Comfort my people

Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.—Isaiah 40:1

Scripture tells us to “Comfort my people” but what does comfort look like in a nation bearing the weight of constant war? After spending almost three years building relationships in Israel, we discovered that comfort begins with something surprisingly simple: being there, listening, and walking alongside people who are hurting. Recently, a small Israeli Reserve unit went on a mission to Lebanon. Right before they left, Olive Tree—you—provided new uniforms for them, and they were so thankful. They made a video the morning they left thanking us for the uniforms, but we never got to see it. They were in a village in Lebanon when a terrorist, hiding in a church, opened fire. One of our soldiers was killed, and his death made national news. He was Major (res.) Itamar Sapir. Itamar is survived by his wife, Roee, and their one-year-old son. He was 27 years old

War Is Hell

The people of Israel are hurting, perhaps more than ever before in modern times, and this pain is transforming the country. There is a current mental health crisis in Israel that is unprecedented. In the past, wars were shorter, but today’s wars are prolonged. Then came October 7, 2023—a modern holocaust that cut to the heart of the nation. Can you imagine armed terrorists invading your small town and committing horrifying atrocities in the name of Allah?

This is an ever-present threat in Israel. Israeli Health Ministry statistics show that the current mental health collapse is worse than anything Israel experienced in past wars (1973 Yom Kippur or 2006 Lebanon) due to a combination of extraordinary facts:

• The massacre of civilians, including children and the elderly.

• The loss of countless family members.

• Hostages threatened, brutalized and killed.

• Constant redeployment of hundreds of thousands of Reservists.

• Years of ground warfare on multiple fronts. Depression, anxiety, addiction, and an epidemic of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) are crippling the country.

Trauma and grief add to what experts say is an “incredibly high” divorce rate in Israel.

Now is the time to

“Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.” (Isaiah 40:1)