ENHANCE - 1st Quarter 2025

1 st Quarter 2025 • No 222
Christian Friends of Israel
United Kingdom
“Seek Peace and Pursue it.”
Psalm 34:12-16; 1 Peter 3:10-12
INSIDE: EDITORIAL – Covenant of Peace • Mission Worship Report • HEBREW WORD FOCUS – Eved - Servant • CHARITY – Hadassah
Jerusalem Projects Review • A Momentous Year • Exile & Return • HMD 2025 • Thanksgiving & Tribute • Events & Resources

Editorial
Christian Friends of Israel
United Kingdom
Covenant of Peace
About us
CFI UK seeks to bless Israel through
practical and moral support, and serve
the Church in teaching about God’s
purposes for Israel and the Hebrew
heritage of our faith.
CFI UK also produce a monthly prayer
letter and a weekly audio Middle East
report.
Please contact us for full details of
projects in Israel and the teaching
resources available.
As an educational charity, we carry a
variety of resources relevant to our
purpose. We do not necessarily endorse
every view expressed by our guest
writers or authors.
Encouraging understanding in the
Church of Israel in context of the
Bible, history and today.
Challenging prejudice against Israel
and antisemitism alongside the Jewish
community in the UK.
Assisting cross-culturally in Israel
with charitable projects - medical,
educational and social.
What’s in a name?
ENHANCE means to increase, or further
improve the quality, value, or extent
of, in our instance, Christian friendship
of Israel. It also emphasises that when
God’s faithfulness to Israel is included and
understood by the wider Church, it truly is
‘faith enhancing.’
ENHANCE Magazine
Published by:
CFI Charitable Trust, PO Box 2687
Eastbourne BN22 7LZ
Tel: 01323 410 810
Email: info@cfi.org.uk
www.cfi.org.uk
Registered Charity, No. 1101899
Registered Office c/o
Caladine, Chantry House, 22 Upperton Road
Eastbourne, BN21 1BF
Company No: 04984515
VAT Registration No: GB678780275
Front cover photo:
Tour boat, Sea of Galilee
Jacob Vince
In ENHANCE Q4 2024 we
considered the phrase ‘Covenant
of Love’ and discovered it was
found in the first three parts of
the Bible - the Law, Prophets and
Psalms, but not specifically in the
Apostles’ teaching, despite much
else written on love - supremely
shown in Jesus laying down his
life for his Jewish ‘friends’ (see John
15:13-17) and the whole world.
God also makes a ‘Covenant of
Peace’. Given there has been much
recent conflict surrounding Israel,
there is value in looking at when
and where this is found.
The first time the covenant of peace
arises is in the Law. It follows a
tragic incident where men of Israel
had been seduced into sexual
immorality with Moabite women,
who invited them to sacrifice to their
gods.
So Israel yoked themselves to the
Baal of Peor. And the Lord’s anger
burned against them. The Lord
said to Moses, ‘Take all the leaders
of these people, kill them and expose
them in broad daylight before the
Lord, so that the Lord’s fierce
anger may turn away from Israel.’
So Moses said to Israel’s judges,
‘Each of you must put to death
those of your people who have yoked
themselves to the Baal of Peor.’
(Numbers 25:2-5)
Then followed a brazen episode
where, ‘An Israelite man brought into
the camp a Midianite woman right
before the eyes of Moses and the whole
assembly of Israel while they were
weeping at the entrance to the tent of
meeting’. (Numbers 25:6)
With zeal for God, ‘Phinehas son of
Eleazar, the son of Aaron, the priest’
having seen this, ‘took a spear in his
hand… followed the Israelite into the
tent… and drove the spear into both of
them’ (Numbers 25:7-8). This ended
the plague from which 24,000 had
perished.
It is at this point God says to Moses,
‘Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son
of Aaron, the priest, has turned my
anger away from the Israelites. Since
he was as zealous for my honour
among them as I am, I did not put
an end to them in my zeal. Therefore
tell him I am making my covenant
of peace with him. He and his
descendants will have a covenant
of a lasting priesthood, because he
was zealous for the honour of his
God and made atonement for the
Israelites.’ (Numbers 25:11-13)
Through being zealous for God’s
honour, Phineas, like Moses on an
earlier occasion, makes atonement
for the Israelites - foreshadowing
Jesus.
The next time the covenant of peace
appears is in the Prophets. Here
God evokes the covenant with
Noah in comparison confirming
his ‘covenant of peace’ will not be
shaken nor removed,
‘To me this is like the days of Noah,
when I swore that the waters of
Noah would never again cover the
earth. So now I have sworn not to be
angry with you, never to rebuke you
again. Though the mountains be
shaken and the hills be removed, yet
my unfailing love for you will not be
shaken nor my covenant of peace
be removed,’ says the Lord, who has
compassion on you (Isaiah 54:9-10)
The covenant of peace next appears
twice in short succession, again
in the Prophets - here described
as everlasting and with future
implications.
“I will make a covenant of peace
with them and rid the land of savage
beasts so that they may live in the
wilderness and sleep in the forests in
safety” (Ezekiel 34:25)
“I will make a covenant of peace
with them; it will be an everlasting
covenant. I will establish them and
increase their numbers, and I will
put my sanctuary among them for
ever (Ezekiel 37:26)
2 ENHANCE • 1 st Quarter 2025

Exhibition Report
Mission Worship
Conference 2024
15–17 NOVEMBER KING’S CENTRE | EASTBOURNE
Each year Eastbourne has the
privilege of hosting a conference
for worship leaders and all
those who see worship as an
important part of missionary
endeavours (including general
outreach). Starting with the
name ‘Worship Together’ in 1996,
the conference was later renamed
‘Worship Experience’ and more
recently has settled with the name
‘Mission Worship.’
