VFI News Extensive Solidarity and Unprecedented Volunteering in Israel During the War; Nearly Half of Israelis Have Volunteered

Dear readers, with both Christmas and Hanukkah beginning on the same day this year, we would like to wish you all a joyful period of festivities! Whatever you celebrate, we remember that Yeshua is the Light of the World and we pray that this season will bring you closer to Him and the promise of Salvation. May the Lord bless you abundantly with health, love, internal peace, and joy, and enlighten you through His Spirit to know Him and understand His Will at all times.

Happy Hanukkah! Have you ever wondered why we light a Hanukkiah? What's the story behind the Feast of Lights? Discover the history and truth behind this wonderful celebration and let it take you deeper into the light of Yeshua. Learn more about this wonderful feast.

The extensive enlistment and volunteering of Israeli citizens during the Swords of Iron War assisted millions of citizens, with an economic contribution estimated at hundreds of millions of Shekels, according to the volunteering and social involvement yearbook.  

During the fourteen months of the war, volunteering crossed all sectors, genders, and ages. Almost one in every two people volunteered at the beginning of the war (45.2%), but after six weeks the volunteering rate dropped to 28.7% and currently stands at 15%. 

Donations and assistance were directed to over one million citizens, with an estimated value of hundreds of millions of Shekels. The yearbook is based on nine in-depth surveys and presents a comprehensive picture of patterns of civil volunteering during the war. 

The surveys found that most volunteers acted out of solidarity and a desire to help, many of them for the first time and independently. 

Others joined initiatives through organizations where they also contributed during routine times. About 90.2% of volunteers indicated that they acted out of a desire to help others and ensure the safety of all citizens. (INN / VFI News)

“Our Heavenly Father, we are so grateful for all the beautiful souls You have created who have spent their time and money towards helping our people. We ask that You bless them and that You will bring more unity within Israeli society through these acts of kindness. We thank You for revealing once more that whatever the enemy plans for evil, You can use it for the good of those who love You.”

The articles included in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of Vision for Israel. We try to provide accurate reporting on news pertinent to Israel, the Middle East, the diaspora, and Jewish issues around the world, and we hope that you find it both informative and useful for intercessory prayer.

Mossad chief David Barnea recommended in conversations with the political echelon that Israel strike Iran in response to recent ballistic missile attacks by the Houthis in Yemen rather than strike back at the Houthis.  

Barnea said that Israel should “go after the head” rather than the arms. On Saturday morning, December 21, sixteen people were wounded when a Houthi-launched ballistic missile exploded in Jaffa.  

The IDF stated, “One projectile launched from Yemen was identified and unsuccessful interception attempts were made. A fallen projectile was identified in the area.” 

The IDF later confirmed that the projectile had fallen in Tel Aviv-Jaffa. The hit created a crater in a playground between two residential buildings.  

“Several lightly injured individuals were evacuated to receive medical treatment, and Home Front Command teams are currently operating with the security forces in the scene,” the IDF added. (INN / VFI News)

“Dear Lord, we come together in prayer to ask for the recovery of all the people who were injured during Saturday’s attack. We pray for their physical and mental health and we ask that You protect our people from all surrounding enemies by making our military forces alert of all incoming attacks. We thank You for everything You have done and are doing for us, in Yeshua’s name.”

Crowds gathered Saturday night, December 21, at Hostages Square for the weekly families’ rally, under the banner, “A complete nation requires everyone - together!”  

Families of released hostages and those whose bodies have been returned to Israel opened the rally with a message of support to all the families, stressing, “We stand with you until the last hostage returns!” During the rally, the families emphasized their unequivocal demand for a deal that would guarantee the return of every last hostage.  

Hen Avigdori, whose wife Sharon and daughter Noam were released from Hamas captivity, said: “The release of hostages isn’t just about freeing a hundred people from terrible captivity by human monsters – it’s the liberation of us all – it’s all of us emerging from darkness to light, from division to unity, from dwelling on past grievances to building a shared future.”  

Noam Peri, daughter of the late Chaim Peri, noted: “My father was taken alive, he survived with incredible mental strength in captivity, and he could have been saved and brought home through a deal. For us and for 26 other families whose loved ones entered Gaza alive and returned in black bags, the cost of missing an opportunity for a deal is very tangible. Very personal. Very painful.” (INN/VFI News)

“Dear God, we pray continually for all the hostages as well as their families. We stand with them and we ask that You please ensure their immediate return, in Yeshua’s name. May You bring justice for them and return them to their loving families. Until then, we pray that You give them strength and sustain their physical and mental health. May Your loving hand never leave them during this agonizing trial.”

Talks to broker a Gaza ceasefire and a hostage release deal between Israel and Hamas are “90% complete”, but significant issues remain unresolved, a senior Palestinian Arab official involved in the negotiations told British media on Saturday, December 21.  

According to the report, one of the key sticking points is the IDF’s continued presence in the Philadelphi Corridor.  The official shared details of the discussions taking place in Doha, which include a proposal for a buffer zone several kilometers wide along Israel’s border with Gaza. 

Israel would maintain a military presence within this zone, the official noted. If these issues are resolved, the parties could agree on a three-stage ceasefire within days, the official added.  

Under the proposed deal, an exchange of 20 terrorist prisoners would occur for every female soldier released in the first phase of the ceasefire.  

