Israel (MNN) – Israel saw an increase in immigration last year from Western nations, including the United States, France, and the UK. There was, however, a sharp decrease in Jewish immigrants coming from Russia in 2025 following the surge prompted by the Ukraine war.

Pastor Kostia Tsivin with Beit Hallel Congregation says several new arrivals today are immigrating to escape rising antisemitism in the West. When they get to Israel, many come with very little.

(Photo courtesy of Beit Hallel Congregation)

“Of course, it’s a very difficult period of time because a lot of people left everything – houses, businesses, families,” says Tsivin.

“They need to begin from the very beginning, from zero…. It’s a different culture, it’s a different country, everything is different.”

Messianic believers at Beit Hallel Congregation are serving immigrants with food, clothing, and even bomb shelter supplies like mattresses and pillows.

Tsivin says, “We help to organize and manage bomb shelters so that they will be more ‘cozy’ – if we can use such a word for a bomb shelter – because sometimes we have three or four sirens during the night. Of course, you just sleep in the bomb shelter because you can’t go back and forth from your apartment to the bomb shelter. You just sleep there. So you need a lot of stuff there.”

Relief supplies distributed by Beit Hallel Congregation. (Photo courtesy of Beit Hallel Congregation)

Although immigrants in Israel face many new challenges, Tsivin says they’re also hearing Gospel hope.

“We have a lot of people, mothers with kids, and it’s difficult for them to go to a shop because you never know when the siren will be and where you will hide…. So we try to help and provide them with food and help with this,” he says.

“We just do whatever we can do right now…and of course, we encourage people. We pray for them. We encourage them with the Word of God.”

You can support Gospel ministry with Beit Hallel Congregation at beithallel-israel.org.

 

Header photo courtesy of Beit Hallel Congregation.