As members of the CFI UK team
greatly appreciate sung worship,
and we have a mission to the
Church, we took our resources stall
along to the conference exhibition
again from Friday 15 th to Sunday
17 th November 2024, seeking to
spread an awareness of Israel
among worship leaders.
Over four years of attending the
conference, we have formed good
relationships with the organisers
and other regular exhibitors,
including The Christian Institute,
Biblica (previously The Bible
Society) and Distributed Sound &
Video Ltd.
Across the three days our stall
was attended by Robin Lane, Bella
and Michael Jones and Beverley
Dwyer. In terms of product sales,
our stall was quieter than in the
2023 conference, but we had the
opportunity to run one of the
conference seminars
along with The
Christian Institute and
Biblica – giving us 20
minutes each to make
a presentation to the
delegates.
That seminar was
well attended, with
more than 50 in the
audience, and we chose
to present some songs by Israeli
believers, under the title ‘Songs
Reveal the Only Hope for Peace.’
Having summarised some ancient
history, the waves of Jewish
immigration to Israel, Arab-Jewish
relations, and the Arab peoples’
repeated rejections of their own
state, we presented parts of three
songs: ‘Worthy of It All’ sung in
Hebrew and Arabic by young
Jewish and Arab Israelis; ‘You Are
My All in All’ sung in Hebrew,
English and Arabic by Rebekah
Davis, Joshua Aaron and Rana
Francis; and ‘Behold the Lamb
of God’ performed by staff and
students of the Yuval Arts Centre
(pictured).
The core message was that only
Jesus can bring true peace between
Jewish and Arab neighbours in
the Middle East. It was very well
received by the audience, almost
half of whom wanted a copy of the
song titles and YouTube links that
we had printed for those who were
interested in listening to the songs
again.
We look forward to being able to
present another seminar at the 2025
Mission Worship Conference.
A covenant of life and peace is
found in Malachi, one of the twelve,
the last three prophets of which are
post exile. Here a warning is given,
“And you will know that I have
sent you this warning so that my
covenant with Levi may continue,”
says the Lord Almighty. “My
covenant was with him, a covenant
of life and peace, and I gave them
to him; this called for reverence and
he revered me and stood in awe of
my name. True instruction was in
his mouth and nothing false was
found on his lips. He walked with
me in peace and uprightness, and
turned many from sin. For the
lips of a priest ought to preserve
knowledge, because he is the
messenger of the Lord Almighty
and people seek instruction from his
mouth” (Malachi 2:2-7)
May we likewise be true to the
scriptures, walking in peace and
uprightness; for priests at that
time had, ‘turned from the way’ and
by their teaching, ‘caused many to
stumble’; they had not followed
God’s ways, but had shown
‘partiality in matters of the law’
(Malachi 2:8-9)
The exact phrase ‘Covenant of Peace’
does not occur in the Psalms or the
Apostles’ teaching; but something
similar is seen in the closing blessing
of the letter understood as written to
the Hebrews, where both the God of
peace and the everlasting covenant
are cited,
‘Now may the God of peace, who
through the blood of the eternal
covenant brought back from the
dead our Lord Jesus, that great
Shepherd of the sheep, equip you
with everything good for doing his
will, and may he work in us what
is pleasing to him, through Jesus
Christ, to whom be glory for ever and
ever. Amen’ (Hebrews 13:20-21)
1 at Quarter 2025 • ENHANCE 3

Hebrew Word Focus
Melissa Briggs
Serving the
ultimate Servant
Another Christian foster family shared
with us about the arduous, timeconsuming
task of guiding their beloved
teenage foster son into adulthood.
Parenting him includes run-ins with law enforcement,
employment issues, educational challenges, the need for
‘tough love’, and hours spent training him on budgeting
and life skills. They nodded their heads in agreement
when we reminded them, “This is the Lord’s work.”
Serving their foster son in the faithful manner which
they do is ultimately serving his Creator.
Usually, service is not glamorous and does not ‘feel’
particularly ‘holy’. Being a servant is not a positive
thing in the wider culture, but biblically (in the Lord’s
‘upside-down’ kingdom), being a servant of the Lord is
an honour!
The Hebrew word ‏ֶעֶֶבֶד eved can have multi-faceted
meanings depending on the context – usually translated
as ‘servant, slave, or bondservant’— eved is ‘one who
works, serves, labours, or worships’ out of ‘obligation,
responsibility and/or gratitude’. Eved comes from a root
verb avad which means ‘to work, serve and worship’.
Worship is so much more than just singing. Whatever
God has called us to, do we understand we should do it
as service to him—and as an act of worship? ‘Then the
Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘This
is what the Lord says: Let my people go, so that they may
worship (avad) me”’ (Exodus 8:1).
An eved does the will of the Lord, and often in the Bible
God recognised those who were living out this calling.
The Lord identifies many as his ‘servants’, including
Abraham, Jacob, Moses, and Job. And about David
he says: “Now then, tell my eved David, ‘This is what the
Lord of Hosts says: I took you from the pasture, from tending
the flock, and appointed you ruler over my people Israel’” (1
Chronicles 17:7).
‏ֶעֶֶבֶד
eved
In the Hebrew Scriptures the coming Messiah is even
described as the Lord’s eved. The book of Isaiah is filled
with the imagery of the Servant Messiah who would
suffer to redeem his people, “...by his knowledge my
righteous servant [eved] will justify many, and he will bear
their iniquities” (Isaiah 53:11).
