Serving the Poor during Passover

Passover is a national holiday and celebration in Israel that commemorates freedom from slavery. Although it is impossible to compare the suffering of the Jews under Pharaoh to the suffering of the poor and forgotten in the nation of Israel today, many impoverished families do not have enough food in their pantry to celebrate the Passover holiday.

There are more than 1.5 million people in Israel who live beneath the poverty level, and over half of those are children. Through the generosity of your gifts, The Joshua Fund provided many families with a meal just in time for the Passover holiday.

Through our ministry partners in Israel, we were able to distribute 680 food packages to impoverished Ethiopian immigrants in Ashkelon, Sderot and the surrounding areas in the south of Israel. These cities and towns in particular have suffered great economic losses due to the missle bombardment from the Gaza Strip. [See related story here.] Each package was filled with goods such as matzot, pickles, olives, flour, canned foods, cookies, wine, tea, coffee, and sugar.

 Holocaust survivors gather for a picture with some of those who served them.

Survivors of the Holocaust

In addition, Passover looked different for more than 235 Holocaust survivors in northern Israel because The Joshua Fund joined forces with a local ministry to provide a Passover celebration for them. These elderly men and women survived the horrors of the Holocaust, and have endured the difficulties of returning to Israel. Now, many of them are practically forgotten, and survive on a meager pension, often having to choose between buying adequate food or necessary medications.

The event was one of remembrance, honor, and respect for the survivors as we demonstrated Christ’s love to these cherished men and women by serving them with food, music and love. We also encouraged them with the true hope of the Passover as taught from the Tanakh in Russian and Hebrew.

The Joshua Fund’s role in assisting Holocaust survivors is to strengthen and equip the ministries and congregations on the ground who have relationships with these individuals and understand their unique needs. With the support of believers, we will continue to stand with these local ministries to ensure that meals and needed care will continue to be received by the needy in northern Israel.

Responses from the Ethiopians and the Holocaust survivors were overwhelming. Volunteers described the day as a joy and privilege in bringing practical blessings and the scriptures to these Jews who so desperately need hope. What an honor it has been to stand with ministries that are actively reaching out with the love of Jesus to these treasured Israelis. Once again, the followers of Jesus were able to bless the poor and needy in Israel as an expression of unconditional love.

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