C2B NEWSLETTERS
2026 C2B Newsletter
MAOZ ISRAEL
To say that Maoz Israel is multifaceted is quite the understatement. Looking over their nineteen active aid projects adds up to quite a list: the Israel and Ishmael Worship team and Developing Israeli Worship; Israel Needs Me war relief; healthy Israeli Congregations; Sports and Leadership camp for Kids; faith-building resources in Hebrew for both young authors plus Hebrew bibles (The New Messianic Bible) and books; a jubilee year 90 minute documentary; Arab and Middle East outreach; I Stand With Israel Fund; special Druze believers support; Israeli Amputee Soccer Team; Family Therapy; Jerusalem Bible Institute; the new Maoz Israel Center; and in partnering with the foundation and city of Ra’anana, the Eitan Educational Center for Evacuated Children, (so far have taken in families from Sderot next to Gaza and Kiryat Shmona near Lebanon, both towns of which C2B included in their 2018 tour).
MAKOR HATIKVAH SCHOOL
Good news comes in the form of a victory. After eight years of application, Makor Hatikvah School is recognized by Israel’s Ministry of Education as a private school with the approval of its curriculum as well.
Makor Hatikvah means a source of hope. Founded thirty years ago by a handful of Messianic believers for their children. accompanied by innumerable prayers, the school began with two teachers and ten students. Over the years this hope for Messianic children has developed into a full elementary and junior high school with over one hundred thirty students. Its curriculum includes all core subjects and includes art, music, technology, and classes in the New Testament. For those students of families who have recently made Aliya or newly arrived from various countries and languages, a basic Ulpan (Hebrew lessons) is also offered.
TEN YEAR ANNIVERSARY
The “Love”(Ahava) sculpture on the grounds of the Israel Museum in central Jerusalem. (C2B)
2025 marks Connect 2 Bless’ 10th anniversary.
Since our nonprofit status in early 2015, your support has enabled us to provide nearly $200,000 by hosting tours and sending aid to 19 ministries and workers in Israel. We are deeply grateful for each of you and pray you continue to be blessed as you have blessed C2B.
Connect 2 Bless was founded on a direction from the Lord to pray, connect, bless, and teach Christians about God’s heart and the Biblical mandates concerning Israel and the Jews. Over the last 10 years we’ve been asked many times, “Why do you care about and support Israel and the Jewish population worldwide, and why should others?” To answer those questions, we look first and foremost at the Biblical covenants and promises made to the Jewish people
concerning their future and the land. First is the Abrahamic Covenant found in Genesis. It was an unconditional covenant
God made with Abraham in Genesis 1:3: “Get out of your country, from your family and from your father’s house, to a land I will show you.
I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all families of the earth shall be blessed.”
Is our Lord a covenant keeping God? I sure hope so! Otherwise, how can we trust him in the New Testament Covenant he gave us through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ...our assurance that through our faith in HIM and the forgiveness of our sins that we will have eternal life in Heaven with Him!
Next we can look at the covenant God made with Jacob before He changed his name to Israel in Genesis 35:1-15. Here we read that God renews the covenant made with Abraham, promising to make his descendant Jacob into a nation and give the land to his descendants. We read the confirmation of this in Psalm 105:9-12: The covenant he made with Abraham, the oath he swore to Isaac he confirmed it to Jacob as a decree, to Israel as an everlasting covenant: “To you I will give the land of Canaan as the portion you will inherit.” When they were but few in number, few indeed, and strangers in it.
Connect 2 Bless endeavors to bless Israel and the Jewish population worldwide, while we also hope to show them the greatest blessing of all, the new life and eternal blessings offered by faith in the Jewish Messiah, Yeshua HaMashiach!