Jesus is the ultimate plot development in the epic
narrative of redemption. Most of Israel did not
recognise him in the First Century because he was not
the triumphant king they assumed would lead them
into a military victory over the Roman occupiers.
Instead, this king would sacrifice himself on behalf
of his people. This king would serve his people by
suffering on their behalf. Jesus is the sacrificial, servant
king that everyone needed, but no one expected.
The Christian life is about emulating Jesus. And what
did Jesus do when he saw brokenness, messiness,
heartache, sickness, grief, sin, pain? He came towards
it. He engaged. He helped. He served. Ultimately,
we believe that Jesus became wounded on our behalf
in order to provide a solution to our brokenness (see
Isaiah 53).
Jesus came to serve, rather than to be served. “Whoever
serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also
will be. My Father will honour the one who serves me”
(John 12:26). And Jesus of course exemplified and
embodied full submission to the will of the Father.
Despite the fact that he is so worthy of all of our time,
attention, devotion, worship and trust, Jesus humbled
himself—even to the point of death.
There is a beautiful picture of a servant’s life-long
commitment to his master by choice (mirroring our
devotion and loyalty to the Lord) described in the
Exodus, “But if the eved declares, ‘I love my master...and
do not want to go free,’ then his master...shall take him
to the door or the doorpost and pierce his ear with an awl.
Then he will be his eved for life” Exodus 21:5-6 (see also
Deuteronomy 15:12-17).
Have we completely submitted to a life of serving our
loving, wise Master? We must keep our eyes fixed
on the Lord Jesus – available to him and worshipping
him. The Lord is looking for full surrender and a
humble heart from each of us. We see such a beautiful
example of this in the life of Jesus’ mother, Mary, “I am
the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May it happen to me
according to your word” (Luke 1:38).
The King David Monument, Jerusalem
MELISSA’S NEW LEVEL 1&2 VIDEO COURSE IS NOW AVAILABLE!
Learn Biblical & Modern Hebrew at your own pace with prerecorded
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4 ENHANCE • 1 st Quarter 2025

Charity Feature
Stories of hope and healing
Hadassah’s new rehabilitation centre
Construction of the Gandel Rehabilitation
Centre at Hadassah Mount Scopus began
in 2019 as a replacement for Hadassah's
small and outdated rehabilitation unit; the
only acute rehabilitation centre of its kind
serving the entire Jerusalem area.
Jerusalem’s population has now surpassed 1 million,
not including its surrounding communities. With a
multi-cultural catchment area, 35% of Jerusalem’s
population is Arab. Additionally, there is a diverse Jewish
population, with the ultra-orthodox Haredim comprising
a third of Jerusalem’s residents.
As civilian casualties in Israel soared following the Hamas
7 th October assault and the continued attacks that ensued,
construction was accelerated and the first floors opened ahead
of schedule in January 2024. When complete, it will increase
dramatically the number of patients the hospital can treat. The
nearly 30,000 sqm centre will offer 132 beds, allowing Hadassah
to serve 10,000 patients annually, and provide vital services like
physiotherapy and occupational therapy, hydrotherapy, and
orthopaedic rehabilitation.
State-of-the-art facilities are available in the treatment halls to
assist and expedite the recovery of patients in the centre. Just one
example is the Lokomat - a robotic machine that mimics motion.
This stimulates damaged nerves and muscles to give patients
the sensation of walking. Anti-gravity machines, developed by
NASA, in the physiotherapy department allow patients to exercise
without putting weight on their damaged joints or limbs.
Learning to walk again after paralysing freak accident
Aisha*, 19 from Jerusalem, was spending a fun day go-karting with
her family when disaster struck.
“I closed the helmet and started driving,” Aisha recalls. “Suddenly,
the long edges of my hijab got caught in the wheels and wrapped
around my neck. As the ride progressed at speed, my headscarf
wrapped tighter, cut my throat, and caused a sudden, violent pull
that immediately injured the vertebrae in my neck. From that
moment, I was paralysed.”
“I insisted the ambulance take her to Hadassah” her mother says.
“I knew that only they could help her and treat such a serious injury.”
The trauma team and spinal specialists were already waiting for
her. In the operating room, Aisha’s spinal cord and the vertebrae
were stabilised by removing bone fragments in a three-hour long
surgery. Hadassah’s lead surgeon, Prof. Josh Schroeder, reflects,
it could have been much worse. “If we hadn’t operated at this
critical stage, the paralysis would have been significant,” he says.
A few days later, Aisha began showing signs of recovery, moving
her legs and walking slowly with support. She was transferred to
the GRC for the long-term therapy to make a full recovery.
The unforeseen events on and since 7 th October continue to take
a heavy toll on the physical and emotional health of the country.
There is a dramatic increase in the need for rehabilitative care
among the wounded; hundreds will require specialised inpatient
and outpatient rehabilitation for severe physical injuries as well as
psychological — for weeks, months, and years to come.
Nurse Michal Elon was wounded on that dark day. With her
husband and eight children, Michal was volunteering in the south
to help celebrate one of the most joyful of Jewish holidays.
As the horrific onslaught unfolded, Michal, a Hadassah-trained
nurse, left the comparative safety of a shelter to tend to the
wounded. Suddenly, she was confronted by a terrorist. He raised
his gun and fired directly at her.
Michal was hit in her
stomach and chest, but it
was the bullet in her arm
that was the most painful.
Even so, her medical training
kicked in and, before losing
consciousness, she used her
headscarf as a tourniquet to
limit the bleeding.
Michal’s Surgery at Ein
Kerem repaired the nerve
damage in her stricken left
arm, before being transferred to the Gandel Rehabilitation Centre
to start her long journey to recovery.
