JANUARY 2023
THIS WEEK'S GLOBAL UPDATE
A Note From Jonathan Bernis:
Shalom, my friend!
My prayer in this new year is for you to have eyes that can see and a heart that’s open to God’s leading and calling for you. He has so many blessings for you — no matter who you are or how you’re entering 2023.
“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.
See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.”
— Isaiah 43:18-19
That’s a tremendous hope to cling to as we start another year. May God give you a fresh revelation of His presence — and reveal the new things He has for you in the year ahead.
Thank you for standing with us. And for your love of God’s people. Please continue to pray for Jewish Voice and for the Jewish people in Israel and around the world.
To the Jew first and also to the Nations,
Jonathan Bernis
President & CEO
Jewish Voice
Headline News
“The Best Option for Russian Jews is to Leave”
YnetNews reports that Pinchas Goldschmidt, the former chief rabbi of Moscow who fled the country earlier this year, told reporters that other Russian Jews should leave Russia before it’s too late.
Goldschmidt says that as the war in Ukraine continues, pro-Russian sentiments have veered into anti-Semitism, forcing more than 20,000 Jews to either flee in fear of religious persecution or publicly support Putin.
“When we look back over Russian history, whenever the political system was in danger, you saw the government trying to redirect the anger and discontent of the masses towards the Jewish community,” Goldschmidt said. “We saw this in tsarist times and at the end of the Stalinist regime.”
Born in Switzerland, Goldschmidt has been serving Russian Jewry since 1989 but left the country in June, nearly four months after Russia began its invasion. He said that he was being pressured to support the invasion and feared the impact his refusal might have on Moscow’s Jewish community.
Updates from the Middle East
U.S. Targets Supply of Iranian Drones to Russia in New Sanction
The U.S. recently issued new sanctions targeting suppliers of Iranian drones that Washington said have been used to target civilian infrastructure in Ukraine during the conflict with Russia. The U.S. Treasury Department, in a statement, said it imposed sanctions on six executives and board members of Qods Aviation Industries (QAI) – a key Iranian defense manufacturer responsible for the design and production of drones.
Military Post Near Northern West Bank Barrier Targeted in Drive-by Shooting
Palestinian gunmen recently opened fire from a passing vehicle at a military post near the security barrier in the northern West Bank, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said. According to the IDF, troops stationed near the post, close to the Palestinian village of Jalamah, returned fire at the gunmen, who fled and were identified hitting the vehicle. No Israeli soldiers were hurt, the military added.
Pray with us this week for:
- God to continue to protect innocent lives from the fighting in Ukraine and to bring a peaceful end to the invasion by Russia
- God to surround His people in Israel, who are constantly facing threats and violence from surrounding enemies
- Peace in the hearts and minds of the people of Israel and their enemies
- The Jewish people to recognize "Yeshua" as their Messiah
