OUR PASSION:
Changing lives, bringing hope!
istandwithisrael.com is a benevolence outreach of Maoz Israel Ministries, established to meet the needs of the hurting believers in Israel. We help:
•widows and orphans
•start businesses
•pay for medical treatments and equipment
•pay off loans, debts and day-to-day bills
•finance university studies for young people, Hebrew language courses for new immigrants, music lessons for young children
•purchase a home or an apartment
•and so much more.
OUR VISION:
Raising the standard of living for Jewish believers in Messiah Yeshua and empowering them to personify the love and goodness of the God of Israel through their testimonies. We aim to draw both believers and non-believers to a desire to know and experience the living God through special projects providing necessary help to the poor, needy, soldiers, firefighters, and more.
LIVES YOU TOUCH:
Birgita Z
I want to say “thank you” for your support. My husband and I were recently married, and an additional expense for studies seemed impossible. We are so grateful for your gift for our future! The studies are interesting and enriching, and I know God will use the seed you have sown into our lives. Thank you and thank God for your work!
Stefan
I want to thank you for the tremendous support you have given towards my MBA studies. Living life in Israel is not easy for young families; the expenses are many and great. While considering whether or not to continue pursuing a graduate degree, the financial issue was one of the most challenging aspects. Bringing this to the Lord in prayer, I asked Him to provide the help I needed if this is His will for me. Your financial aid has been a real answer to prayer, and one of the times where God “winked” at me, affirming that this is His will for me as I further my education in a field that interests me and one where I can use the gifts and talents He has given me. I hope that God will continue to use this initiative to bless and assist many others, and that we will see more and more Messianic believers filling the ranks and positions in the workplaces and academies in Israel, giving God the glory.
Beit HaYeshua Rehabilitation Center
From Zvi Randleman, Director: I wish to thank you on behalf of the “Beit HaYeshua” Rehabilitation Center for the generous donation of NIS35,000 for the purchase of a much needed van. Our previous vehicle had broken down many times, and finally we were forced to “part ways.” We did not have the money to purchase another vehicle. This donation from I Stand With Israel has enabled us to purchase a used Volkswagen van in good condition for the use of the various activities of the rehab center. Many, many thanks to you and the supporters who have made this possible.
Rachel B.
I want to express my deep gratitude for the generous support I received from you. With this grant, I will be able to finance my studies to become a Birth Consultant and Birth Supporter. Not only will I be able to make a living, but also support and help pregnant women, and young mothers in a professional way. Thank you for the thoughtfulness and the help, which I am not taking for granted. Beyond the financial help, the gift warms my heart and the knowledge that there are believers, who are assisting in building the Body of Messiah in the Land, encourages me. May the Lord bless you in all you do!
WHO WE ARE
IstandwithIsrael is a benevolence outreach of Maoz Israel Ministries, established in 2002 to meet the practical needs of Israelis.
Maoz Israel Ministries was founded in 1976 and is based in Tel Aviv, Israel. Its founders, Ari and Shira Sorko-Ram, also founded a Messianic congregation in Tel Aviv and manage a nonprofit publishing company in Israel that prints and distributes books on outreach and discipleship in Hebrew.
Ari and Shira Sorko-Ram are Israeli citizens and have two grown children, born and raised in Israel, four granddaughters and two grandsons. Maoz Israel Ministries has offices in Israel, the U.S., England, Canada, Germany, Brazil, and Ireland. For more information, visit www.maozisrael.org.
What We Do
Launched in 2002, istandwithisrael.com, is the benevolence arm of Maoz Israel Ministries to help the hurting Messianic Believers of Israel—terror victims, widows, orphans, those economically depressed as a result of the terrorism, war or other adversity. The emphasis is on helping those who are in dire straits.
IstandwithIsrael aids Israeli Messianic Jews and Arab Christians—assisting those facing adverse circumstances, and helping the needy with medical and emergency aid
IstandwithIsrael grants scholarships for educational advancement in Hebrew language studies (for new immigrants), job skills and career courses, and university studies. ISWI also has a successful program offering scholarships in musical training to believing children and adults.