“You need a lot of patience and stamina,” Michal reflects on
the slow, difficult process of regaining the use of her arm.
“Rehabilitation is very painful. But the staff here are wonderful,
and I can feel I’m making progress.”
Providing world-class rehabilitation care for the severely injured
will significantly improve their prospects of recovery, help them
to regain their quality of life – and enable Hadassah’s patients
to return to their families with maximum functionality and
independence, to enjoy life and have a brighter future.
* Name has been changed to protect confidentiality.
www.hadassahuk.org
Nurse Michal Elon, Gandel Rehabilitation
Centre with Physiotherapy Patient
1 at Quarter 2025 • ENHANCE 5

Projects Review 2024
Streams of Blessing
Assisting the underprivileged in Israel
“Let your tender mercies come speedily to meet us, for we have been brought very low.
Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of your Name; and deliver us” (Psalm 79:8-9)
It is the Lord who can help us when
we are in trouble.
When we pray to him, he hears our
prayers and helps us. He can deliver
us from our problems and shower us
with his tender mercies. He is the God
of our salvation. Jesus is our Saviour
who loves us very much and delights
in saving us. But he can also use
other people to help. I’m grateful that
he can use us to help people in their
hardships.
A lady, who lives alone, is very sick
and has problems with her heart,
legs, lungs, and spine. She saves on
everything, including food, medicine,
clothes, and shoes. She can’t heat the
apartment because it is too expensive.
She doesn’t buy all the medication she
needs. Buying clothes and household
items is a problem for her. She got into
financial difficulties and borrowed
money. She could not pay her medical
insurance for many months and got a
warning. She didn’t know how to pay
her rent. We gave her a cheque and
food vouchers so that she could pay
her rent and medical insurance. She
was very grateful.
Another lady lives with her husband
and child in Migdal-HaEmek. She
missed two months of work because
she needed to go to Russia for family
affairs. Her husband doesn’t work
every day. Because of the situation
in Israel, there are no clients in the
company so they got into financial
trouble. They had debt on their credit
card and were overdrawn at the bank.
They didn’t have enough money to pay
their bills. When she came to visit us,
I gave her the cheques for paying her
bills and food vouchers. She was very
touched and grateful. It was a very
nice visit.
These are just a few of the many others
who turned to us with requests for
help.
Viktoria Muller, Project Supervisor
Under His Wings
Bringing comfort and healing to terror victims
“Comfort, comfort my people,” says your God (Isaiah 40:1)
I’m Paula O’Keefe, the new Project
Supervisor for ‘Under His Wings’.
As a psychologist with over 30 years
of experience working with survivors
of terror, trauma, and abuse, I feel
honoured and privileged to be in Israel
during this challenging time of war
and pivotal moment in history. My
heart is to offer comfort and hope to
the Lord’s precious and wounded
people, especially those who bear the
scars of terror attacks.
Recently, we had the opportunity
to visit Sderot, a town that suffered
greatly on 7 th October. We were
blessed to spend time with an elderly
couple who have called Sderot home
for 70 years, whose home is next to the
police station which was overtaken by
terrorists and later destroyed.
This precious couple welcomed us
into their home with open arms. They
shared with us their memories of a
time when they frequently crossed into
Gaza for work, shopping, and other
daily activities, and their friendships
with Arabs. They spoke of how
tensions with their Arab neighbours
had steadily worsened.
While they’re deeply grateful to be
back in their own home, and although
they don’t want to leave, they struggle
to imagine how they can continue
living surrounded by so many triggers
and reminders of the massacre.
They showed us the places where
unimaginable horrors had unfolded,
including where the husband had
bravely filmed the terrorists. They also
brought us to the newly established
memorial, a poignant tribute to the
lives lost.
Afterwards we enjoyed a delicious
lunch they’d lovingly prepared for
us. Even as we sat around their table,
our sweet fellowship was rudely
interrupted by a couple of explosions
overhead, still a frequent occurrence in
this part of the world, a stark reminder
that this conflict is far from over.
After lunch, the husband brought out
his guitar and drum, and we played
and sang together in both Hebrew
and English. Where my broken
Hebrew fell short, the music touched
their hearts in a special way and they
remarked that music and singing really
helps them forget about the trauma, if
only briefly.
This is exactly why we came to Israel
- to bring encouragement and hope
to terror survivors like this precious
couple. It was both a privilege and a
joy to spend time with them, to listen
to their stories, to honour and validate
their pain, and to let them know that
they are not alone.
Paula O’Keefe, Project Supervisor
6 ENHANCE • 1 st Quarter 2025

Communities Under Attack
Responding with relief funds
“David left the things in charge of the keeper of the baggage and ran to the ranks and went and
greeted his brothers…” (1 Samuel 17:22)
When I arrived in Israel, it happened
that my suitcases had not arrived - a
real frustration. After a few days,
El-Al sent it to our address. The next
morning in my devotion time, I came
to the story of David and Goliath. As
I got to verse above, my heart started
beating. This was a confirmation from
God. In other translations it writes,
“David went to his brothers and asked if
they were well?” (1 Samuel 17:22). That
is what we are called to do, to assist
Israel and ask how they are and how
we can help them.
Last month we visited the people from
Kibbutz Be’eri, those who had received
electrical appliances from us. It was
an emotional meeting in which they
told their story and thanked us for
everything. They are traumatised.
We were able to encourage them, and
we continue to pray for them.
We were also able to help a family
from Metula. Because of the ceasefire,
people can go back to their homes
and these people had not been in their
home for a year. It was emotional and
we were allowed to help clean the
house and help them settle again.
