We made it! Thanks to you we have reached our goal!
We want to give a BIG THANK YOU to every one of you who gave to our end of the year fundraising campaign. Because of YOU we are poised and ready to enter 2022 stronger than ever. Together we are going to make a huge impact here in Israel in 2022!
A Look Back at 2021 in Israel
2021 was an eventful year for the state of Israel. There were many new developments, alongside age-old problems Israel still faces. Here are some of the things that took place in 2021:
First, there was the continued COVID-19 pandemic. It seemed that the situation in Israel was under control on June 15th. However, on June 25th, the situation changed and the number of new cases of Corona began to rise as a result of the new Delta variant. Now, at the end of the year, there is an increase in those statistics,, but the number of seriously ill patients treated in hospitals remains somewhat stable.
Israel was faced with war at the end of May when Arab Palestinian terror groups in Gaza launched thousands of rockets towards the towns and villages in southern Israel. The war started with a volley of rockets into Jerusalem. Hamas initiated the war because of baseless accusations that Israel “endangered” the Islamic shrines on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem and wanted to change the status quo there. These accusations were completely false and unfounded.
Close to the end of the year, Hamas and the PLO tried to begin another intifada against Israel. Terrorist attacks rose quickly as radical, extremist Palestinian men and women tried their hardest to murder Jews.
As far as international politics go, 2021 could be called a year of success. Kosovo established official relations with Israel and pledged to establish its embassy in Jerusalem. A relationship was also started with Morocco, which concluded a defense pact with Israel in November. The United Arab Emirates and Bahrain further implemented the Abraham Accords and opened embassies in Israel.
Despite normalization in relations with some Arab countries, the threat from Iran has only increased. Iran has stepped up its hostile activities against Israel throughout 2021 and is continuing to develop a nuclear weapon. A budget of 1.5 billion shekels has been made available to the Israeli military, which is conducting frequent exercises in preparation for military action against Iran’s nuclear facilities. Meanwhile, the Mossad will step up its activities in Iran and will hopefully carry out new acts of sabotage against Iran’s nuclear plants.
In 2021, Israel’s economy became the fastest growing in the world last year, with a growth rate of more than seven percent.
This year, Arab attacks against Jews have only increased. Here are the stats from 2021: Arab rioters set ten synagogues and 112 Jewish homes on fire, looted 386 Jewish homes and damaged another 673. A staggering 849 Jewish cars were set on fire and there were 5,018 recorded instances of stone-throwing against Jews. Besides this, 13 Jewish people were killed in terrorist and rocket attacks.
In a way, 2021 has been a year of success. However, I believe that the year that will truly be a success will be the one that has zero Jewish deaths due to Arab violence. Pushing forward into 2022, our support of Israel must not lax. Don’t believe the lies that the mainstream media are putting out about so-called “settler violence.” We must stand up for the truth and not give into the pressure of the world to hate Israel. As Christians, we need to stand with Israel no matter what happens and no matter what the world says. It is our responsibility to support Israel in their highs and their lows. May 2022 be a year of success and growth for the land and people of Israel!
