May 2024 Personal Letter

FROM SARAH, OUR SABRA
ON THE GROUND IN ISRAEL

Dear Friend,

Greetings from the Holy Land. For many months, Israelis have been trying to determine what they would consider a victory in the Gaza war. Families of the hostages demonstrate regularly, chanting that there can be no victory unless all of the captives are returned to Israel. Others say that victory means the obliteration of Hamas so that it can never threaten Israel again. While some view the hostage issue as secondary to this goal, still others say that victory is not achievable because we already lost this war on October 7.

Countless voices throughout the world have also stated what they consider a victory in the Gaza situation. Their ideas, however, often clash with the Israeli viewpoint. The calls for a ceasefire frustrate Israelis, who remind everyone that “there was a ceasefire on October 6.”

Most Israelis seek to communicate what they think should be obvious to everyone — that this is a fight to restrain the Islamic takeover of the West. As one rabbi recently stated: “The whole world is watching to see how the Jews deal with this problem.”

Perspective on Middle Eastern Victory

One person here in Israel who has become increasingly influential on social media is an Iranian Jew named Eliyahu Yossian. Born in Tehran, he moved to Israel in the early 2000s. Previously, most Israelis considered his ideas on what victory looks like in the Middle East too extreme. Thus, he was banned from some mainstream media outlets. After the horrible October 7 attack, however, more Israelis are listening to him and even supporting his views.

Yossian claims that many Israelis suffer from a disease that he calls secular liberalism. The liberals, according to him, want globalism, which stands in direct opposition to nationalism. As a result, Israel has become much less self-reliant than it was in its first three decades. While Israel has built an amazing economy, it is now one that depends heavily on trading its products and services globally.

Liberalism, Yossian asserts, also allows a degree of pluralism that is harmful to nationalism. An example of this is allowing protestors to display an enemy flag (like the Palestinian flag) in a demonstration inside Israel. According to Yossian, secular liberalism’s code of ethics will never allow Israel to win the war in Gaza.

The Israel Defense Forces are bound to the “universal ethical code of war.” Yossian argues, however, that these codes are not “universal,” since countries including Russia, China, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, and some African nations don’t abide by this code in war. The Palestinians don’t hold to this code either. Therefore, Yossian concludes, the code is based on a Western worldview that does not fit the realities of the Middle East.

Western Viewpoints

The Western worldview holds that most people in Gaza are innocents and should not be harmed under any circumstances. However, this ignores the reality that thousands of “civilians” crossed the border on October 7 and took part in the atrocities committed against Jewish women, children, and the elderly who were sleeping peacefully in their beds.

Most Westerners disregard widespread polling among Palestinians in Gaza (and in the “West Bank”) who overwhelmingly support Hamas and the October 7 atrocities. We now know that supposedly “innocent civilians” — including children — took part in burning Israeli homes, capturing Israeli hostages, and imprisoning them in their own homes in Gaza. These “innocents” attacked Israelis sexually, psychologically, and physically. Should we not consider them as an enemy that needs to be neutralized?

For decades, the secular liberals’ solution has been to call for peace between Israelis and Palestinians. Previously, Israeli politics was dominated by parties who called for peace agreements like the Oslo Accords (1993 and 1995), which led to the Second Intifada — a major uprising by Palestinians against Israel. Later, peace-focused Israelis who lived on the Gaza border drove Palestinians from Gaza to Israeli hospitals to receive care. They also flew “balloons of peace” over the border, while Palestinians flew Molotov balloons from their side to burn Israeli wheat fields.

Islamic Indoctrination

Palestinian schools indoctrinate children to kill Jews; they chant “death to Israel.” Whenever Jews were killed, people in Gaza celebrated. Thus, victory over Hamas is difficult to define or accomplish since the entire population is propagandized with an Islamic jihad mindset and most Palestinians identify with and support Hamas.

This jihad ideology is difficult to overcome since it is based on Muslim teaching that Israel must be obliterated (so that the Islamic Messiah can appear) and Muslims who die while killing Jews (or who are killed by Israelis/Jews) are glorified. Thus, winning seems impossible when fighting against people who are motivated to die — who care relatively little about their lives or the lives of their children.