When Bob and I spent 3 months in Israel in 2014, the Lord introduced us to many Messianic Jews and to the ministries they represented. One of the most profound encounters we had was while attending a memorial day event at Makor HaTikvah, a Messianic day school in Jerusalem. Not only did we learn a great deal about the school, but we also met a lovely woman who happened to be sitting next to us during the assembly. Realizing we did not speak Hebrew she offered to translate for us as the ceremony progressed. We were so grateful for her help and in talking to her afterwards learned that she was the national director for Be’ad Chaim, a pro-life, Messianic organization offering help and support to women (Jews, Arabs, and Muslims) considering abortion. Often these women are trapped and alone without the support they need during their pregnancy. Be’ad Chaim walks beside them offering financial assistance, needed supplies, and emotional support during pregnancy and the baby’s first year of life. We were invited to visit Be’ad Chaim and in so doing began one of our longest “connections” in Israel . Through their Operation Moses we’ve helped support babies and moms, and on numerous occasions taken tour groups to visit their offices and learn directly from staff how we can share the love of Jesus through financial donations and gifts of clothing and blankets. If you are interested in praying for the staff and clients at Be’ad Chaim, check out their website at beadchaim.com and sign up for their newsletter and weekly prayer letter. Looking ahead to the future of Connect 2 Bless, we hope to continue, with your help, to do the work the Lord has set before us: 1. to pray for and financially support ministries like Bead Chaim, Final Frontier Ministries with Avner and Rachel Boskey, Messianic congregations like Tehilat Yah in Rishon LeZion, Israel, and larger organizations like the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem and Maoz Israel; 2. to host prayer times, seminars, and individual guest at our Vancouver offices and at local churches who are visiting from Israel to share and teach about their work; 3. to help keep you informed about all the Lord is doing in Israel and how your donations help His work to move forward.
In the current world we live in we are seeing an explosion of antisemitism and anti-Israel rhetoric across the globe. Many are comparing it to what was seen and heard in the late 1930s as Hitler’s Nazi party took control in Europe. We know antisemitism is nothing new, it’s been seen throughout the ages and Jewish people have suffered its horrific affects far too often.
At Connect 2 Bless we also recognize that the Biblical mandate to “pray for the peace of Jerusalem” (Psalm 122:6) does not mean we blindly support every move the modern government of Israel makes. But it does mean God has called us to recognize and accept his love for his Jewish brothers and sisters and to offer them prayer and support in any way we can. Not only do we want to pray and support them, but we also want to share with them the saving grace, the forgiveness of sins, and eternal life that only Jesus Christ can offer.
Thank you for standing with us these past 10 years and helping Connect 2 Bless grow. As we move forward we hope to continue teaching about the “ancient stones” talked about in the Bible and also share the work the Lord is doing through the “living stones,” Messianic Jews living and working in Israel and around the world. During this holiday season we send our love and appreciation to each of you and pray for God’s blessings in your lives. As you consider your end of year giving for 2025 we hope you’ll remember the work Connect 2 Bless is doing and choose to support our ministry with both a financial donation and your ongoing prayers.
2023 C2B NEWSLETTER
JOIN ONE MILLION PEOPLE PRAYING FOR REVIVAL IN ISRAEL YOM KIPPUR, SEPT. 25, 2023 10:00 - 11:00 AM EST
Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) is the holiest day of the year on the Jewish calendar. On this day each year Jewish people fast and pray for God’s
forgiveness. As watchmen on the wall (Is. 62:6-7) Christians are called to stand with Israel and pray for her eyes to be opened to the good news that her Messiah has come as the sacrificed Passover Lamb. This year on this special day please join God TV and International House of Prayer who are asking 1,000,000 believers around the world to stand in the gap for the Jewish Nation. You can pray on your own anytime that day, or join a worldwide simulcast live at www.god.tv/prayforisrael from 10:00 - 11:00 am EST
OUTREACH THROUGH MAOZ ISRAEL -
I STAND WITH ISRAEL
This month we are highlighting the ministry of Maoz Israel, and especially their support of a congregation in Jerusalem of Ethiopian Israeli young
people, almost all of whom are brand new believers in Yeshua. These young people are Israeli citizens who’s Jewish families immigrated to Israel in the 1980s and 1990s. This current congregation of new believers, about 60 in number, is growing quickly and hoping to expand their meeting hall to accommodate more than 100 people. Connect 2 Bless is excited to support this work through donations to I Stand With Israel, an outreach of Maoz. Thank you for your donations to C2B which allow us to help these Israeli ministries that are sharing the Good News of Yeshua HaMashiach.
