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JERUSALEM, Israel — Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein, the beloved founder of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, suddenly passed away Wednesday. He was 67 years old.
The charismatic rabbi leaves behind a long legacy of philanthropy and robust interfaith partnerships between Christians and the Jewish people.
When Rabbi Eckstein founded The International Fellowship of Christians and Jews in 1983, his goal was simple: to build bridges of understanding between Christians and Jews, and to show Christians how to reestablish their biblical connection to the land of Israel and the Jewish people.
For more than three decades, IFCJ has far exceeded expectations. Not only is the organization a leader in Jewish-Christian relations, but it has also helped thousands of Jews around the world escape poverty and anti-Semitism and return to their biblical homeland — Israel.
The organization has funded humanitarian assistance that has touched millions of Jews worldwide. IFCJ raises about $140 million a year, making it one of Israel's largest humanitarian organizations.
Overall, the organization has raised more than $1.4 billion, mostly from evangelical Christians.
Those funds go towards Holocaust survivors, social programs, hospitals, and even bomb shelters for those affected by conflicts with Hamas.
Eckstein served on the faculties of Columbia University, Chicago Theological Seminary, and Northern Baptist Seminary. He also held positions on the executive board of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee and the Anti-Defamation League.
He was named several times on Newsweek's list of the 50 Most Influential Rabbis in the US and is considered one of the most influential Jews in the world.
Chairman of the Jewish Agency Isaac Herzog responded to news of Eckstein's death saying, "The Jewish people in Israel and the Diaspora (have) lost this evening a leader who worked for us for many years through his wonderful life's work which he established with his own hands."
CBN Founder Pat Robertson honored Eckstein, saying,
"Words cannot express the sorrow I feel at the untimely passing of my dear friend, Yechiel Eckstein. Yechiel has been a pioneer and champion of Christian/Jewish relations for decades. We have worked together on many projects, and the success of his organization attests to compassion that he feels for his fellow Jews who suffer in poverty in various parts of the world. I am sure I echo the words of our Lord, 'Well done, my good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your Lord.'"
And Dr. Jürgen Bühler, president of the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem, issued the following statement:
"The International Christian Embassy Jerusalem mourns the sudden passing of Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein and pays tribute to this unique pioneer and visionary of closer Jewish-Christian relations. Rabbi Eckstein foresaw, like few other Jewish leaders did, the strategic importance to Israel and the Jewish people of forging ties with the global Evangelical community. The generous aid that he gathered from Christians around the world brought vital assistance and tremendous blessings to countless Israelis. The ICEJ extends our most sincere condolences to the Eckstein family. His daughter, Yael, and the Fellowship he founded can be proud of the great legacy of kindness and caring which he has left in their hands."
Eckstein's funeral will take place Thursday in Jerusalem. More details will follow.
The bridge builder of relationships between Christians and Jews, who raised over $1 billion for charity in Israel, died of a massive heart attack this afternoon. May his memory be a blessing.
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When former Israeli National Security Adviser Yossi Cohen was named head of the Mossad, Israel's intelligence agency, he noted that Israel was only established because of the help of God and that God's help is just as needed today. And Cohen was right! It has often been said that Israel's secret weapon is faith. More accurately, Israel's greatest weapon is God, yet it is our faith in Him that activates His intervention.
In Deuteronomy, after Moses had concluded blessing each of the 12 tribes of Israel, just prior to his death, Moses gave a general blessing to the entire nation. He said: "Blessed are you, Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by the LORD? He is your shield and helper and your glorious sword. Your enemies will cower before you, and you will tread on their heights" (Deut. 33:29).
The Jewish sages explain that it is precisely because Israel looks to God as our "shield and helper" that God becomes our "glorious sword," allowing us to overcome our enemies. Indeed, our faith is what has helped Israel overcome overwhelming odds and is the reason why we are still here.
In the 1800s, the kaiser of Prussia asked his head adviser if he could prove the existence of God. Otto Von Bismarck replied, "The Jews, sir, the Jews." There is no natural explanation for how a tiny group of people, twice exiled from their land, and persecuted repeatedly for millennia, could still be around today.
Moreover, the fact that the Jewish people have returned to their homeland, a feat never accomplished by any other nation, is nothing less than miraculous. As Moses said, "Who is like you, a people saved by the Lord?" The only explanation for the miracle of the existence of the Jewish people and the State of Israel, is the existence of God.
