A Messianic Jewish ministry is calling on Christians to step out this holiday season and love their Jewish neighbors.
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Jonathan Bernis, president and CEO of Jewish Voice Ministries International, told CBN News his “Love Your Jewish Neighbor” campaign was launched after witnessing skyrocketing antisemitism across the globe.
“We’ve been very, very alarmed,” he said. “I personally have been very alarmed with the growth of antisemitism. Before Oct. 7, antisemitism, according to the Anti-Defamation League, was at the highest level since World War II.”
Bernis continued, “But, since Oct. 7, antisemitism has grown another 300%.”
The Messianic Jewish leader said the world is currently witnessing the highest levels of antisemitism since Kristallnacht (“Night of Broken Glass”), an event in Germany that unfolded Nov. 9-10, 1938, during which Nazis vandalized and torched Jewish schools, homes, synagogues and other locations and killed nearly 100 people.
Bernis fears we’re returning to a similar place today, specifically in the wake of Hamas’ horrific Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel and all that has followed. And he believes the causes are predominately twofold.
“There’s so much Palestinian propaganda, Hamas propaganda, Hezbollah propaganda, really generated out of Iran that … promulgates Israel as the perpetrator of evil against the Palestinians,” he said, noting this content makes it appear as though Israel is the aggressor. “And they’ve done a fantastic job of spreading that propaganda around the world on college campuses, including throughout the United States. And it’s actually permeated the culture now.”
This has tragically left some young Americans, in particular, in a place where they’re sympathetic toward Hamas and Hezbollah, Bernis argued.
He said the second cause centers on a spiritual battle that has unfolded throughout human history, with the Jewish people repeatedly being targeted and harmed.
“For us Christians … we know the Scriptures tell us that, ‘We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but principalities and powers, spiritual wickedness in high places,'” Bernis said. “And, so, this is a spiritual issue. We’re fighting against a Satanic effort to destroy the Jewish people, which we’ve seen for over 3,500 years.”
With all of this in mind, Bernis is hoping the “Love Your Jewish Neighbor” campaign will inspire Christians to stand up for the Jewish people. He referenced people like German pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Dutch watchmaker Corrie Ten Boom who risked their lives and well-being during the Holocaust to help the Jewish people.
Bonhoeffer ultimately lost his life and Ten Boom, who survived concentration camps, lost her sister and father.
“We need righteous Gentiles,” Bernis said. “We need Christians that will stand up for the Jewish people, that will speak out against anti-Semitism — that will truly love their Jewish neighbor — not just in word, but in deed.”
He’s encouraging people to visit LoveYourJewishNeighbor.com to discover information about how they can stand with the Jewish people, pray, and secure helpful information in the process. The site also features an ad showing “Jews and Christians loving each other and breaking bread together.”
“And that’s what we’re asking people to do,” Bernis said. “Watch the ad and mimic the ad with your Jewish neighbors. Love them.”
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