The attacks on Jews in the West Bank and Christians in Jordan last week still weigh heavily on The Fellowship. Our President and Global CEO, Yael Eckstein, shares how these latest instances of religious persecution mean for Christians and Jews everywhere and how The Fellowship is responding in an op-ed with The Christian Post:
We’ve seen Jews being targeted. We’ve seen Christians being targeted. And last week, in less than 12 hours, we saw Jews come under attack in Israel and Christians come under attack in Jordan, not figuratively, but literally and physically, costing innocent lives.
Multiple victims, but the same enemy.
This is the darkness that hates the light.
On Oct. 23, two terrorists opened fire on innocent Israelis at a West Bank checkpoint. It took the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) more than 20 minutes to get the situation under control.
And when our brave soldiers at the scene of the attack were trying to protect the lives of innocent people, where did they take cover? Behind an armored ambulance that arrived during the attack, before the situation was under control.
Thank God that ambulance was armored, bulletproof, shrapnel-proof. This ambulance saves lives every day. And in this case, it saved the lives of these brave soldiers as well.
For me, it was an emotional moment, and I took so much comfort in knowing that The Fellowship has been providing these armored ambulances across Israel for the past three years — to Judea, Samaria, Jerusalem, the border with Lebanon, the border with Gaza.
Another thing was very clear: We are on the right side. We are spreading light while others sow darkness. We are saving lives while others choose to destroy them.
As I was looking at the battle between the Israeli forces hiding safely behind the armored ambulance and the terrorists, the words of the Scriptures echoed in my mind: “I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live” (Deuteronomy 30:19).
In this, as in so many other cases, Israel — in the form of the IDF — chose to protect life. The terrorists chose death.
Then I found out that there were two people killed in the attack. One of them was the 23-year-old brother of a Fellowship staff member. This employee works day and night protecting and providing for the people of Israel, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, sheltering the poor, and her own brother was gunned down by terrorists. Please join me in praying for her and her grieving family.
Then came word of a horrific shooting at a church in Jordan — a church that was hosting a funeral. At least eight people were killed in this attack on a Christian house of worship.
I instructed all our staff to find out how we can help. We’ve been working to help the Christian community in Jordan, just as we’ve been helping the Christian community in Syria and Lebanon. We’re going to do whatever we can to help heal the terrible wounds — physical, mental, and spiritual — that they suffered in this attack.