However, what I love most about this verse is that it instills hope and inspires faith for the future. Just as God has helped Israel beat the odds for the past 70 years, we can be sure that He will continue to do so for the next 70 years—and longer! Even as Israel faces unprecedented challenges today, we can trust in God for unparalleled salvation.
We are watching history unfold before our very eyes. We are watching ancient prophecies come to fruition. And like Israel, when we activate our faith, we can activate God's intervention during these tumultuous times. The God of Israel is great. The God of Israel lives. And the God of Israel will protect and guide all who call to Him.
As the Scriptures say: "The LORD is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth" (Ps. 145:18). Let us say Amen!
Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein is the founder and president The International Fellowship of Christians and Jews (The Fellowship). The organization has offices in Jerusalem, Chicago, Toronto and Seoul.
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Thus saith the Lord GOD: Behold, I will lift up My hand to the nations, and set up Mine ensign to the peoples, and they shall bring thy sons in their bosom, and thy daughters shall be carried upon their shoulders. Isaiah 49:22 (The Israel Bible™)
In a practical realization of a Biblical prophecy, Christians are taking a leading role in bringing far-flung Jews back to Israel through the tireless efforts of Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein and his organization, the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews (IFCJ).
After only two years of direct involvement in aliyah, IFCJ has ramped up its efforts. This year, The Fellowship is on track to bring over 4,500 Jews to Israel from 24 countries. This accounts for about 18 percent of the 24,000 Jews moving to Israel in 2016.
Yael Eckstein, Rabbi Eckstein’s daughter, is senior vice president of The Fellowship and has spent a lifetime immersed in this endeavor. Yael explained to Breaking Israel News how aliyah became one of their chief projects.
The International Fellowship of Christians and Jews (The Fellowship), the main organization helping Jews of France immigrate to Israel (make aliyah), has received thousands of recent inquiries from French Jews seeking to go to Israel and expects that number to climb following Thursday's terror attack in Nice.
The Fellowship in June brought 82 Jews from across France to Israel, and, additionally, is preparing to bring more than 150 to Israel this month, including several Nice families. French Jews in this seaside city were attending a Fellowship aliyah meeting Thursday evening one block from where a terrorist rammed a truck filled with munitions into a large crowd celebrating Bastille Day, in one of the country's worst terrorist attacks. An estimated 84 men, women and children were killed and many more were injured. According to media reports, two French-Jewish women, Clara Bensimon, 80, and her sister Raymonde Mamane, 77, were among five Jews wounded in the Nice attack.
The Fellowship says it has received more than 5,100 calls and hundreds of emails from French Jews inquiring about aliyah in recent months, and now Fellowship officials expect that number to climb amid the attack in Nice, the latest to strike France over the past year.
"We mourn for the victims of this despicable attack and pray for a speedy recovery for those who were hurt," said Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein, founder and president of The Fellowship. "Sadly, this horrific attack underscores the pressing need to help bring as many Jews who wish to leave France to their homeland in Israel, and this is what we will continue to do."
The French-Jewish aliyah is part of The Fellowship's global aliyah initiative to bring Jews facing economic and security threats to Israel. In recent months The Fellowship has helped over 2,000 Jews make aliyah, not only from France but also from other countries where Jews face economic and security challenges including Bolivia, Brazil, Uruguay, Venezuela, Turkey and Ukraine. The Fellowship has also been funding security upgrades at French-Jewish communal institutions, including schools and synagogues, in the wake of terror attacks over the past year.
Several of the Jews leaving France with The Fellowship say they are escaping what has become an intolerable situation for the Jewish community. Some describe being afraid to wear yarmulkes outdoors or to display any other visible signs of being Jews, while others say they are growing increasingly concerned about radical Islamic anti-Semitism.
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“And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and be thou a blessing. And I will bless them that bless thee, and him that curseth thee will I curse; and in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed.” Genesis 12:2-3 (The Israel Bible™)
Evangelical Christians from around the world sing and recite prayers for Israel’s safety. (Photo: Flash 90)
Evangelical Christians are among the most significant supporters of Israel and the Jewish people worldwide, but there’s an unexpected catch: they often feel their efforts are greeted by begrudging acceptance, criticism, and sometimes even open contempt by the Jews whom they are trying to help. Many Christians have begun to question whether this new vision of Jewish-Christian relations will succeed or whether the two religions are destined to slide back into the hatred and distrust that has separated them for a millennium.