During celebrations such as Passover and the High Holy Days, IstandwithIsrael provides special food gifts through municipalities who are happy to partner with a Messianic organization such as Maoz. The gifts are given to Israel’s poor who are either living in cities vulnerable to enemy attacks, or in depressed neighborhoods.
IstandwithIsrael also provides legal aid for Messianic Jews in Israel who suffer from severe, relentless persecution and social injustice because of their faith in Yeshua (Jesus) the Messiah by anti-freedom of religion, ultra-Orthodox organizations. These organizations receive inflated government funding for their non-working population, and therefore have enormous amounts of money and time to harass and target Messianic Jews on a daily basis.
New immigrants can rarely find quality employment if they cannot speak Hebrew. By helping Messianic Jews and Arab Christians improve their skills and develop their talents, you not only give them the opportunity to earn a decent living, you also help them advance the Kingdom of God in Israel.
In supporting IstandwithIsrael, you, as our partner can have an impact on the economic well-being of a growing number of Israeli believers across the country. For instance, IstandwithIsrael has helped several families open small businesses, and has contributed substantially to a number of believers who needed a car or van for their work or their ministry.
All applications, after being considered by the IstandwithIsrael team and obtaining sufficient information from the pastor, are sent to our entire Maoz board for approval and recommendations. Only then do we distribute the funds.
How It All Started
It was a day like every other work day, in the hot Texas summer of 2002.
Our Maoz website was having a “makeover” by a wonderful Messianic Israeli web designer, and he was going to show me his progress, via the Internet.
He had been working on an offline site, so he asked me to go to www.IstandwithIsrael.com, a site he owned, to view it.
And that’s when the “God” bells and whistles went off!
The minute I heard the name of the website, I knew it was a domain name that God could use for His purposes. I asked the web designer how he was using the site. He said he had recently bought the domain, but really didn’t know yet how he could use it to its maximum potential. I jumped on it.
I didn’t sleep much that night, my mind racing with thoughts about how we could use that website to raise funds for the poor, the victims of suicide bombings, the needy, the orphans, the Israeli believers who were struggling as they immigrated to the land, and a host of other possibilities to bless the Jewish people.
At that time, our American president was asking children to give a dollar to help children in Afghanistan, and Iraqis and Palestinians were rewarding families of suicide bombers with cash and fame. But no one seemed to be focusing on helping the families of the innocent Jewish people who were being murdered on the streets, in the pizza parlors, and on the buses in Israel by senseless homicide bombers.
I knew I could make a difference, and help them.
So the next day at lunch, we sat down at my kitchen table (at that time, the Maoz office was in my home). There were 5 of us in all—Shira, myself, my mother Barbara (she worked for Maoz), Ayal (Ari and Shira’s son), and Jonathan Bernis (President of Jewish Voice Ministries International).
I shared my idea of using the IstandwithIsrael.com website to help the poor and hurting in Israel, and one by one, each one at that table got excited! Yes, they all concurred that it truly was a God idea.
istandpicIstandwithIsrael.com was birthed. From that day forward, we worked with the original owner of the name and made an agreement with him. Then we began building a website, preparing guidelines for the disbursement of the funds (through the Messianic leaders all over Israel), and thus IstandwithIsrael became a reality!
We unveiled the website just a couple of months later, in September 2002 (which happened to be my jubilee birthday). I’ve always considered it my special jubilee birthday present from God.
Not only has IstandwithIsrael been able to touch lives of victims, orphans, widows, and countless poor, but it has also helped Messianic leaders get homes, get out of debt, pay medical and dental bills, and opened up the doors to stronger relationships within the Israeli Messianic movement in Israel. We’ve been able to put furniture in homeless shelters, stock shelves in humanitarian pantries, help acquire special training to get a well-paying job, fund Hebrew language school for immigrants, and assist Israeli firefighters and soldiers. In short, IstandwithIsrael has been able to distribute over $5,000,000 since 2002 with help from partners all over the world!
Thank you, God, for YOUR ideas! They are priceless!
~ CHRISTY WILKERSON
International Administrator
www.istandwithisrael.com