Connect

Shalom from Israel! In April 1915, while serving the Canadian Field Artillery as a brigade-surgeon in an area near Ypres, Belgium, known as Flanders, John McCrae mourned a friend, lost to artillery fire the day before. As he scanned the field of makeshift graves containing the bodies of his friend and many others, he was surprised to see something beautiful. Wild poppies grew all around the fresh mounds, providing a fresh, red burst of life to this field of death. Moved by the stark contrast between life and death, he wrote a poem entitled “In Flanders Field”, which begins:

“In Flanders fields the poppies blow
    Between the crosses, row on row.”

This classic of wartime poetry became a catalyst for numerous nations to use the poppy as a symbol to remember fallen soldiers on Veterans Day. In Canada, the United Kingdom, the United States, and many others, poppies are either passed out to those honoring the dead or they are sold to raise money for veterans’ groups.

This contrast between death and life, the end and the beginning, the decaying ugliness of war and the fresh beauty of something new came to my mind as I walked into CONNECT the other day. Of all times for Behold Israel to be focused on constructing and launching a new ministry base in Israel, the middle of a war seems less than ideal. However, the vision for this ministry hub was set in motion well before the events of October 7. We didn’t know what was coming, but God, who gave the vision, did.

And now, here we are with CONNECT ready to launch. In fact, this coming Wednesday, May 15, we will have our maiden broadcast in which I will interview Dr. Golan Broshi of Israel College of the Bible. I first interviewed him back in 2020 for the fascinating video, “Who are the Real Jews?” His take on what is happening in Israel and the world today should be quite interesting. And this will just be the first! So much more is to come.

I truly feel like CONNECT is an example of life blooming in the midst of war. Not only will Behold Israel be able to disseminate accurate news filtered through the lens of Scripture, but CONNECT will be like a dandelion caught in the wind spreading the seeds of the Gospel throughout the world. But what I am especially excited about is knowing that some of those seeds will fall here in my country of Israel. Never before have I had a base from which I can effectively reach my own people. Isn’t it like God to open the door to teaching the hope found in the Messiah here in Israel during a time when my people need it most? He is so good!

For those of you who have been praying and supporting the creation of CONNECT, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. You are about to witness the fruition of your time and sacrifice. May God richly bless you! Amir Tsarfati