Senior Fatah terrorist Marwan Barghouti is not expected to be included, as Israel is likely to veto his release. Israeli hostages would also be released in stages, with Hamas reportedly needing to locate some of the missing individuals.  

In the final stage of the three-phase plan, which aims to conclude the 14-month war, Gaza would be governed by a committee of technocrats. These individuals would have no prior political affiliations but would be supported by all Palestinian Arab factions. (INN/VFI News)

“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye.” - Psalm 32:8

A car drove into a group of people at a Christmas market in the eastern German city of Magdeburg on Friday evening, December 20.  

According to unconfirmed reports, at least 11 people were killed. Magdeburg emergency services reported that between 60 to 80 people were injured. Several people were “severely” injured”, a spokesman told French media.  

The suspect, a 50-year-old psychiatrist who has lived in Germany for almost two decades, was arrested at the scene following the three-minute attack in the central city that shocked the country. Authorities said on Saturday the motive was not clear. 

However, the Magdeburg prosecutor, Horst Nopens, said one possible factor could be what he called the suspect’s frustration with Germany’s handling of Saudi refugees. Posts on the suspect’s X account, verified by British media, suggested he supported anti-Islam and far-right parties. German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said the suspect’s islamophobia was clear to see, but she declined to comment on the motive.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz commented on the incident and warned that the death toll is likely to rise. “The reports from Magdeburg suggest something terrible is to come. My thoughts are with the victims and their families. We stand by their side and by the side of the people of Magdeburg. My thanks go to the dedicated rescue workers in these anxious hours,” he said in a statement. (INN/VFI News)  

“Lord, we pray for all the people who tragically lost their family members three days ago during the violent attack at the Christmas market. We send our heartfelt condolences to them and we ask in Yeshua’s name that You comfort them and heal their emotional wounds. We pray for the full recovery of the injured and that their mental health will also be restored quickly. We pray that hatred of any kind will come to an end and that You prevent deranged individuals from wreaking havoc on innocent civilians.”

The film “September 5,” which covers the 1972 Summer Olympics massacre of Israeli athletes in Munich, has a refreshingly simple — but not simplistic — take: Kidnapping and murdering civilians is bad, and there is no context in which to justify it.  

Swiss-born Tim Fehlbaum, the director, isn’t known for ideology; his previous features were science fiction and horror. It’s the absence of ideology here that works. We see the Munich terror attack unfold through the eyes of journalists — people who are competent at their job, covering the pre-attack Games, but who aren’t foreign-policy “experts.”  

So when the team of journalists, guided by rookie producer Geoffrey Mason, hears gunshots from the athletes’ housing compound that September dawn, the reaction is natural, in an era before reporters came to associate global events with terror risk: shock and perplexity. 

When the terrorists reveal themselves as they peer out of the Israeli athletes’ apartment they’ve taken over, the American journalists reflexively see them as bad people. (NYP /VFI News) 

“The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!” - Matthew 13:41-43

A new Congressional report accuses top American universities, medical institutions, and the Biden Administration of failing to respond properly to the outbreak of antisemitism that followed the October 7 massacre, renowned American media reported.  

The 42-page report from House Republicans found that there have been “systemic” and “astounding” shortcomings in these institutions’ response to antisemitism and that “antisemitism has been allowed to fester unchecked” as the result of “a disturbing pattern of defensiveness and denial.”  

The report states, “Across the nation, Jewish Americans have been harassed, assaulted, intimidated, and subjected to hostile environments - violations that stand in stark contrast to America’s fundamental values, including a foundational commitment to religious freedom for all.”  

“The failure of our federal government departments and agencies is astounding,” the report added. 

While even hate speech is usually protected under the First Amendment in the US, the report noted that federal law prohibits institutions that tolerate discrimination from receiving federal funding and that the US government therefore has leverage under Title VI to compel institutions that tolerate antisemitic discrimination and harassment to take stronger action to ensure Jewish students, faculty, and employees are treated equally. (INN/ VFI News)

“And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved.” - Matthew 10:22

The Ministerial Committee for Legislation approved, despite the opposition of the Attorney General, the bill to prevent the employment of teachers with academic degrees from the Palestinian Authority in Israel.

The bill will be put to a vote in a preliminary reading in the Knesset plenum this week. The proposed law amends the School Supervision Law and the Education Ordinance so that the Director General of the Ministry of Education can refuse to employ teaching staff whose academic degrees were obtained in institutions in the PA.

At the same time, a transitional provision was proposed that would allow those who already work in the education system or who completed their studies before the law came into effect to complete their studies in Israel as a condition for continued employment.

MK Amit Halevi (Likud) said that “this law is another step in the war on terrorist infrastructure, primarily the educational infrastructure.”

“When we complete the legislation, anyone who was trained in PA institutions that preach the delegitimization of Israel, the demonization of the Jewish people, and the glorification of terrorist acts will not be able to be a teacher in Israel. He could be welcomed today in Tehran and Ramallah, but not in our schools, not anymore.” (INN / VFI News)

“Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven. Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me.” - Matthew 18:3-5

The suggestions, opinions, and scripture references made by VFI News writers and editors are based on the best information received.

Want to see more from VFI? Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/visionforisrael and hit “like” if you like us!