Many people are surprised to discover that there are very real humanitarian relief needs in the epicenter. But a recently released reveals a troubling trend, that a large number of Israelis cannot afford enough food, reports Ynet News. 

According to a study published by the Taub Center for Social Policy Studies in Israel, some “20% of Israelis forgo food because of financial distress, while 13% give up using electric appliances or the phone,” reported Ynet, “while 13% give up using electric appliances or the phone.”

“Behind the numbers are names and faces; there is the reality of living in the lower classes,” noted the article. “There are even those working in the heart of the middle class whose conditions are deteriorating. Angelica Moscovitch is among them – a single mother living with her four children in Beersheba, who says she exemplifies the poor middle class.”

“The money, and the air, is gone,” Angelica told Ynet. “Her monthly income from a full-time job caring for the elderly together with the food subsidies she receives add up to NIS 10,000 ($2,809) before taxes. ‘The salary is significantly lower than the cost of living which has rapidly risen the last few years,’ said Angelica. According to her, she is forced to deal with difficult debts. ‘In the past they have turned off the gas and water and there were seizures. Right now we are giving up on a lot of things. We don’t turn on the heater and simply wear coats inside the house. I cook meat only on the weekend. I’m not even mentioning group activities and new clothes for the little children,’ told Angelica.”

“Miri and Dov raise three children in Jerusalem and their combined earnings also total NIS 10,000 ($2,809) before taxes,” noted the report. “‘My salary is minimum wage even though I work a full-time position,’ explained Miri. ‘We are fighting for our survival day by day, but the government doesn’t even see us.'”

“Poverty in Israel is a strategic threat on our existence as a moral society who stands in solidarity and is able to deal with challenges from within and without,” said Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein.

How should Christians respond? I believe the Bible teaches us to care for those in need, to find the hungry, to give water to the thirsty. To show unconditional love to the most vulnerable in society.

This is why The Joshua Fund exists. Since our founding in 2006, The Joshua Fund has invested millions of dollars in blessing Holocaust survivors, the elderly, single mothers, the homeless, widows, orphans, and other poor and needy Jewish and Arab families in the epicenter. Would you pray with us as we seek to serve the Lord in meeting the needs of the people to be “warm and well fed,” and share this prayer request with a friend? Would you also financially invest in this work, that we can help more needy people — Jews and Arabs — in the epicenter? Thanks so much. May the Lord bless you as you care for the needs of those less fortunate.

“You shall open your hand wide to your brother, to your poor and your needy, in your land.” (Deuteronomy 15:11)

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