Afterwards, they told me that we
gave them back their smiles and a
boost to pick up their lives again. In
the meantime, we have been able to
contact people from Kfar Aza, Zikim
and several other kibbutzim. We will
support several projects, currently
being worked out and planned.
Recently we were also able to visit a
gathering in Kiryat Shmona. In the
previous year a rocket fell right in
front of their new building. It was a
big miracle that no one was hurt as
they had all left the building, an hour
before the rocket fell. All the ceilings
and many walls were destroyed from
the impact. We are going to help them
with some repairs to their building.
We were able to organise a beautiful
concert for the elderly people of
Kibbutz Zikim. They had tears
in their eyes and felt loved by so
many Christians. We pray that God
continues to protect, and pray he will
give Israel time to breath and rest from
their enemies.
Gert van Vliet, Project Supervisor
Open Gates
Providing practical aid for new immigrants
“This is what the Lord says, he who appoints the sun to shine by day, who decrees the moon
and stars to shine by night, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar— the Lord Almighty
is his name: “Only if these decrees vanish from my sight,” declares the Lord, “will Israel ever
cease being a nation before me.” (Jeremiah. 31:35-36)
I read these two verses from the book
of Jeremiah to new immigrants so
that they are not afraid that someone
can take away their new land: their
new country. These verses especially
concern those who are from Russia and
Ukraine. Women shed tears and men
smile and rejoice, then they want to
hug me, and they are very grateful for
this Bible verse.
December is the month, when
prophecy about Spanish–speaking
Jews beginning to return home to Israel
is fulfilled.
‘Open Gates’ was visited by several
people from Argentina and Brazil
and these immigrants told us that
they are just a few of their number
and that many more are busy settling
into their new homes and will visit
us later. These new immigrants were
pleasantly surprised that we have the
Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) in Spanish and
Portuguese, and they gladly accept
copies.
There was also a Jew immigrating from
France for the first time this year. We
count this as a blessing for them to visit
us.
‘Open Gates’ helped a young family,
new immigrants, with furniture
including a bed and TV stand and we
also gave a chair and hanger to another
family.
Everyone expresses surprise that we
Christians care about Israelis, support
Israel, and we do this as followers
of Jesus, because what is dear to our
Saviour is dear to us. Everyone is
grateful for much-needed gifts that we
offer, and a few women cried with joy
that someone truly loves them.
Open Gates visited seventy-five new
immigrants before Christmas, together
with some of their friends.
Lyailya Telgarina, Project Supervisor
1 at Quarter 2025 • ENHANCE 7

Report
A momentous year for the Middle East
By Robin Lane
January 2024 began with
131 Israelis still being held
hostage in Gaza and Hamas
welcoming the new year by
launching a barrage of rockets
at Israel.
There was a gradual shift in Israeli
military operations in the Gaza Strip,
marking the start of phase 3 in the
war. The Israel Defence Forces (IDF)
said they were in control of Northern
and Central Gaza, but large-scale
actions and intense fighting were still
underway in Southern Gaza, focused
on the city of Khan Younis.
Hostage release and ceasefire
negotiations continued throughout
the year, featuring much optimism
from US officials and repeated
deceptions by Hamas. One major
deception occurred when the IDF
was about to start its move into
the southern city of Rafah. Hamas
suddenly announced acceptance
of a ceasefire proposal, and that
news swept rapidly around the
world, only for Israel to explain
it was not true, and report on 6th
May that they had taken control of
the Rafah crossing – in defiance of
enormous pressure from the Biden
administration.
During the course of the year, only
7 hostages were rescued alive (in
3 different missions) and 24 were
retrieved dead – 3 of whom died in
a tragic case of mistaken identity
by IDF soldiers. 100 were still held
captive at the end of year, at least 36
of whom were known to be dead.
8 ENHANCE • 1 st Quarter 2025
For months the war appeared to
simply grind on, and by the 7 th
October, the one-year mark, Hamas
had fired more than 13,000 rockets
and missiles at Israel from the south,
while Hezbollah had fired more than
12,000 from the north. But Israel’s
air defences performed well overall,
limiting the number of casualties,
and Israel’s offensive operations
steadily reduced the terrorists’
fighting capabilities.
A major breakthrough started to
develop in September, with Israel’s
astonishing ‘pager’ attack against
Hezbollah, followed by a ‘walkie
talkie’ attack one day later. Those
attacks wounded thousands of
Hezbollah members and crippled
their communications. Just 10
days later the Israelis conducted
a huge bombing strike on
Hassan Nasrallah’s underground
headquarters and killed the
Hezbollah leader along with as many
as 20 other senior members of the
group.
This paved the way for the IDF
to mount a substantial military
operation in southern Lebanon,
pushing Hezbollah north of the
Litani River. It was so successful
that Hezbollah agreed to a ceasefire
which came into effect at 4am on
Wednesday 27 th November, leaving
Hamas with little support other than
long-distance missile fire from the
Houthis in Yemen.
Coinciding with Israel’s move into
southern Lebanon, the Iranians
launched their second direct missile
attack on Israel in the early hours of
Tuesday 1 st October. The first attack
in April included slow-flying drones
as well as missiles and so it was
easy to defend. This second attack
involved around 180 ballistic missiles
which only take about 15 minutes
to cover the 1,200 miles between the
two countries. It seemed miraculous
that only 1 man was killed and that
there was little structural damage.
While all of that was going on,
Hamas suffered the loss of its
charismatic leader, Yahya Sinwar,
who was killed on Thursday 17 th
October in the course of IDF troops
battling a group of terrorists in the
city of Rafah.
That was followed by a surprisingly
convincing victory for Donald
Trump in the US Presidential
election on 5 th November. Trump
quickly started making strong
statements about the Middle East
– a prominent one being there
would be “hell to pay” unless the
hostages were released ahead of his
inauguration on 20 th January 2025.
