There it was in stark black and white — a headline in The Wall Street Journal back on April 27.
When I read it, I felt a strange mixture of sadness, anger, and holy urgency. The headline said:
“Ukraine Seeks Ways to Recall Its Jewish Heritage”
The heartbreaking story reveals how communities across Eastern Europe are now seeking to resurrect the remnants of lost Jewish culture destroyed or suppressed by the Nazis and followed by decades of Soviet communist oppression.
As the Journal article reveals in its opening paragraphs:
For decades, traces of the Jewish community that once flourished here were hard to find, all but wiped out by the Nazis, with help from local collaborators, during World War II...
That history had mostly been brushed over, and remnants of Jewish life disappeared.
This is the tragic story all over Eastern Europe. More than one million Jews were killed during World War II in Ukraine alone. Jewish life did not reemerge under the Soviets, either.
But now — even though parts of Eastern Europe are in crisis — those with a Jewish heritage are more open and eager than at any time in decades to rediscover that lost culture.
Of course, this hunger presents an enormous opportunity for you and me!
For years, Jewish Voice has been conducting our “Hear O’ Israel! Festivals of Jewish Music & Dance” in strategic areas around the world.
These large-scale, elaborate events not only attract huge crowds — many of whom are Jewish people interested in reconnecting with their Jewish roots — but they also include a relevant and sensitive presentation of Yeshua (Jesus) as Messiah.
This is one of the most effective and powerful tools I’ve ever seen for reaching Jewish people with the Good News.
That Wall Street Journal article describing a hunger in Eastern Europe’s long-suffering Jews for a reconnection with their cultural heritage makes it abundantly clear that we must bring another Hear O’ Israel! Festival to them as soon as possible.
That is precisely what we intend to do, BUT we’ll need your help to make it happen.
Long experience has taught us well what it takes to make this kind of outreach happen, both in terms of people-power and finances.
In faith and obedience, we’ve set the dates, the location, and the budget for this outreach.
The dates are: September 16-26, 2016
The location is: Kharkov, Ukraine – second-largest Jewish population center in Ukraine (over 100,000)
The budget is: $375,000
This is personally very exciting for me. We tried to conduct such a festival in Kharkov back in 1996, and it was shut down by the government. Now, 20 years later, we are returning to complete what we started. Praise the Lord!
Clearly, time is of the essence. Will you help provide an answer to this heart cry from the Jewish people of Eastern Europe?
Will you share a gift today to help meet this special need — even as Jewish Voice also conducts and continues a variety of other outreaches around the world?
Whatever you can share right now will have a powerful impact. Simply click on the “Donate Now” button below to take immediate action.