The Western solution to this endemic problem is re-education, as carried out in post-WWII Germany. The Germans, however, were not motivated by a religious belief, and for a while after the lunatic Hitler was defeated, no Germans continued to promote his agenda. To the contrary, Yossian states that Palestinians don’t want to be re-educated. They continue to hold strong convictions that Israel must be destroyed and that all of Israel’s land should become Palestine. Since they don’t want peace with Israel, Yossian asserts that Israel should stop thinking that peace can be achieved. Israel’s former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, in fact, stated that disengagement from Gaza was necessary because, “there exists no Palestinian partner with whom to advance peacefully toward a settlement.”

Yossian also maintains that victory comes by applying overwhelming force that causes debilitating pain for the enemy until they beg for mercy: “Peace in the Middle East is possible based on fear and surrender of your enemy.” He supports not only mass bombing in Gaza but also land acquisition, since Gazans experience pain when their land is taken away. Yossian believes that every time Israel is attacked, it should take land from the Palestinians and officially make it Jewish land to deter further attacks.

Biblical Perspective on Victory

The Bible teaches that lasting victory comes from God: “But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor. 15:57). “For the Lord your God is the One who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory” (Deut. 20:4).

The Apostle John states that victory comes through faith: “For everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith” (1 John 5:4). We Believers in Yeshua/Jesus as Messiah know that true victory comes from divine intervention in our circumstances. We can be certain of God’s promises that He will not only be with us but also make us victorious if we trust in Him (Josh. 10:8; Ps. 108:13).

Yeshua’s (Jesus’) death on the Cross convinced the devil that he had the upper hand. Actually, that was the moment that solidified the devil’s eternal downfall. Yeshua achieved the victory through His humility, obedience, and sacrifice.

Personal Victory

In April, four years of hard work culminated in the exciting release of The Invitation. This project includes a Messianic Israeli worship album sung in several languages, including English, Farsi, and Arabic. It also includes Biblical videos filmed on location here in Israel, along with personal Bible studies to inspire the people of this region to deepen their relationship with the Lord. Though plagued by pandemic-related delays, the project finally came to fruition thanks to the persistence and teamwork of people from multiple nations throughout the Middle East.

The Invitation was ready to be released last fall. After the war began, however, I struggled with the messages of hope and peace that are expressed in the project through the active cooperation of Arabs, Jews, and Iranians. Even though I knew this was God’s heart for the region, the pain of the attack on October 7 weighed heavily on me for a long time.

Therefore, this release is very much a personal victory (with the Lord’s help) despite the great darkness and despair that surrounds me. What started as a pioneering vision for evangelism through worship in the Middle East became possible only by looking upward and standing on the truth of God’s Word as my foundation. I found hope in the sorrow — even joy during the suffering — knowing that I am walking in God’s plan. Thus, I stand in confidence, knowing that the devil will not have the last word related to my people, Israel, and the Middle East as a whole.

Throughout these trying months, I have taken great comfort and drawn much strength from Yeshua’s declaration in John 16:33 — “I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

Im tirdefu lada-at oto —“Press on to know HIM!” (Hosea 6:3 NLT),

Many blessings from the Holy Land,

Sarah Liberman

P.S. Please join me in prayer for Israel and for the situation in the region. Especially now, all people need the salvation and life that only comes through Yeshua! ✡

ISRAEL UPDATE: The Very Latest from Sarah

On April 13, millions of Israelis waited in fear for a direct Iranian attack on Israel. My family stayed up late that night, awaiting hundreds of suicide drones and large missiles that Iran would soon be launched against our country. No one knew if the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and our allies would be successful in thwarting this attack. This was a surreal experience for me — faith mixed with uneasy anticipation. I cannot imagine what it was like for so many people here to endure this without the peace that comes from knowing Yeshua.

As Believers, we look back and recognize that God’s hand moved on behalf of Israel that fateful night. Thank you for your prayers for the Lord’s protection over this nation and His guidance for our leaders.