While the hostages had not been
released by the end of 2024, it was
clear that many leaders in the Middle
East realised there was going to be a
major change in US policy in 2025.
Then came the biggest surprise. On
8 th December, the Assad regime in
Syria collapsed following a major
offensive by opposition forces led
by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).
The IDF responded with a 48-hour
bombing campaign that destroyed
between 70 and 80 percent of the
Assad regime’s strategic military
equipment and facilities. It also
moved into positions on Mount
Hermon and in the buffer zone on
the Syrian side of the border with
Israel.
Many other important issues arose
during the year, with controversies
raging over the casualty figures
from Gaza, the humanitarian crisis
for civilians, Hamas’ theft of aid,
inadequate distribution of aid,
deaths of aid workers, fighting
within Gazan hospital facilities, and
international court cases. But overall,
the strategic situation in the Middle
East changed significantly. The
Iranian regime, sponsor of so many
terrorist organisations, witnessed
the unravelling of its strategy for
destroying Israel.

Guest Feature
Exile and Return
By Geoffrey Smith
Where would you look for the place to
which the king of England summoned
his Parliament many years ago? As a
southerner I assumed Parliament had always met
in London – at Westminster.
But then, after retirement as the former Director of CFI UK,
Margaret and I moved to the Midlands. There, I discovered that
the meeting of the Nobles and Bishops of Parliament in October
1290, coinciding with the start of 350 years of Jewish exile from
this country, was held in the King’s Houses just a couple of miles
from our new home in Forest Town, Nottingham.
The place was called Clipstone Regis by one of the king’s
chroniclers those centuries ago. It became the parish of Kings
Clipstone by Parliamentary Order in 2011 with a village population
of just 311.
Appropriately, it was another meeting only fifty miles east of
here at Sempringham in Lincolnshire in 1629 that marked the
beginning of the movement that led to England’s role in the return
of Jewish people both to England and to Israel.
Why in July 1290 had the King in Council ordered the departure
of all Jews from England before All Souls Day (1 st November) and
why did he convene Parliament to meet in late October that year?
The first settled community of Jews in England had come from
French Jewry with the Norman invasion in 1066. It was not long
before the rise of antisemitism in this land and the death of a
young boy at Norwich in 1144 with accusations that the Jews had
tortured and killed him to drink his blood at Passover. So began
the infamous blood libel that continues even to this century and
has resulted in the death of thousands of Jews the world over in
the centuries between.
In 1274 the young Edward I (nicknamed Longshanks because of his
height) returned from a failed Crusade to the Holy Land with his
wife Eleanor to be enthroned in the magnificent new church built
by his father Henry III at Westminster. It is recorded that he took
off his crown and solemnly vowed he would not wear it again until
he had recovered all the territories lost by his predecessors. This
meant wars in Wales, Ireland, Scotland and France all of which
cost a lot of money.
As a result of King John’s
assent to Magna Carta in
1215, Edward was restricted
in the money he could
raise without the consent
of Bishops and Nobles. So,
when he was invited to lead
another Crusade, he knew
he would have a problem
in securing the great sums
required to finance a
venture close to his heart.
There was only one popular
cause that would unite their
support – the expulsion of
the Jews from all England.
Hence the edict of expulsion
which went out from the
Edward I, ‘Longshanks’
King John's Palace ruins, King's Clipstone, Nottinghamshire
King in Council on 18 th July 1290 requiring all Jews to be gone by 1 st
November. At Clipstone Regis in October that year parliament duly
rewarded the king by raising the biggest taxation of any medieval
parliament in this country.
In 1621 Henry Finch, a member of Parliament, jurist and Hebrew
scholar published his major work “The World’s Great Restoration”
in which he invited the Jews to reassert their claim to the Promised
Land.
Twenty years later two British Baptists petitioned parliament that
the expulsion of the Jews from England be revoked and that “this
nation of England, with the inhabitants of the Netherlands shall
be the first and readiest to transport Israel’s sons and daughters
in their ships to the land promised to their forefathers, Abraham,
Isaac and Jacob, for an everlasting inheritance.” The great return,
promised by the prophets, was beginning.
When Margaret and I returned to England from Jerusalem in 1993
I received a letter from a prayer supporter in Bury St Edmunds,
Suffolk. She asked if I would look into the accusation of ritual
murder there in 1181 that led to the expulsion of the Jews from the
town.
That question began my search for the roots of Christian
antisemitism in this country and the expulsion of the Jews in
1290. To begin, there were memorable visits to Bury St Edmunds
in 1994/5. There was no real agenda for that meeting, but I
introduced it by outlining what had happened in 1181. Following
a talk from the Scriptures about true repentance, spontaneously,
about a dozen Christian leaders came forward to kneel and
confess wrong attitudes towards the Jews.
Afterwards, the prayer supporter said to me “The Lord has begun
here today something that will spread across the land and reach
the Queen.” She was right. It did.
In the 1940s a movement of repentance in Germany had begun
with Basilea Schlink recognising the evils of Nazism and the way
the church had contributed to that. In the 1990s this led Sister
Basilea’s successors to call for confession by Christians of the sins
of antisemitism before the millennium was out. It was a call taken
up by Christians in many lands from Australia to the UK, where
the momentum from Bury St Edmunds reached every town and
city that had expelled the Jews, and the leaders of CFI UK brought
together seven charities supporting Israel to launch a joint petition
in Parliament in 1999 that reached Queen Elizabeth II.
