For those living in Israel, the last few years have been a time of strife, confusion, and uncertainty. They have been trying to find some semblance of stability and strength in the midst of a years-long conflict that’s straining their lives physically, emotionally, economically, and spiritually. When life falls apart, resilience is key.
It’s precisely this need that President and Global CEO Yael Eckstein and the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews (IFCJ) are working to address. Since taking over leadership of IFCJ from its founder, Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein, Yael Eckstein has led the organization in its mission to provide critical support to Israeli citizens and Jews worldwide. The interfaith charity raises over $270 million annually from its supporters and leverages those resources toward poverty assistance in Israel, promoting aliyah for Jews worldwide, and delivering humanitarian aid wherever necessary.
Given the ongoing conflict Israeli citizens are living through, Yael Eckstein and IFCJ are doing what they can to assist, both financially and spiritually. While IFCJ’s efforts feed, clothe, and care for 2 million people (on average) annually, and fully 76% of every donation is dedicated to humanitarian aid, one thing remains prevalent: widespread exhaustion, confusion, and uncertainty. Like Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein before her and many others in trying times, Yael Eckstein and IFCJ encourage people to look to their faith for answers about what to do when everything is falling apart.
The State Of Things
For many Israeli citizens, life has all but fallen apart. Poverty is widespread and deeply rooted across Israel, with over 3 million Israeli citizens living in poverty conditions according to Latet, an Israeli nonprofit. Israeli citizens receiving support services report food security rates as high as 80%, 84% face energy shortages, and a further 70% cannot afford to repair severe defects in their homes. Inflation, high interest rates, stagnant wages, and other factors have reduced the buying power and, consequently, the quality of life for many Israeli citizens. Food prices have risen 12% year over year, according to the Jerusalem Post.
Housing, in particular, is a growing concern, as reported in a study in the Israel Journal of Health Policy Research. Chronic underinvestment in affordable, quality housing is leading to adverse health outcomes for Israeli citizens due to a lack of insulation, ventilation, and sanitation. At the same time, housing prices have surged for new housing and existing rentals. More than 30% of Israelis spend more than one-third of their income on housing, and the poorest pay more than half. Inequalities in shelter access and decaying public housing resources are also proving detrimental, especially for Bedoin and ultra-Orthodox communities.
Additionally, the ongoing regional conflicts and war add a layer of hardship, both economic and emotional. The cost of the war has risen to as much as one billion NIS per day, according to the Israeli Ministry of Finance. Hundreds of billions of shekels have already been spent on regional conflicts, with no signs of slowing down. Aside from these economic pressures, the mental and emotional toll of the war is itself devastating, especially when sustained over multiple years back-to-back. Hundreds of thousands of Israelis have been forced from their homes.
IFCJ reported in a July 2025 article about the toll frequent missile attacks take on the citizenry. One citizen shared her experience, saying, “The explosion was the scariest moment of my life. The intensity of the noise is indescribable. The whole house shook, and all the windows shattered. I think God protected me. Everything was full of ruins.”
Resilience Through Faith
“They will lay siege to all the cities throughout your land until the high fortified walls in which you trust fall. They will besiege all the cities throughout the land the Lord your God has given you.” – Deuteronomy 28:52
Yael Eckstein, on her podcast “Nourish Your Biblical Roots,” recently discussed this verse concerning the ongoing crises and the pervasive aura of exhaustion and despair that many Jews around the world, especially in Israel, have been feeling in recent months. No matter how strong an individual’s faith, many people cannot look to the future with anything other than trepidation. How are people expected to be and remain resilient through such hardship? Yael Eckstein does what many have done through history: she looks to scripture and the teachings for answers.
“There is a guided principle in the Jewish approach to Bible study which says that no words in the Bible are extra,” Eckstein says. “Each word, each phrase, has something to teach us.”
This verse from Deuteronomy, as Eckstein explains, isn’t about the literal collapse of a physical wall; like many verses in scripture, it is an illustrative lesson with deeper meaning. This verse is instead about the certainty of the world tearing down the physical things in which people put their faith, and that by shifting their faith from those physical walls to God Himself, a stronger, more resilient connection can be forged—one that has sustained people through hardships throughout history. Israel itself presents this truth in the motto it’s used since the Yom Kippur War, where it used the words of Psalm 115: “Israel trusts in God. He is their help and shield.”
“Sometimes in our lives, the walls that we build to protect us, the things that we put our trust in, simply fall apart,” Yael Eckstein says. “Situations like these challenge us to live our faith, to truly trust in God, in our thoughts, and in our actions. In the book of Jeremiah, Chapter 17, the Prophet said, ‘Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who draws strength from mere flesh, but Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in Him.’ Those who trust in man or anything physical are bound to be let down at some point, but those who trust in God will always be secure.”
Acting In Accordance With Belief
Yael Eckstein’s words give guidance and support to those who are weary and fearful of a world that feels so dangerous, but words are far from all she offers. Through the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, she and hundreds of thousands of donors can bring resources to bear and make a meaningful difference in people’s lives. IFCJ programs provide food to the hungry, clothing to the needy, and shelter to those in need, in addition to a range of other aid programs.
The Fellowship’s poverty, security, and aliyah assistance programs help over 2 million people every year through basic supply drops, food packages and vouchers, soup kitchens, blankets, medicines, and even heating to disadvantaged citizens. Meals on Wheels programs and packages are designed to help elderly recipients monthly, as well as for holidays. IFCJ also provides professional training and scholarship opportunities to help individuals gain a better foothold in a challenging job market, as well as school supplies to students. Given the impact of the war, IFCJ resources have also been allocated toward relocation assistance, temporary shelters, bomb shelters, emergency kits, and other essential services. For those who are most in need of mental health support services, counseling is also available.