OPINION:
For the Jewish people, the High Holy Days, and Rosh Hashanah in particular, are a time of reflection and taking stock of the previous year. As we celebrate the Jewish New Year and look back over the past year, life for Jews in Israel and around the world has been dramatically, and for many families, tragically altered.
As a Jewish woman, I have never known a world that did not have a Jewish homeland, a place where Jews could live without fear of practicing their faith. As an Israeli citizen, I am proud to raise my four children under the protection of a strong Jewish military force, confident that they would never be the victims of pogroms or persecution or expulsion.
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A year ago, it was inconceivable that Israel and the Jewish people would ever face an existential crisis again. But as we all know too well, the horrific events of Oct. 7, 2023, changed all that.
In the greatest loss of Jewish lives in a single day since the Holocaust, more than 1,200 of our sons, daughters, mothers, fathers, grandmothers, grandfathers, friends, and family were brutally murdered, some in their own homes, at the hands of Hamas terrorists.
More than 250 innocent Israelis were taken as hostages. Today, nearly 100 Israelis remain hostages, somewhere in the Hamas terror tunnels deep beneath Gaza. After the carnage of August, when six hostages on the brink of being rescued by the Israel Defense Forces were executed in cold blood by their Hamas captors, some families don’t know if they will ever see their loved ones again.
As I write this, Israelis are preparing for another potential war on its northern border with Iranian-backed Hezbollah, who has been launching long-range precision rockets into Israel on a daily basis.
Once again, the Jewish people are fighting for our right to live and for the survival of our beloved Jewish homeland.
But this time, Israel and the Jewish people are not fighting alone. As we mark this grim anniversary, I have found inspiration and hope in the solidarity I have seen from our Christian friends.
Even as world opinion has turned on Israel and anti-Semitism has been on a terrifying rise, the Christian community has stood steadfastly by Israel and the Jewish people, refusing to abandon us, despite the terrifying trend to do so.
In a powerful display of solidarity and unity, on Oct. 6, through the Flags of Fellowship campaign, nearly 250 churches, universities, schools, and synagogues throughout the United States and Canada on Sunday, will display fields of 1,200 Israeli flags on their grounds to remember and pray for each victim lost that day and honor the heroes who responded to the attack.
Sponsored by the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, the campaign is a visual stance against rising anti-Semitism and rampant anti-Israel sentiment. While others choose to burn the Israeli flag and desecrate our Jewish symbols, our Christian friends proudly choose to honor them. While the Jewish community is told to hide their kippahs and their Star of David, the Christian community is stepping out boldly on our behalf.
SEE ALSO: Israel on October 7: A year of grief, trauma and resilience
The prayers, voices, and actions of the Christian community have spoken louder than any flame of hate.
Because of this unwavering Christian commitment to stand against hatred and injustice and stand with the Jewish people, The Fellowship has been able to distribute more than $100 million in aid to Israel since October 7. We have supplied tens of thousands of flak jackets and helmets, medical bags and rescue kits, and distributed emergency food cards and boxes to evacuees, all while continuing our non-war time operations of supplying basic needs to more than 100,000 Israelis.
In the past two weeks alone, we have prepared thousands of emergency food and shelter kits for citizens living in public bomb shelters along Israel’s northern border.
As part of the Oct. 6 campaign, a special ceremony also will be held at Kibbutz Kissufim in Israel, outside the home of a local firefighter whose daughter was brutally murdered on the day of the attacks. The ceremony will include the reading of all 1,200 victims’ names and brief remarks from The Fellowship.
To me, this campaign symbolizes the unwavering bond between Christians and Jews, which is rooted in shared values and a common commitment to sanctify life and pray for peace. Because it is through that friendship and unity that freedom will prevail.
We have no other choice. We must fight against each and every existential threat we face. We need this land. We need this country. And we need to defend it with everything we have.
Clearly, this is a war of good versus evil, of terror versus those who cherish freedom. It is a fight between those who use humans as shields versus those who protect human life at all costs. It is a fight between those who stand with God versus those who desecrate the name of God through their evil acts.
I’m often asked what life is like right now in Israel. To be honest, at times it is terrifying. When my 8-year-old son wants to go out and bike with his friends, I have to remind him of what to do if there’s a rocket attack. When my daughters and I want to go to a concert in Tel Aviv, we have to weigh the pros and cons of possible terror attacks. Wherever we go, we have to know the location of the nearest bomb shelter.
How do we continue living under such circumstances? We choose life. We choose to celebrate life and to cherish freedom.
We choose peace. And we do so steadfastly in our belief that Israel is only fighting in order to secure peace for her people, for the region, and for the world. Thank God, hundreds of millions of Christians have learned from history, and the Jewish people no longer need to fight this fight alone.
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About Yael Eckstein: Yael Eckstein is President and CEO of The International Fellowship of Christians and Jews (The Fellowship), one of the world’s largest religious charitable organizations. The Jerusalem Post’s 2023 Humanitarian Award recipient and 3-time honoree on its 50 Most Influential Jews list, Yael is a Chicago-area native based in Israel with her husband and their four children.
About the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews: For more than 40 years, the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews (The Fellowship) has been the leading non-profit building bridges between Christians and Jews, blessing Israel and the Jewish people around the world with humanitarian care and lifesaving aid. Each year, the Fellowship helps over 1 million people living in poverty, provides security to 1 million people and helps thousands make aliyah back to their homeland, Israel. To learn more, visit www.ifcj.org.
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