The Victory Christian Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma sponsors “A Night to Honor Israel” every year which raises significant amounts of money for Israel. The Center also partners with a local synagogue to help the local Jewish community. One member, Carol Butler, leads a prayer group every week that focuses exclusively on praying for Jews and Israel. She is motivated by a simple but powerful idea.
“We pray for you because we love Israel and the Jewish people,” she told Breaking Israel News over email.
Despite their good intentions, Butler feels that her prayers and actions are not welcomed by the Jews. She even devotes some of her prayer to resolving this conflict.
“I pray that the Jewish people will one day appreciate our love and concern rather than mistake it for hate and anti-Semitism, which was how Christians and Jews used to relate,” Butler said.
Kellen Davison, the founder of Reconciliation with Israel and co-founder of the Commonwealth of Yisrael project, is working towards reconnecting with Israel through action and prayer. As an extension of his personal practice of several decades, the Commonwealth project organizes a list of hundreds of people from over 20 nations that pray for Israel and Jews. Davison told Breaking Israel News that the most common request from the members is that they pray for “safety for Jews and for the land not to be divided”, as well as “hearts of flesh between Jewish and non-Jewish followers of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob leading to greater spiritual unity and reconciliation”.
For the most part, Davison’s efforts and prayer have been well received by the Jews he connects with, but he has also encountered reticence from the Jewish side. He understands why the Jews have put up this wall between the two faiths, explaining that many of them are afraid Christians will try to “convince them to embrace a non-Jewish belief.”
Kim, a Christian who prefers to remain anonymous, told Breaking Israel News over email that she has been praying for Israel and the Jewish people since she was in college. “I pray for God to protect and bless Israel, especially the people in Judea and Samaria, usually when international powers are pressuring them to give up land and things like that.” She added, “I’m not sure why I pray for Israel, I just want God to love them, be good to them and give them peace.”
Kim took these values from her Evangelical community, which adhered strongly to the Biblical verse which is the basis for much Christian support of the people of Israel: “I will bless them that bless thee, and him that curseth thee will I curse” (Genesis 12:3). Deeply influenced by religious leaders Pastor John Hagee and Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein, who both work to advocate greater interfaith relationships, she was unaware of any rift between Christians and Jews. She was shocked when, in her personal contacts with Jews, they criticized her prayers on their behalf.
Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons/The International Fellowship of Christians and Jews)
She said that to her, Jews rejecting her prayers feels equivalent to being cursed by Israel, as described in Genesis – and the consequences of such a curse are serious indeed. “Wouldn’t you be scared if Jews and Israelis were always attributing bad things to you or your faith group, since cursing Israel is a very scary offense in Evangelical beliefs?” she asked. “It seems like they just don’t receive it and would be happier if we supported them quietly, like some unseen force, to the point where they can think they did it by themselves.”
To understand the root of the issues preventing the two Abrahamic religions from allying, Breaking Israel News spoke to Yael Eckstein, Senior Vice President of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews (IFCJ), and daughter of its founder, Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein. The organization, founded in 1983, was initially criticized for partnering Christians supporters with Jewish causes. IFCJ is the world’s largest organization of Christians actively working with Jews to support Israel, but Yael explained that philanthropy was not the only motivation that inspired her father to establish the movement.
“He didn’t start the Fellowship as a fundraising organization, but as vehicle to foster and deliver Christian love, care, and support for Israel,” she said.
Breaking IsraelNews asked Eckstein how her father’s efforts towards this end were received by the Jewish recipients of Evangelical support.
“We’ve definitely seen resistance from the Jewish community. My father was ostracized for the once-radical thought that Christians could become Israel’s greatest friend.” She added optimistically, “It’s amazing to see how far both sides have come towards normalizing that concept. The Jewish world is learning that a Christian can love Israel without wanting to missionize or convert Jews.
“We are finally at the point where Jewish organizations say they are willing to accept donations from the Fellowship, but we really need to do more. We need to reach out in return to the Christian Zionists who stand with us. We need to accept that Christian Zionists are a strategic partner in Israel’s future, if we are to have a future in the Mideast,” she asserted.
“Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy; then they said among the nations, ‘The LORD has done great things for them.’” (Psalms 126:2)
The birth of the State of Israel brought with it practical and spiritual implications for the relations between Jews and Christians in ways that were unimaginable to previous generations. The Jewish State rose up from the ashes of the Holocaust and brought with it something entirely new and unexpected; a movement of Christian funded organizations that see it is as their God-given mission to help the Jews return to Israel as part of their messianic calling.
Operation Exodus is a stellar example of this new relationship. Started in the United Kingdom in 1991 by Gustav Scheller, the organization now has representatives in over 50 countries around the world who have assisted over 150,000 Jewish people in returning to Israel, including 1,750 from the US, as part of the aliyah (immigration to Israel) movement. Operation Exodus is a partner organization of the Jewish Agency for Israel and other Jewish aliyah organizations.
The motivation behind Operation Exodus is rooted in the Bible and a sense of spiritual debt to the Jewish people. According to the group’s mission statement, the State of Israel is a historic opportunity to right the historic wrongs made by Christians against Jews and a way to rebuild the relationship with the Jewish nation.
“Now is the time to bless them and assist them with their return to Israel, the land God promised to give them as an everlasting and unconditional possession (Genesis 17:8),” the Operation Exodus mission statement reads.
Operation Exodus assists Jews from all over the world make Aliyah. (Photo: Official Facebook Page of Operation Exodus).
The group’s connection with Jews and Israel takes a practical form, supported by generous donations from 200 churches and 97 ministries in the US alone, and thousands more around the world. No less significant is the change in their spiritual connection to the Jewish people, with tens of thousands of Christians worldwide praying for the State of Israel each day.
Operation Exodus also brings Christians to Israel in a program called “Engage” which allows Christians to see and experience first hand life in Israel.
Debra Minotti is the inspired director of Operation Exodus. Her personal connection with Israel began when, as a child, she saw the televised news of the Six Day War. She knew something deeply significant was happening and her heart drew her to identify with the Jews. Minotti’s life’s work, guided by her Christian belief, has been to help the Jews practically and pray for them spiritually.
“For those of us who are called to this work, it is something very deep and gratifying,” she told Breaking Israel News. “There’s just nothing that gives us more purpose.”
Minotti is not alone. She explained to Breaking Israel News that there are a multitude of Christians like her who care for the Jewish people.
“There’s over 6,000 Christians on our database in the United States who just want to hear what is happening with the Jews and Israel. There’s over 1,000 who are praying specifically just for Jews to make aliyah, and that is just one nation. There are over 50 nations involved in this. What the Jews do with it is up to them. But we are here for them.”
While this type of partnership between Jews and Christians have inspired many, the path has been fraught with difficulties.
The largest evangelical Christian group supporting Israel financially, with an annual budget of over $100 million, is the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews (IFCJ), founded by Israeli-American rabbi, Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein in 1983. The organization worked closely with the Jewish Agency for Israel, donating millions of dollars annually towards aliyah and other causes while carrying out its own projects. It is estimated that the IFCJ has provided $150 million to bring Jews to Israel over the last 15 years.
Ten years ago, then Jewish Agency Chairman, Avram Burg, refused to be photographed accepting a $3 million check from Rabbi Eckstein. Relations improved somewhat, leading to the Jewish Agency offering Rabbi Eckstein a seat on the board in 2007. This was considered a major milestone in Judeo-Christian relations, when a representative of an Evangelical charity, albeit a rabbi, sat on the board of the Jewish Agency.
However, old wounds had not entirely healed and the union was not to last. Despite the unprecedented beneficence from the Evangelical world, the Jewish Agency was still unwilling to formalize this partnership in a public manner. This led to the IFCJ breaking off relations and establishing its own independent aliyah program, effectively making them competitors with the Jewish Agency.
This is not the first time the IFCJ’s generosity and good-will was snubbed by an agency it supported and has learned to downplay their involvement to placate the recipients. The Israeli branch of IFCJ is named Keren LaYedidut (Friendship Fund) with no reference in its name to its Christian roots, though its website clearly connects it to the IFCJ. Philanthropy thrives on public recognition of the donor’s generosity, but the Jewish recipients are reluctant to acknowledge this generosity in a public manner.
New olim from Ukraine with The Fellowship Founder and President Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein (center) waving Israeli flags. (Photo Credit: Olivier Fitoussi)
Rabbi Eckstein, speaking with Breaking Israel News, reflected on the groundbreaking work the IFCJ and the sometimes difficult path his organization has encountered.