ISRAEL: THE APPLE OF GOD’S EYE
God refers to Israel and the Jewish people as “the apple of his eye” several times in the Old Testament. Of course Gentiles and Jews are
all the special, chosen ones of our Heavenly Father, but in both Zechariah 2:8 and Deuteronomy 32:8-10, God specifically calls Israel “the apple of his eye.” The center of one’s eye is a very sensitive place and therefore very protected. Think about your own eyes for a moment. What happens if
something flies in one or toward it? Your eyelids, really your whole body, react reflexively to protect that vulnerable spot and prevent injury. God held the Israelites as the apple of His eye even when they were oftentimes rebellious. Being the apple of His eye they were most cherished. God’s care for
his people has not diminished with time, He holds His children close, and He protects us as easily as our eyelids protect our pupils.
JERUSALEM SEMINARY & WYCLIFFE GLOBAL ALLIANCE As many of you know Bob serves on the Board of Directors for Jerusalem Seminary,
headquartered in Jerusalem, Israel. Each course at the seminary is designed with the belief that the Story of the Bible must never be separated from the Land of the Bible. Recently Jerusalem Seminary was pleased to announce their new association with Wycliffe Global Alliance. The Wycliffe Global Alliance is an alliance of organizations that have the objective of translating the Bible into every language. This alliance will help Jerusalem Seminary, and especially their school Hebrew for the Nations, as they provide a rigorous language focused curriculum for their students worldwide.
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2022 C2B NEWSLETTER
2022 Newsletter presents pertinent, condensed news related to and from Israel. You will see prophecies about the Jew’s return to The Land from all nations. Also, short “Did you know…” pieces. Entries will have a final notation about where the information came from, although edited for brevity. We encourage you to read more from that source. You also will find prayer subjects within each short article.
Tourism Given Green Light
One of Israel’s most critical economic markets is tourism. In 2019, articles were exclaiming four million tourists visited the Holy Land! However, tourist industry jobs were doomed when the COVID-19 pandemic struck. Israel’s government reacted inefficiently. Back in 2018, when tourism was thriving, 1.8 million people lived under the poverty line in Israel, the .8 being children. Since then, the pandemic has pillaged 15% of the middle class into poverty, forcing financial aid to rise to 70%. “Economic deterioration is much more significant than the SARS outbreak.” Tourism now has the green light; fully vaccinated and unvaccinated travelers can enter Israel. However, a passenger statement is mandatory, which includes an updated COVID-19 history. Israel’s economy is recuperating slowly. In the meantime, the impoverished continue to need our help. All Israel News, Jose Ahumada.
New Year is Three Different Dates
Did you know that Israelis recognize three dates for the New Year? January first is the Gentile new year and the “legal and fiscal year in Hebrew.” Second is the spiritual date on the first day of the Hebrew month of Tishrei in early fall, called Rosh Hashana or the Feast of Trumpets. Thirdly, Passover is considered the beginning of the biblical new year in the spring. All Israel News, Joel C. Rosenberg
Am I Jewish or a Christian?
