Surely we can all agree that the Holocaust was the most pernicious act of anti-Semitism the world has known. And, yet, anti-Semitism not only abounds in the Former Soviet Republic, but is rising at an alarming rate. According to the Union of Councils for Jews in the Former Soviet Union (FSU), late in 2005, hundreds of Russian nationalists sent letters to the Attorney General demanding the curtailment of rights to Jewish citizens and organizations. Anti-Semitic rhetoric was used by members of the Communist party of the Russian Federation in public statements. Anti-Semitic themes appeared in some local election campaign publications.
Jewish organizations attempted to take legal action against the publishers, but the courts generally were unwilling to recognize the presence of anti-Semitic content. The Council went on to report that anti-Semitic attacks and incidents of illegal anti-Semitic hate speech have taken place even in parts of the country where the Jewish community is small.
Western Europe has also become a hotbed of anti-Semitic rhetoric and tragically murderous actions. In February, French Jewry was devastated when 23-year-old Ilan Halimi was kidnapped, brutally tortured for three weeks, and then dumped naked at a train station. With burns over 80% of his body and fingers and ears chopped off, he died of his injuries shortly after being found. Reportedly his kidnappers took great pleasure in torturing a Jew.
Caroline Glick, in her Jerusalem Post “Column One,” said, “As was the case 70 years ago, every Jew today is a target for our enemies, who shout from every soapbox and prove at every opportunity that their goal is the annihilation of the Jewish people. From 1933–1945, the enemy was Nazi Germany. Today, the enemy is political Islam. Its call for jihad aimed at annihilating the Jews and dominating the world is answered by millions of people throughout the world. “Among the lessons of the Holocaust, there is one that is almost never mentioned. That lesson is that it is possible, and indeed fairly easy, to exterminate the Jews. The fact that the Holocaust happened proves that it is absolutely possible for the Jewish people to be wiped off the map—just as Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal promise.”
At Bridges for Peace, we often hear firsthand stories from immigrants. Georgiy Shur, an immigrant from Lugansk, Ukraine, related the following of how her government ignores the Jewish people. “We have been living in Lugansk for 35 years, and for all this time, we never had a decent life. For many years, we have been waiting for bright future that our politics promised us and never received. At times, we even did not have bread on our table not to mention well-balanced nutrition. We don’t have running water in the house but [only] outside in the well. Our natural gas was cut off. Project Rescue gave us the opportunity to change our life and go to the country that will give us decent life, life without humiliation and poverty that we were doomed to live in Ukraine.”
New immigrant Tatyana Savenkova described the blatant anti-Semitism experienced by her family: “My mother never worked at one place for a long time. Because of being Jewish, she was fired after few months. When my daughter, who was always a good student and graduated with honors, decided to enter the university, she did not pass exam. A friend who works at the university told me that the teacher was Ukrainian and could not stand Jews. It was a big stress for my daughter, as she thought that it was her fault of lack of knowledge, and then she found out that she failed only because she is Jewish…I know that the only place where Jewish people can live as free Jews and not be humiliated because of their nationality is in Israel.”
With the obvious upsurge of anti-Semitism in the FSU, Europe, and the world, we ask ourselves, “What is next?” and “How shall we respond?” Shall we turn our heads and ignore it, as many did during the Holocaust or will we rescue God’s chosen ones from their despair?
For the past several years, Bridges for Peace has been rescuing the Jewish people primarily in the FSU and Argentina. In the FSU, local Christians have been trained to go into the towns and villages and bring hope to all the Jewish people they find. They help those desiring to immigrate to Israel to prove their Jewish ancestry by following half-century-old paper trails and paying the costs, even though they are often considerable. We praise God that to date Project Rescue has assisted 26,207 Jewish people who have arrived in Israel. Currently, our Christian workers are in consultation with about 20,000 more. The process takes up to 18 months.
God declared in Ezekiel 36:24, “For I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land.” In Isaiah 43:5–6, God said, “…I will bring your descendants from the east, and gather you from the west; I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’ And to the south, ‘Do not keep them back!’ Bring My sons from far, and My daughters from the end of the earth.”
How can God’s proclamations for His Jewish children be fulfilled without our aid? The Jewish people are no longer in search of a homeland; they simply cannot reach it, not without finances. While any amount of money is welcome, our suggested donation is what it takes to rescue one Jewish person. It is a small sum to rescue a life and help them immigrate to the land God gave them. The Word of God in Ezekiel 36:28 states, “Then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; you shall be My people, and I will be your God.”
Pray that God will put the desire to come to Israel into the hearts of the Jewish people. Pray that Christians will be ready and willing to assist them. Isaiah wrote, “Thus says the Lord God: ‘Behold, I will lift My hand in an oath to the nations, and set up My standard for the peoples; they shall bring your sons in their arms, and your daughters shall be carried on their shoulders’” (49:22). We are literally fulfilling this prophecy, as the Lord allows us to carry the Jewish people home. There is no doubt in our minds that we are experiencing an awesome move of God, as He fulfills Bible prophecy and shows the world that He is a God that keeps His Word. What an incredible time to be alive and be participants in God’s redemptive plan for the ages. Do you want to partner with God as He brings the Jewish people home to Israel? Please ask the Lord what He wants you to do about His kinsmen whom He loves and yearns to bring home. Let’s not just read about Bible prophecy; let’s be active participants in its fulfillment.
Blessings from Jerusalem,
Rebecca J. Brimmer
International President and CEO, and
Kathleen Runyan
Project Rescue Israel Coordinator
All Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version.
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