“For almost 40 years, I have strived to build bridges of understanding and cooperation between Christians and Jews. During those years, Christians have contributed some $1.3 billion to The Fellowship to help Israel and the Jewish people, including by supporting our ‘Wings of Eagles’ aliyah program,” he explained.
“While most Jews today have come to grasp that we are living in a new day when Christians – historically our greatest enemy – are now our best friends, there are, of course, those who still don’t ‘get it,’ but we dare not even hiccup let alone veer from our path working together to better the world and fulfill our mandate of tikkun olam,” Rabbi Eckstein told Breaking Israel News. “Thank God for these Christian friends – I don’t know where we would be today without their help and unconditional love.”
This little booklet consists of messages previously written in my books, which of themselves contain many various themes. I wanted to devote one book to just Israel and the Jewish people, and so this small booklet was compiled.
As you read the following, consider the truth contained in Scriptures, from Genesis to Revelation, which spell out the commitment of God the Father to choose a people who will be a light to the nations.
He chose the Jews, and gave them the Promised Land of Israel. It does not matter what other national governments try to say, do, or accomplish apart from the plans and purposes of the Lord. They will fail. His Word is true. It is eternal. He is the same, yesterday, today and forever, and thus His commitment in keeping His promises made to the Jewish people will be fulfilled.
“Peace be within your walls and security within your towers!” (Psalm 122:7)
The terrorist attacks in Paris last weekend not only shocked the world but convinced many Jews in France to emigrate to Israel.
“The time now is ripe to help French Jews immigrate,” Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein, founder and president of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, told Tazpit Press Service (TPS).
Rabbi Eckstein’s organization, largely known for supporting Jewish communities in poverty such as those from the former Soviet Union, has also been involved with helping Jews immigrate to Israel. “We talked to the French community and its leaders and there are tens of thousands of Jews in France who want to get out and come to Israel,” Eckstein said.
Rabbi Eckstein told TPS that his organization will aim to help those Jews in France who would like to immigrate but have been discouraged from doing so because of various stumbling blocks. “They don’t have a job waiting for them in Israel and they don’t have money for an apartment,” Eckstein explained.
“We need to provide them with more than a plane ticket in order to incentivize and motivate more Jews to come from France to Israel,” continued Eckstein . “What we are providing for the mainline Jewish community is the aliyah funds with the benefits and the plans that we have.”
The terror attacks over the weekend pushed some Jews in France who had already been in contact with Rabbi Eckstein’s organization, to speed up their Aliyah plans. “Two couples wanted to advance and to come quicker than our scheduled Aliyah flight next month in December,” noted Eckstein. “They arrived on Monday and although they did not come on a chartered flight, they still received all the benefits that we provide new immigrants with.”
Rabbi Eckstein told TPS that his organization is already developing plans to help other French Jews over the next month. “We have the money and the resources to do so and we were able to help move these two families overnight,” Eckstein said. “If we have to adjust now and have a flight in both November and December, we can do that.”
Rabbi Eckstein also informed TPS of the support his organization is now providing for the security of Chabad houses in France. Chabad houses are Jewish community outreach centers that are managed and run by the Lubavitch Hasidic movement.
“In light of the terrorist attacks in France, we’re now funding all of the 25 Chabad houses in the country,” Rabbi Eckstein told TPS.
Rabbi Eckstein elaborated on the need to concentrate on Chabad houses. “Jewish institutions are being secured by the police of France and by the Jewish institutions themselves, but the Chabad houses are not,” explained Rabbi Eckstein. “Chabad is not always recognized by the local Jewish community or even the police as a Jewish institution as it is not your typical synagogue or dayschool.”
“Chabad also doesn’t have access in the same way to the resources that the Jewish community as a whole does,” Eckstein added.
Rabbi Eckstein’s fellowship was already providing support for the Chabad house in Toulouse after the 2012 terrorist attack at a Jewish school in the city.
Meanwhile, Rabbi Eckstein told TPS that the organization will determine what else it can provide for Jews in France. “We have our staff there on the ground obviously and we’re seeing that there’s certainly an anxiety. We’re taking a good look as to how much more we can do.”
Israel has experienced a significant increase in immigration from France over the last few years. Since 2009, more than 20,000 Jews in France have moved to Israel. Last year alone, at least 7,200 Jews in France immigrated to Israel.