Now, 25 years after that ceremony in the Moses Room of
Parliament where I handed the petition to the Lord Lieutenant of
London to give to Her Majesty the Queen, I was back to my new
home near the place that story had begun in Clipstone Regis over
700 years ago.
It is right that we now commemorate Holocaust Memorial
Day each year, but I sometimes wonder if the choice of date
to coincide with the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz
doesn’t too conveniently place us on the side of the angels, when
it was the expulsion of Jews from England in November 1290 that
provided the precedent for their expulsion from France, Spain and
Portugal in later years.
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1 at Quarter 2025 • ENHANCE 9

Remembrance
Holocaust Memorial Day
Julia Soakell
For many years CFI UK
staff, links, trustees and
supporters have felt led to
support and in some instances
host Holocaust Memorial Days
events.
These happen in civic settings,
churches, schools and libraries.
Thousands of people have
attended, prayed and come to
a better understanding of the
Holocaust. They have realised the
importance of education about it,
the cost to Jewish communities,
and joined in the heart
cry ‘Never Again!’ But on
7th October 2023, with the
massacres carried out by
Hamas in southern Israel,
it did happen again.
Our staff, links and volunteers have
brought so much dignity, respect
and compassion to those events,
and to the hearts of those people
listening. But now our narrative
must be different – our words must
be as wise and as discerning as
ever. We must acknowledge that
our memorials haven’t stopped the
terror and the evil of antisemitism
across the globe. Remembrance
and solidarity are both needed,
as last year we saw many Jews
choosing to hide their symbols of
faith.
Antisemitism
The surge of antisemitism in our
nation has horrified many of
us. Some have challenged the
government to do more to support
the Jews in the UK. We hope
Jews, Christians and those with no
faith see the importance of events
marking Holocaust Memorial
Day and decide to attend. Each
event’s narrative must be more age
appropriate, balanced and effective.
These dignified expressions happen
because of the support given in
prayer. This year we have seen
CFI UK events in the Isle of Wight,
Brentwood and Stoke, as well
as exhibitions in the Borders of
Scotland and Saltburn.
We also hosted an online Holocaust
Memorial Day event on Zoom at
the end of January, where readings
were given by various volunteers
and staff, with prayer updates
Our support for Israel and
the Jews is still needed
shared from the CFI Jerusalem
staff on issues needing healing and
wholeness.
Each person who attended or
worked on events to commemorate
the Shoah, highlights the words of
Professor Yehuda Bauer, 1926-2024,
“You shall not be a victim, you shall
not be a perpetrator, but above all,
you shall not be a bystander.”
Practical help provided
At CFI Jerusalem, staff have been
able to assist the communities
and individuals who survived the
massacres. Contributions to the
Emergency Fund from around
the world, including many from
the UK, are helping in practical
ways. Those include befriending,
replacing items destroyed in the
attacks, seeking to heal the wounds,
addressing the grief and trauma
resulting from those terrible attacks
and others that have occurred since.
These things add extra poignancy
to situation updates and the
encouragement to pray for those
still struggling daily in Israel.
Attacks continue
Our hearts break as the conflict
continues without the release of
the hostages and terrorist attacks
continue. In late December 2024,
it was so sad to hear of the murder
of elderly and innocent Ludmita
Lipovsky. She was stabbed to
death by a terrorist outside her
assisted living home, whilst waiting
for her daughter and looking
forward to the Sabbath and
the Hanukkah festivities.
Yaki Lopez, a diplomat
in the Ministry of Israel,
said Ms Lipovsky had
been ‘brutally butchered’
while walking on the street. He
said, ‘She was someone’s mother,
grandmother, friend. A life stolen
in a despicable act of hatred.
Israel mourns her loss and stands
united against terror. Evil like this
will never break us.’ [Daily Mail
28/12/24].
None of us can imagine what
she and her fellow sufferers
experienced in the years before
and during World War Two,
when Nazi persecution resulted
in Concentration Camps and the
extermination of six million Jews.
But now, for such elderly people
to live through the conflict with
Hamas and the captivity of the
hostages, must be so hard. The
murder of this lady simply proves
that evil is still thriving, and our
support for Israel and the Jews
must continue.
“Never again”
10 ENHANCE • 1 st Quarter 2025

Thanksgiving & Tribute
Peter Bladon
“Well done my good and faithful servant”
It was with deep sadness that we learnt that one
of our long-term supporters, Peter Bladon from
Gateshead, passed away over the Christmas period.
CFI UK’s David Soakell writes, “I was really shocked to learn that
my faithful brother in the Lord and wonderful friend, Peter
Bladon, who had taught me so much over the past 30
years, had died. Peter was not only a long-standing
supporter of Christian Friends of Israel, but he was
also my ‘right hand man’ for many years. Along
with his support and work with the Beit Yeshua
fellowship and conferences, Peter often led
meetings for me in Gateshead and Sunderland.
Indeed, both Peter and I led over fifteen ‘live’
Kesher Courses together during the early years of
my involvement with CFI. Peter always covered
the Hebrew Word study, while I presented the
main sessions and led the worship.”
At one of these 10-week courses, the church of
Harrowgate Hill Christian Fellowship in Stockton
recorded the full ten-weeks on CD. In session one,
Peter shared part of his testimony and stated, “I
believe it was a stroke of inspiration from the Holy Spirit
when Roy Thurley (former CFI UK Director) devised this
Kesher course. When I first came to faith in the Lord Yeshua (Jesus),
it was as an atheist. My parents brought me up without any religion
– a classic fallacy of ‘let them decide for themselves when they are
old enough’ – which is virtually condemning you to atheism. But
the Lord got hold of me in my mid-thirties, praise his Name. I was
part of what we know today as the Charismatic Renewal and praise
God, because it taught me the importance of the Holy Spirit, and the
importance of the gifts of the Spirit. For years I was in this charismatic
group, however they were into Replacement Theology, which at the
time I just didn’t realise. They taught, ‘Where you see Israel in the
Bible, now read the church’, and I swallowed it. So, for 20 years
as a Jew I believed that God had finished with Israel.”