Look for my special update in the June Levitt Letter on the nature of the Iranian attack, the Israeli response, and why this is a pivotal moment for Israel, the U.S., and the Middle East as a whole.

Blessings,
Sarah

A Note from David and Kirsten Hart

Something Old, Something New

Tradition calls for a bride to include certain items in her wedding ceremony, particularly something old and something new. While no one with Our Jewish Roots (OJR) is planning a wedding (as we are all happily married!), we have included both old and new teaching formats in some of our recent television programs.

The atrocities of October 7 impacted the lives of everyone in Israel. Our OJR crew also had to make some creative adjustments because of the difficulties of filming in Israel during the ongoing war. Several of our latest television programs incorporate a Zoom-type format. This technology enables us to record portions from our home in Orlando, while Joshua and Caleb Colson — the Bearded Bible Brothers (BBB) — participate from their homes in the Dallas area. Our production team then edits these segments, along with the Colson brothers’ teachings from the Holy Land, to produce some up-to-date “new/old” programming.

Are Stockyards Biblical?

This month, we are excited to introduce two new television programs. Taped at the famous Fort Worth Stockyards, the BBB examine Israel from a unique perspective as they present timely and insightful Biblical teaching. Stay tuned!

By the time you receive this letter, our Israeli production crew will be helping the BBB to produce Biblical teaching from the land of the Bible. Zola, who’d be 85 by now, would have been thrilled to see how his television program has adapted through the years, especially as required during a pandemic and a war.

Thanks for loyally supporting this ministry’s ongoing efforts. Fortunately, OJR viewers like you see firsthand the fruits of your contributions.

Sha’alu shalom Yerushalayim! —
“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem!” (Psalm 122:6),

David & Kirsten

P.S. Please visit levitt.com/donate for a variety of ways to donate to our outreach, whether just one time or monthly. ✡

Our Jewish Roots TV programs in May

This month, the Colson brothers will bring you several stand-alone programs from novel locations! Each of these television programs has a unique flavor that you will enjoy. At the end of the month, we begin an encore presentation of Dateline Jerusalem: The Coming Temple, with teaching about End-Times prophecies that are being fulfilled before our eyes.

Yeshua’s Parables to the Jew First — Joshua and Caleb look back at their most popular teachings and explain the Messiah’s parables about reaching out to His physical kinsmen, the Jewish people.

Works Versus Love — Bible readers are well aware that the list of “Thou shalts” and “Thou shalt nots” is long. Joshua and Caleb consider the works we are called to perform and how they relate to the Lord’s love for us.

The Judas Goat — With the Fort Worth Stockyards as a backdrop, Joshua and Caleb compare how a goat can move sheep through a slaughterhouse to how temptations can lead unsuspecting Believers astray.

The Scapegoat — Once again at the Fort Worth Stockyards, Joshua and Caleb continue the Biblical theme of goats while reflecting on the mystery of the “Scapegoat.” They also examine the final fulfillment of the Great Day of Atonement with the Sheep and Goats Judgment.

Dateline Jerusalem: The Coming Temple

The Lord’s plan revolved around a specific people, place, and promise. The descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob received a homeland, where they later built a sacred sanctuary in Jerusalem. Despite their challenges throughout history, God faithfully fulfilled His promise by restoring the nation of Israel in the 20th century. The programs from this popular series spotlight the growing movement among religious Jewish people who are preparing to construct the Third Temple in Jerusalem and reinstate the sacrificial system. With teaching from Dr. Jeffrey Seif and Mark Hitchcock, this series also features Joshua and Caleb Colson, David and Kirsten Hart, and others.

Sin and Restoration — Mankind’s sin led to their expulsion from the Garden of Eden — the original Paradise. Even so, God had already formulated a plan for humanity’s restoration. Likewise, Israel sinned and experienced exile from the Promised Land, despite being blessed and chosen by God. Yet, God’s enduring plan to gather them together again has come to fruition, as the Jewish people have returned home. Their ultimate restoration will include a new heart and a spiritual awakening.