Visit to Israel from 16-25 February 2024

Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. (Isa. 40:1)

That was our motivation for travelling to Israel. Imagine that part of your family lives in another country. Or you yourself live in another country, separated from the rest of your family. You learn that terrible things have happened to them. They have been attacked, some have been tortured and slaughtered and some have been kidnapped. You can still see it all in video footage because the murderers filmed it with satanic glee and proudly present it to the public. How would you react? Would that leave you indifferent? Crazy and absurd question. Certainly not. It would shake you to the core of your being. And that is exactly what happened here in Israel on 7 October, on a grand scale and with incomprehensible cruelty. It happened to a part of our "family" and that is why the indifference and apathy of some Christians, churches and communities is just as incomprehensible, incomprehensible, intolerable, appalling, especially because of its consequences. The words I heard in a time of silence before God at the end of 2023 and the beginning of 2024 were: "Unravel, sift, separate, sharpen, throw off ballast"! We are in a time when we have to decide who we belong to, with no ifs and buts; either completely or not at all. How much longer do we want to limp along on two sides? This also includes the question of how we stand with the Jews, Israel and their country. Let us continue to pray and plead that the Jews and we Christians will come to the knowledge of God and Yeshua!

We already noticed a difference on the El Al plane. There was no noise, which was sometimes almost too much of a good thing. An oppressive silence prevailed during the whole flight, as if it was palpable. 

We had the privilege of meeting, sharing and praying with some Messianic church leaders. How encouraging it was to hear everywhere about the three-day time of prayer and fasting in which most churches in the country were participating. The Spirit of God is working relationships based on personal and communal, substitutionary repentance, gaining new depth and sharpening the common vision for people and country. The Messianic congregations also have opportunities like never before to be a blessing to the people. They are a point of contact for practical help, e.g. clothing, food parcels, etc. They send harvest helpers where needed. And of course they give comfort, hope, counselling and point to Yeshua. The testimony of a soldier who believed in Jesus shook us to the core. What his deployment did to him immediately after the massacre is terrible. He was inwardly lifeless, as if dead, with everything locked deep inside him. Even the embrace seemed like a puppet, a marionette, simply lifeless and emotionless. What do we know about what this young, devout family man has seen and experienced? You feel totally helpless and pray all the more intensely. And this is just one example of thousands. There are literally hundreds of thousands who are deeply traumatised and seek therapeutic and medical help. A total overload for doctors and therapists - in every respect. They need very practical help in this process and, above all, God's saving, healing, liberating and restorative intervention and work. Let us continue to pray intensively for this.

Everywhere we went and explained to people why we are in Israel, no matter how old, alone or as a couple, soldiers or civilians, business people or artists, the reaction was always the same: incredulous, stunned amazement, eyes wide open, sometimes filled with tears, hands over their hearts or mouths, thanking us again and again and sometimes asking if they could give us a hug. And again and again we emphasised that we love them, stand with and for them, weep and hope with them because we believe in the God of Israel and love Him with all our hearts. 

One day we had the impression that we were travelling to the Lebanese border to pray there. We drove as close as we could to the border, to a military post stationed in front of a kibbutz. We explained our intention to the commander and he showed us a place, right next to the post, with a good view into Lebanon, where we could pray. We proclaimed the word of God, prayed, sang and blew the shofar. The commander filmed everything with his mobile phone because he too was so moved by what we were doing. We were then allowed to take a photo with him and ourselves.

We had the privilege of visiting Kibbutz Nir Am, one of the kibbutzim in the immediate vicinity of the Gaza Strip that was attacked by Hamas. As Israel Works Switzerland (IWS), we have "adopted" this kibbutz Nir Am on the advice of the Israeli ambassador to Switzerland. This means that we have decided on a long-term partnership and support to restore a normal life there. It was only afterwards that we learnt about the special history of this kibbutz. Two years ago, a women's conference was held there, organised by a Messianic congregation for women from the south of the country. There, the God of Israel and Yeshua, their Saviour and King, were worshipped and there was solid food in the form of biblical teaching. And it was precisely this kibbutz that experienced a miracle on 7 October, which was also reported in detail by secular media (e.g. Tagesanzeiger). Thanks to the wise actions of the young head of security, Hamas terrorists were prevented from entering the kibbutz, so that there were no deaths or kidnappings on the kibbutz itself. Nevertheless, it is impossible to imagine life going on as normal. The vast majority of the approximately 600 residents have been evacuated and housed in various hotels in Tel Aviv. Many of the residents are traumatised and require therapy. The kibbutz's own kindergarten and school are not functioning and life in the community has been suspended indefinitely. We were registered and our visit was very well prepared and organised. We heard from various people how they experienced 7 October. We were taken a little way into not realising what had happened, into the slow, horrific realisation that this was not one of the usual alarms that they had heard and experienced hundreds of times before. The turmoil of having to decide to stay in the house with the family or go out to help the others who were also pleading for help. We heard the testimony of a policewoman from Sderot, just a few hundred metres away, who had to deal with seeing and clearing away the butchered bodies and body parts of her colleagues. We heard about the creation of the kibbutz, as one of the very first, and its history up to the present day. And we heard about the plans for the future. They have a clear idea of what needs to be done and when, so that the inhabitants and life can return to Nir Am. With your consent, we would like to support and accompany them as best we can. We felt that our help was very welcome. Not just financial support, but we hope that friendly, sustainable relationships will develop. Two of our group are still in Israel until the end of March. They have already been invited to the grapefruit harvest in Nir Am and will be happy to help there. With God's help, this will certainly become a joyful, mutually beneficial partnership. 

W.W.

We are back home after ten days in Israel. At home?! I have one - unlike many people in Israel. So many have been evacuated, their homes destroyed, their loved ones dead or in captivity and how does the world react? These days have left a deep impression on me. Faces that I can no longer forget because all hope and smiles have disappeared. Those with eyes wide open in disbelief: there are people who stand by us? Who come to comfort us? Determined looks: we will make it, we will win, we will rebuild; we will not be defeated! Empty looks, tears, repressed grief, heavy hearts. Smiles that don't reach the eyes.....

What do I do now with all these encounters and impressions? Slowly everything comes up and I ask myself: what is my task now? How can I help effectively? Lord, what do you want from me? I will take my time to think about it before HIM. 

R.W.