A man called Amnon recently put this question to our missionary Igal Vender in Tel Aviv. A Jewish immigrant from Ukraine to Israel, Amnon’s addiction to heroin had consumed him. When Igal met him, he was living on the streets.
Where many people would have walked by Amnon without a thought, Igal stopped to talk to him about how Jesus loves him…
Homelessness or drug addiction aren’t the first things that come to mind when most people visit or think of Israel. But beneath the surface of a bustling, cosmopolitan city like Tel Aviv, are thousands of Jewish people living desperate lives.
Many on the streets have fled to Israel from other countries such as Russia or Ukraine, seeking a better life. Sadly, things have not turned out well for them and drugs and alcohol are constant temptations. This is something Igal understands first-hand, which is why the Lord is so able to use him in offering people a way out.
Your support will help Igal Vender continue to reach out to desperate Jewish people in Israel
As a child, Igal moved to Israel with his family from Ukraine. Soon after arriving, his problems began. He recalls: 'As a child, I was persecuted in Ukraine for being Jewish and when I arrived with my family in Israel I was persecuted for speaking Russian!'
Before long he was getting in trouble: stealing, fighting, and running drugs and guns for local gangsters. His life of crime continued and he became addicted to hard drugs.
Then, in 2004, Igal bumped into an old friend from his criminal past. His friend now had a new life in Jesus and told him this was available to him too. Igal questioned why Jesus would care about 'a Jewish junkie who was in prison' - the same kind of question Amnon would ask him years later.
In 2006, Igal was admitted into the rehabilitation centre run by the church his friend was now attending. After two months, he was off drugs and had begun following Jesus. Praise God that, 16 years later, Igal is still serving other addicts in the rehab centre where he came to know Jesus himself.
When Igal first met Amnon, the young Jewish immigrant was living on the streets and addicted to heroin. He had arrived from Ukraine fifteen years before and, for much of that time, worked repairing computers. However, after losing his job during the pandemic, things quickly spiralled out of control. Amnon ended up homeless on the streets, seeking solace from drugs and getting in trouble with the police.
When Igal shared the gospel with him, Amnon asked, ‘How can Jesus love a Jewish drug addict?’ But he eventually accepted Igal's invitation to the rehabilitation centre. Once there he went through a difficult period of withdrawal from the drugs, after which he began taking part in daily Bible studies.
Later, after hearing Igal preach a sermon at church, Amnon approached him saying he had come to realise that God had cared for him and watched over him during the hardest period of his life. Praise God, he then told Igal that he wanted to begin following Jesus! They prayed together right there in the church as Amnon professed faith in the Saviour.
Your gift will ensure that more desperate Jewish people are given the opportunity to hear about Jesus at this critical time
