The Gospel in Gaza - ONE FOR ISRAEL

Dr Erez Soref President of  ONE FOR ISRAEL  Shalom! Yeshua, the Prince of Peace, urges us to be peacemakers and to pursue peace. But what does that look like?  True peace is only found in God himself, through the Messiah. The ministry of reconciliation (reconciling people with God) is making peace in a 'vertical' direction - between us and God. But helping people resolve their disputes is another way of making peace in a 'horizontal' direction. We have some great news to tell you about a different kind of peace process in the Middle East - something you won't hear about on the news! "Blessed are the peacemakers,  for they shall be called Sons of God".  (Matthew 5:9) PEACEMAKERS - A COURSE IN MEDIATION Resolving disputes of any size is not easy. But Israel College of the Bible has recently held a course in Mediation which, when accompanied with relevant experience, qualifies graduates to assist in all kinds of situations in Israel. This might include disputes between landlord and tenant, an individual and an institution, or a dispute between neighbors, for example, as a way of preventing such matters going to court. The body of Messiah is also no stranger to conflict, and these newly trained students now have another tool in their belt to help resolve the trouble that bubbles up from time to time in congregations.  A nationally known expert in the field was invited to teach the course, which augments the studies in Christian Counselling already available. Head of the Department of Counselling, Keren Silver, explains, "Counselling and mediation are very different - mediation is very practical. We teach students how to be as neutral as possible in the conflict, and what steps need to be taken in order to find a solution that all sides can agree on".  Twelve students graduated last Thursday and received their certificates, half of whom were Messianic Jewish and half Christian Arab. Even within the class there are widely differing viewpoints on various subjects, but along with the training in counselling which enables students to identify emotions, reactions and solutions, this training is helping students to put out fires of controversy and dispute, and restore peace. Perhaps not on a national scale, but we now have some well-trained firefighters and peacemakers in our communities and in the Kingdom! GAZA GETS TO HEAR ABOUT THEIR SAVIOR Many of us have seen the tragic images of Gaza and the suffering of the people there. Persecution of Christians is serious - a few years ago a Christian bookshop was burnt down and the owner shot dead. There are a few believers, but many never get the chance to hear the Good News about Yeshua. However, we are very excited to tell you that our new videos in Arabic have enjoyed a great deal of exposure in Gaza in particular, where Facebook is used even more than in Israel.  Here's a message from Carlos Damianos, who heads up the Arabic media work: I want to thank the Lord for His goodness, and for leading us to this moment to upload videos to reach the Arab world. The first video has already gained a lot of attention in the closed world of Gaza. God is able to break through every boundary, as he says in Isaiah 45:2,  "I will go before you and make crooked places straight. I will shatter bronze doors and cut through iron bars." Tens of thousands of Muslims have seen it and there have been hundreds of comments and questions - many raised by genuine seekers.  We have a couple of prayer requests: 1) That the Lord would work through the power of the Gospel, through the Holy Spirit in the hearts of all who are exposed to videos. Well over 50,000 have watched the video so far. 2) We really need two more people to join the team to help with photography, editing and responding to all those who are commenting and actually searching for the truth. OUR RUSSIAN STUDENTS GET READY TO GRADUATE Did you know there are over one million Russian speakers in Israel? That means 1 in 8 Israelis speak Russian!  Four years ago we developed a two-year "Certificate of Biblical Education" in the Russian language, equipping Russian speaking believers to reach new levels of effective ministry. Here is the class of 2017 that will graduate tomorrow. This program is taught under the leadership of Dr Oleg Korotki, and consists of ten courses (30 credits): Introduction to Theology Hermeneutics and Exegesis Homiletics Soteriology and Christology The Book of Romans Family and Counseling Leadership The Old Testament Survey The New Testament Survey Pastoral Studies Some of the students will continue their studies with us in order to gain a associate degree in Theology. A SHORT HISTORY OF MESSIANIC JUDAISM Ever since the first Jewish disciples of Yeshua, there has always been a remnant of Jewish people who believed in him, even though for most of history they would simply assimilate into Christian churches and become invisible as Jews. It was once assumed that one had to choose between being either Jewish or Christian, and many left their Jewish identity at the threshold when they came to church. Today, things for Messianic Jewish believers are very different. What changed? Continue reading... FOLLOW US:

More at: www.oneforisrael.org

ONE FOR ISRAEL, 47 Pinkas david St. POB 13401, Netanya, 42138 Israel

Digging deep together - ONE FOR ISRAEL

Dr Erez Soref President of  ONE FOR ISRAEL  Shalom! Here at Israel College of the Bible the landscape of the Scriptures and the history of Israel is right outside our door! So we make the most of the opportunities to take our students outside, and go on field trips together. On Thursday we will explore the northern town of Zippori, a feast for archaeologists. It was here that Herod Antipas lived, and it was an important center of Rabbinic Judaism for a while, where the Sanhedrin used to meet. We will see well-preserved mosaics and ancient synagogues, but we will also enjoy some unhurried fellowship time with the students. STAFF IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Andreas Stutz, Faculty staff  You know Moti, Eitan and Erez by now, but we would love to introduce you to some of our staff who are not so often in the spotlight! Here is Andreas Stutz, who teaches Theology here at Israel College of the Bible. Andreas is from a Jewish family who made aliyah to Israel from Switzerland when he was three years old. After serving in the Israeli army, he married and moved with his wife to Germany to study Theology.  He has studied in three seminaries there, and earned his most recent qualification from the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary at the Bibelseminar Bonn. Andreas pastored a Church in Germany for five years and has now returned to Israel with his family, as a valued member of our faculty at Israel College of the Bible.  Andreas teaches several courses, including Theology, Introduction to the Bible for our "Firstfruits" foundation course, Wisdom Literature, and is currently teaching a course on the book of Acts. He has a great passion for exegesis with a view to preaching, and regularly shares his love of text-driven preaching with our students! Israeli Jewish Millionaire  found her lifestyle to be empty.  Watch her amazing journey to...JESUS! PRAY FOR LONDON AND LEARN HOW TO OVERCOME ISIS   There are some twisted people who are so committed to their religion that they will kill for it. But we are led by a matchless Messiah who never harmed a soul, never encouraged violence, and was even willing to die for his enemies - the very opposite. As we follow Yeshua, are we willing to follow in his footsteps of self-sacrificial love? Martyrs for Yeshua don't kill, but offer life, even to their murderers. Continue reading... WE ARE COMING TO OREGON! On May 20th, we will be at Life Bible Church, 23650 Peoria Road, Harrisburg, Oregon, to speak about the exciting things that God is doing among us here in Israel, and how you can be a key part of it! The event will be 5-8pm, with doors opening at 4:30pm. It will be an invitation only event, so if you would like to join us, please register no later than May 6th.  FOLLOW US:

More at: www.oneforisrael.org

ONE FOR ISRAEL, 47 Pinkas david St. POB 13401, Netanya, 42138 Israel

Jesus Removed From Headlines in Israel - David Lazarus ISRAEL TODAY

Jesus Removed From Headlines in Israel

Monday, January 04, 2016 |  David Lazarus  

ISRAEL TODAY

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Topics:

Messianic Jews

Recently, I reported exciting news about a series of Hebrew-language testimonies promoting faith in Jesus by Messianic Jews on the front page of the popular “Walla! News,” one of Israel’s largest news corporations (see link to the article).

With sadness, I must now report that the video series about Jesus has been cancelled, and all references to Jesus and Messianic Jews have been removed from the site.

“Walla!” had taken a bold and calculated risk broadcasting a Messianic campaign that promotes interest in Jesus to their massive Israeli audience. We expected that there would be serious resistance to the unprecedented promotional by Messianic Jews on mainstream Israeli media. Eitan Bar, one of the Messianic Jews who had been interviewed for the series, told us that, “Messianics in Israel can expect strong reactions. We know that there will be unyielding opposition.” He was right.

According to Erez Soref, president of the Israel College of the Bible and one of the project’s initiators, here’s what happened: 

“’Walla! News’ received intense threats from some within the Ultra-Orthodox community, which banded together threatening to sue the company because of the exposure 'Walla! News' provided to the name of Yeshua and to Messianic Jews. 'Walla! News' received additional threats from Ultra-Orthodox representatives, threatening a major consumer boycott … 'Walla! News' decided to remove the interviews from the site on Friday, the 25th of December.”

The Orthodox Jewish community in Israel was extremely upset about the promotional videos which they called, “A surprise move by a major Israeli media source providing significant official Israeli sanction to a missionary organization.”  Others called the campaign to highlight Jesus on mainstream Israeli media, “Shameful behavior of the internet site that gives the Christian (sic Messianic) sect a platform to spread their agenda intended to harm Judaism.”

Advertising missionary activity (which in Israel means Messianic Jews or anyone preaching about Jesus) is prohibited in Israel. A Israeli Broadcasting Association rule states that advertising must not be broadcast if it "includes advertising for missionary activities or cults.”  This law, it should be noted, which was written in 1993,  applies only to commercials and sponsorship on radio or television. Promotional campaigns about Jesus on the internet are still legal.

Avi Alcalay, chief editor for “Walla! News,” explained in an official response to the Messianic promotional that, "Advertising is permitted by the law, and we are a liberal media company with the largest number of internet surfers in Israel. We will always bring the widest range of opinions to our audience.”

Nicely put Mr. Alcalay, but threats of financial loss due to boycotts and legal fees still keep Jesus off the air. Soref claims that, “Just as the first Messianic Jews refused to keep silent about their Messiah two thousand years ago, we do not intend to slow our pace or to silence the public discussion about Yeshua just because of persecution.”

As long as Israeli media companies remain unwilling, or unable, to endure the financial losses, boycotts and threats that Messianic Jewish promotional campaigns still stir up, it is unlikely that Jesus in Messianic promotionals will be making headlines in Israel anytime soon. That is until, as we expect, he soon appears on the Mount of Olives. Now that is going to be news!

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