“We have one [Christian] sister in this bomb shelter, so she said, ‘I want to tell them that’s my [Christian] brothers together with American Christians who help!'”

Beit Hallel Congregation raises funds for Israeli humanitarian aid through their War Relief Project. You can donate to the War Relief Project here!

(Photo courtesy of Beit Hallel Congregation)

“It does create lots of opportunities just to speak the Bible, to speak prophecies, and just to love on them and tell them about Christians. Really, it’s opened up doors once again to share why — and it’s all about Jesus.”

Israel’s population is 73% Jewish and 21% Arab. Of the Jewish population, nearly half identify as secular, and 21% as traditional but minimally observant. The other 35% identify as traditional and observant, religious, or ultra-Orthodox. Some may be familiar with elements of the Bible but not the promises and hope of Jesus Christ.

“We have dozens of thousands of secular people in my city. People [are] just caught by surprise,” Pochtar says. “They don’t know biblical prophecies. They don’t know biblical promises. So obviously, there is an atmosphere of fear, uncertainty, and even depression. I can tell you the atmosphere is heavy, truly heavy, because it’s wartime.

“But now, because of that, people are also open. People ask questions, and when they see Christians — or we call ourselves Messianic believers, Israeli Christians — we have answers. We act like one who has answers because we have answers in the Bible — both Old Testament promises about our days, the prophetic promises on that, and New Testament hope and salvation and God’s goodness.”

Please pray for Israeli hearts to be opened more than ever before to salvation in Jesus Christ. Pray for God’s glory among the nations in the midst of conflict in the Middle East. Ask the Lord to spiritually strengthen Israeli Christians who are living as Christ’s ambassadors.

Header photo courtesy of Beit Hallel Congregation.

Pastor Israel Pochtar of Beit Hallel Congregation in Ashdod says, “Israel has the biggest military mobilization of people ever in its entire history. So 350,000 Israelis — young fathers and mostly young ones — who were mobilized in the military. It’s affecting every part of our society.”

War relief action teams deliver much-needed essentials to soldiers at the Israeli army bases in the south of Israel. (Photo courtesy of Beit Hallel Congregation)

Pochtar’s own two sons are in Israel’s military – one is already serving and one was recently deployed. His youngest son’s best friend (also in the army) was killed by the Hamas attack on October 7th, as was his daughter’s best friend who was at the music festival.

At least 30 young men from Pochtar’s church have deployed since the start of the conflict. Civilians are feeling the impact of war.

“Church services, we have to limit them to 50 people,” Pochtar says. “We do have a bomb shelter in my church that helps, praise the Lord. We still can do services. But even just to drive to the church is dangerous because we can come under fire at any time. So when we have sirens, people need to run to the bomb shelter. That’s our reality now for the last 16 days.”

During this time, Christians in Israel are showing compassion in Yeshua’s name to their communities.

“It’s tragedy. It’s painful. It’s caught us by surprise, so it is a difficult situation. But as a church, we have no time to slow down. We are working hard because crisis and war and tragedy, that’s the best time for the Church to be light, and that’s our focus. We’re collecting ourselves and going through the pain of losses.”

(Photo courtesy of Beit Hallel Congregation)

With so many Israeli soldiers suddenly deployed, their troops need day-to-day essentials. Beit Hallel Congregation’s war relief action teams are getting food, water, hygiene products, and other aid items to Israeli army bases in the south.

Ashdod where the church is located has been hit by continued bombing from Gaza. It’s also very close to Ashkelon, another major target of rocket fire.

“I live on a high floor, so I can see from my windows Ashkelon and Gaza,” Pochtar says. “When rockets fly, I personally see it with my eyes. So we’re close.”

Beit Hallel Congregation is providing emergency food baskets and care hampers to Israeli families affected by war in the south.

Pochtar says, “For us in the beginning when it started, we said, ‘We need to go ahead and buy groceries, buy food to be ready because soon people will cry for help.’

“As time goes on, people stay home. With the rocket fire, they cannot go into the shop. There is no house delivery. You cannot order Uber or other ways people order food. Women, young moms with little kids…stay home. They cannot even go out and buy groceries. Disabled people, old people, they are stuck home… We know from experience as time goes by, the needs will grow.”

Please pray for a resolution to the conflict and for Gospel opportunities among devastated Israeli and Palestinian communities.

You can give to Beit Hallel Congregation’s war relief efforts here.

Header photo of war relief action teams delivering much-needed essentials to soldiers at the Israeli army bases in the south of Israel. (Photo courtesy of Beit Hallel Congregation)