Do you know the difference between Messianic Judaism and Christianity? The foundations of both spring from Judaism. Christians are non-Jews or Gentiles, having embraced Jesus (in Hebrew, Yeshua) as Savior and Lord. “Messianic Jews are people of Jewish heritage who maintain their Jewish identity, practice biblical commandments found in the Torah, and acknowledge Yeshua as the Messiah.” Jews who accept Yeshua as their messiah are sometimes confused, asking, “Am I Jewish or a Christian?” Most Jews who accept Yeshua as their messiah consider themselves Jewish believers. Jewish Voice Ministries International
From All The Nations: Prophesies Fulfilled in our Time
“In the future, when you experience all these blessings and curses, I have listed for you, and when you are living among the nations to which the Lord your God has exiled you, take to heart all these instructions. 2) If at that time you and your children return to the Lord your God, and if you obey with all your heart and all your soul all the commands I have given you today, 3) then the Lord your God will restore your fortunes. He will have mercy on you and gather you back from all the nations where he has scattered you. 4) Even though you are banished to the ends of the earth, the Lord your God will gather you from there and bring you back again. 5) The Lord your God will return you to the land that belonged to your ancestors, and you will possess that land again. Then he will make you even more prosperous and numerous than your ancestors! Deuteronomy 30: 1-5 NLT Bible (Italics and capitalizing “lord” are mine)
Dr. Halvor Ronnin at JCBT
Do you know that Dr. Halvor Ronning and his wife Mirja train mother-tongue Bible translators in Hebrew at Jerusalem Center for Bible Translators, which Hebrew University accredits? JCBT is addressing the following facts. There are over 6,900 languages in the world. The “Old Testament” and the “New Testament” were translated into 450 of those 6,900 languages. Of the 450 that already exist, the translations are from English, French, and Spanish, “so you are getting a translation of a translation done by people who never had a chance to come to the country” (Israel). The point is to translate from the original Hebrew source rather than from other languages. The translations are more vivid and meaningful if done in Hebrew and if the translators have visited and toured Israel. For example, David wrote the Psalms about the paths of righteousness, which to him, as a former shepherd, were the paths around the hills where the sheep grazed. You might draw false conclusions if you did not visit Israel and see these paths in person. 1,200 New Testaments translations are without the Old Testament: the roots are without foundation, creation, the patriarchs, the psalms, and the prophets. Israel Vision TV, Jay Rawlings interviews Halvor Ronning
Dave and Marjie Austen, sponsored a baby and donated clothing at Be’ad Chaim.
Did you know that “one in five of all pregnancies in Israel end in abortion?” Since 1948, abortions in Israel have surpassed the number of children who died in the Holocaust, about 1.5 million. Although there are numerous examples of the government and citizens of Israel saving lives, Israel is one of the only countries that allow abortion up until birth. The government funds 20,000 abortions annually. Through Be’ad Chaim Israel Pro-Life’s Project Moses, Connect 2 Bless has sponsored two babies and mothers at USD 1800.00 per baby and mother for one year. The Austens are an example of many taking advantage of Project Moses. Please help sponsor a mother and save a life; support advocacy and provide clothing.
Janusz Korczak Memorial at Yad Vashem
To the left is a picture of the life-sized memorial to Janusz Korczak, who would not abandon the children under his care and so accompanied them into the gas chambers at Treblinka, sharing their fate. As many as 1.5 million Jewish children died at the hands of Nazis or their supporters. So, what of the survivors of the Holocaust? It has been about 78 years since World War II ended in Europe, and the survivors of the Holocaust in 2022 were children back then. They were the same age as those children depicted In the Korczak memorial.
Shimon Sabag’s Yad Ezer LaHaver partnered with the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (ICEJ) to allow more than 120 elderly Holocaust survivors to live in comfort and dignity at the Haifa Home in Haifa, which is celebrating 20 years. Recently, in Ukraine, under fire, in a dangerous operation, members of the Yad Ezer LaHaver humanitarian delegation rescued 4 Holocaust survivors over 80 years old. Each of the four survivors’ homes was destroyed by the war. Preparations for immigration to Israel are underway. They look forward to living in new apartments set aside for them at the Home of Holocaust Survivors. yadezer.org.il (the site gives you choices of translations)
At the age of 100, holocaust survivor Shoshana Colmar passed on Shoshana had survived the Holocaust’s extermination camp of Auschwitz, where she lost most of her family. She lived at the Holocaust Home in Haifa from 2009 to 2019. She was an active volunteer at the Holocaust Home and the Holocaust Museum, which is on-site. Susie and I met Shoshana, then 95, in 2014 at the Haifa Home, where she shared some of her compelling life experiences. In 2016 Prime Minister Netanyahu, who knew her from earlier gatherings, held a moving meeting honoring a group of Holocaust survivors with Shoshana in the chair next to him. She passed in 2019 after celebrating her 100th birthday, attended by the Minister of Culture and Sport Miri Regev Safda. For much more detail about her resilient life and comments from dignitaries, go to yadezer.org.il, (choose English) Association News, “The symbol of survival.”
Connect 2 Bless, over its nearly nine years of operation, has donated over 100,000.00 USD to bless Messianic and Christian ministries in Israel, an impossible task without your contributions. see our “Connections” page at connect2bless.org for a partial list of Connect 2 Bless supported ministries. Please consider donating to Connect 2 Bless. Thank you, Bob and Susie Hirtzel