The Christian missionaries “Messianic Jews” have been trying over the years to put their hands-on new immigrants who have just arrived in the Holy Land. The missionaries take advantage of their naiveté, as well as the fact that these immigrants are looking for an attentive ear, a supportive back, and members of the community who speak their language – and work tirelessly to reach them and coax them into a Christian sect.

Yad L’Achim holds a daily struggle against the phenomenon and makes tremendous efforts to reach these immigrants and warn them of the danger. This time, however, with the help of the Absorption Center in one of the largest cities in Israel, members of Yad L’Achim’s missionary-fighting department managed to reach these immigrants, all doctors by profession, only a few days after their immigration to Israel.

It all began when the absorption center prepared to receive 30 physicians and their families, about 140 people who immigrated to Israel from Russia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan and Latvia. The missionary staff repeatedly asked the absorption center to allow them to contact the new immigrants. From past experience, they knew that the new immigrants of all strata were an easy-to-operate group, and that if they took in the doctors into their ranks, they could leverage their destructive activity.

The director of the absorption center, who understood the danger, contacted Yad L’Achim, who rushed to implement a conference entitled “Absorption with Open Arms” within 24 hours. During the conference Yad L’Achim went up and took action on two levels simultaneously: the main topic of the conversation was “doing good” – exposure to the activities of Yad L’Achim among the immigrant community and asking them to contact the organization in any case of help that they would need – physically or spiritually.

The attendees were told of the danger in light of the flourishing missionary activity in Israel, which was focused on them and was trying to transfer as many Jews as possible to Christianity R”L.

“The evening itself aroused real resonance among all the participants,” says Rabbi Chanoch Gechtman, director of the Yad L’Achim mission-fighting department. “The immigrants were excited to hear that they could find a sympathetic ear, and at the end of the conference we distributed information and received requests for help on a variety of subjects.

At the end of the conference, gifts were distributed to those present and they were invited to a “trip to Jerusalem” which would include a visit to the Kosel, the tunnels and other places in Jerusalem. The registration was superfluous, and the immigrants jumped with joy over the offer to visit the Holy City of Jerusalem and the remains of the Beis Hamikdash for the first time.

Just before the Yad L’Achim left the absorption center, they were happy to meet a Jewish family who fled to Israel three weeks ago from a hostile Muslim country and offered her their spiritual and material assistance – which brought the family to tears with emotion and to accept the offer with open arms.

Yad L’Achim says that this activity proves that the Jewish heart is aware of HKBH and His Torah. “We have again learned that Jews who come as missionaries do so because they have no choice, and that if we listen to the Jews around us and help them, we can stop the missionary activities in Israel.”

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)