Peter continued to state that from there he moved
fellowship and was introduced to many people,
mainly through Prayer For Israel, but primarily to
Arnold Fruchtenbaum, a Bible teacher. And it was
his actual teaching on Matthew where Jesus says,
“You will not see me again until you say baruch
haba b’shem Adonai…” (Matthew 23:39), that
changed Peter’s direction. Peter states, “That
was absolutely mind blowing to me… and that’s
how I, as a Jew, came to be teaching this Christian
‘Kesher’ course.”
His passing was all very sudden. He died on
Monday 23 rd December 2024 at 3:30 am at the
age of 86 and was buried at the Hazlerigg Jewish
Cemetery less than 24 hours later due to Jewish
tradition. Please do remember Peter’s wife Shelagh and
their family in your prayers.
There is a ‘thanksgiving’ service at 2pm Saturday 8 th February
2025 at Hillside Church (All Saints), Lobley Hill, Gateshead. Though
grief must take its place, we can rejoice in knowing Peter is with
Yeshua (Jesus). And though we miss our dear friend, there is comfort
in knowing he has heard the Master say, “Well done my good and
faithful servant” (Matthew 25:21 & 23).
CFI UK NATIONAL PRAYER CONFERENCE • MARCH 2025
God who keeps his
COVENANT
Tuesday 18 th – Thursday 20 th March 2025
Bible meditation
Prayer in groups
Now therefore, O our God, the great,
mighty and awesome God, who keeps his
covenant of love, do not let all this hardship
seem trifling in your eyes - the hardship that
has come upon us. Nehemiah 9:32
Learning from Nehemiah
King’s Park Conference Centre, Northampton NN3 6LL
Meal time
Refreshment break
Join us for our 2025 Prayer Conference, hosted by David and Julia Soakell.
Reception open from 3:00pm on the first afternoon Tuesday 18 th and the
programme will go through until lunchtime on the final day, concluding with a
meal together after the last session on Thursday 20 th .
We come to seek the God who keeps his ‘covenant of love’ through prayer and
study of the Scriptures at a time when Israel clearly needs her Christian friends
more than ever.
RESIDENTIAL GUESTS
The fee for the conference this year is £195 per person, to include full board overnight
accommodation (evening meal, breakfast and lunch x2 days).
DAY VISITORS
For those living within close proximity, there is a day visitor rate. Please request
brochure for more details.
– Registration closes on Friday 28 th February 2025 –
**** PLEASE BOOK NOW TO GUARANTEE YOUR PLACE ****
1 at Quarter 2025 • ENHANCE 11

Resources www.cfi.org.uk/shop.php
For resources call: 01323 410 810
Postal savings on multiple items
THE JEWS OF MEDIEVAL ENGLAND – JOHN SMITH
The history of the Jews from 1066 to their expulsion in 1290 reveals a shameful episode in the established
Church and nation which, left a deep scar on Jewish history. This booklet examines the tragedy and the
extent it has left a mark upon our attitudes to the Jewish people.
Out of the medieval demonisation of the Jews of England came a host of hideous caricatures which have
stayed with us down the centuries, which many English Christians would abhor. Yet we would be foolish to
deny that somewhere in our subconscious we have inherited disdain for the Jewish people. In its milder form,
it is barely recognisable, except, perhaps, when the subject of the State of Israel comes up in conversation.
In its stronger manifestation, however, it bares itself as an openly aggressive form of antisemitism.
BT7 // 17 PAGES // £3.50 (INCL. UK P&P)
THE ROAD TO THE HOLOCAUST – DEREK WHITE
A historical overview of the Church’s hostile attitude to the Jewish people, and how it contributed to the
Nazi ‘Final Solution’. Christians must be aware of this sad history and therefore relate to Jewish people in a
sensitive and understanding way.
The thesis of this booklet, which is supported by many others, is that these attitudes, terrible in themselves,
also prepared the ground for the Nazi holocaust, which occasioned the death in Europe of some six million
Jewish men, women and children, in appalling circumstances.
BT16 // 26 PAGES // £4.00 (INCL. UK P&P)
ISRAEL’S KINGS AND PROPHETS – ROSE PUBLISHING – PAMPHLET
A chronology of Israel’s Kings and Prophets. This pamphlet covers decades of Israel’s history at a glance with
side-by-side chapter overviews and charts.
The easy-to-read chronology takes you through the books of 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, and 1 and 2
Chronicles, chapter by chapter.
BT135 // 7 DOUBLE-SIDED PANELS // £5.50 (INCL. UK P&P)
UK Events CFI UK will exhibit at the following live events in 2025
ELIM LEADERS SUMMIT
13-15 May 2025
Harrogate Convention Centre
Sunday 20 - Thursday 24 July 2025
Gordon Castle Estate Fochabers Village
Aberdeenshire, Scotland, IV32 7PQ
22 – 25 AUG 2025
LINCOLNSHIRE SHOWGROUND
Grange-de-Lings,
Lincoln, LN2 2NA
CRE 25: 15-16 Oct 2025
Sandown Park, Esher, Surrey
Contact: CFI Communications, PO Box 2687, Eastbourne, BN22 7LZ
Tel: 01323 410810 Email: info@cfi.org.uk Web: www.cfi.org.uk
@christianfriendsofisrael_uk
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