Julia Fisher talks to Israel Pochtar – Recently I visited Ashdod, the port city south of Tel Aviv and north of Gaza, on the shores of the eastern Mediterranean. This ancient Biblical city is today a vibrant modern city and home to 250,000 Jewish people many of whom have come from all over the world to live in Israel. I was there to meet Israel Pochtar, pastor of a congregation called Beit Hallel, a congregation he started with just a handful of people. Gradually, despite prolonged and severe persecution from some in the religious community, this congregation has thrived and grown and now 200 adults and 100 children meet each week. In this final programme with Israel Pochtar, I asked him to describe the bigger picture of what God is doing in Israel and the wider Middle East.
Our aim is to build bridges… To build bridges of understanding and support, in a spirit of reconciliation, between believers (both Jewish and Arab) in the Holy Land (Israel and the Palestinian Areas) and Christians worldwide.
