Leading The Fellowship, Helping God’s People

The Fellowship  |  August 13, 2021

The past two years have been difficult for many around the world – terror, political turmoil, and even a global pandemic. And two years ago, The Fellowship faced these troubled times in the wake of the sudden passing of founder, Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein.

But, despite these challenges, the Rabbi’s daughter, Yael Eckstein, stepped into his shoes and kept the organization moving forward. The Washington Times’ Mark A. Kellner profiles how Yael continues to lead The Fellowship in its mission to help the neediest of God’s people, with the help of Christians around the world:

Heart-tugging fundraising appeals spotlighting the plight of poor Jews in Israel and the former Soviet Union have raised tens of millions from American Christians, making the International Fellowship of Christians & Jews a nonprofit powerhouse.

The Fellowship, as the group styles itself, raised $118 million in 2019 using direct mail, television spots and program-length “infomercials,” according to the group’s IRS filing for that year, the latest available. Media reports indicate the group has raised more than $1.5 billion for Jewish charitable work since its founding and claims to be the largest non-governmental philanthropic organization in Israel.

The 38-year-old charity has helped thousands of Jews emigrate from Ukraine and elsewhere, delivers food packages to aged Holocaust survivors in Israel and the former Soviet Union, and has constructed more than 5,500 bomb shelters in Israel, many of which saw use during the recent 10-day onslaught of Hamas-backed rocket attacks.

Yael Eckstein, 37, married and a mother of four, leads the Chicago-based group from her base in Jerusalem. She became president and CEO after the death of her father, Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein, in 2019 at age 67, two years before his intended retirement…

Read more of The Washington Times’ profile of Yael Eckstein here.