SPRINGFIELD, PA — “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” one of Jesus’ disciples asked, according to the Gospel of John.

Today, an avalanche of “good” — in the form of humanitarian aid — is coming out of Nazareth, the historic Israeli city where, the Bible says, Jesus grew up as a boy.

What makes this humanitarian aid effort truly extraordinary is that it’s being led by an Israeli Arab pastor and his congregation, determined to help not only needy Arab families, but also Jewish families struggling to put food on the table.

Since Bible times, there’s been animosity and distrust between Arabs and Jews in the Middle East — a reality that Saleem Shalash, pastor of Home of Jesus the King Church in Nazareth, knows only too well from firsthand experience.

“It’s not easy,” said the father-of-two who speaks both Hebrew and Arabic. “As Israeli Arab Christians, we’re in the middle, like a piece of cheese between two slices of bread.”

But that does not stop Pastor Shalash and his congregation delivering aid packages to more than 150 families every month, including Arabs, Jews, Muslims and Christians. They run the largest Israeli-Arab aid center in Israel, supported by Joseph Project International (JPI, www.josephproject.org), the largest importer of humanitarian aid into Israel.

“The good news is that this piece of cheese gives the taste to the bread,” Pastor Shalash said. “God put us here in this special place, Nazareth, to serve all people and be peacemakers.”

Watch a video clip of Pastor Shalash.

Nazareth: Jesus’ Boyhood Home

Nazareth, located in northern Israel about 90 miles from Jerusalem, is best known for being Jesus’ boyhood home where his father, Joseph, ran a carpentry shop, and Jesus studied at the local synagogue. Today, it’s known as the “Arab capital of Israel” and has a population of about 88,000, mostly Muslims.

Pastor Shalash says he grew up hating Israel because of the way he perceived Arabs were marginalized. But when he became a follower of Yeshua (the Hebrew name for Jesus) all that changed.

Jewish families, facing hardships because of the war’s impact on Israel’s economy, are often shocked to find an Arab pastor on their doorstep with an armful of free groceries and other items.

“Sometimes, you need to be the ‘black sheep,'” Pastor Shalash said. “An 80-year-old Jewish woman, a Holocaust survivor, looked at me and said, ‘Are you Arab?’ I said, ‘Yes, Ma’am.’ She said, ‘How come an Arab brings food to a Jew?’

“She was shocked to learn that Christians would bless the nation and the Jewish people.”

Building Bridges

Immediately after the Oct. 7 terror attack last year — the deadliest assault on Israel since the Holocaust — “we feared all the bridges we had built (between Arabs and Jews) had been destroyed,” Pastor Shalash said.

But then he saw “God’s plan” beginning to unfold — more opportunities to “bless Israel” through humanitarian aid, including helping families fleeing deadly Hezbollah rocket attacks in the north of the country.

Pastor Shalash’s church is one of many Israel-based organizations receiving imported aid supplies from Joseph Project International, operating out of its 16,000 square foot warehouse in central Israel.

He’s also one of several Israeli Arab pastors serving families from all ethnic and religious backgrounds across the nation.

The number of Messianic believers in Israel — those who follow Yeshua (Jesus) — is growing, currently estimated to be around 40,000 among a total population of more than 9.3 million. Israel’s population is roughly the same as that of New York City and Dallas combined.

Since last October, Joseph Project International’s established network has distributed nearly $22 million worth of aid to families across Israel, including food, clothing, medical supplies and hygiene items.

The organization continues to help Pastor Shalash’s church and others build bridges between the Israeli Arab and Jewish communities, as well as help minorities such as the Druze community.

“Now is the time to bring hope and healing to the nation of Israel by sharing with them the compassionate, loving heart of the God of Israel and the Messiah of Israel through countless acts of kindness,” said Joel Chernoff, founder and executive board chairman of Joseph Project International, named after the biblical patriarch, Joseph, who prepared for a famine in ancient Egypt thus avoiding a humanitarian catastrophe.

MEDIA INTERVIEWS: To arrange a video or phone interview with Pastor Saleem Shalash in Israel or Joseph Project International’s Joel Chernoff in the U.S., contact: Gregg Wooding, 972-567-7660, gwooding@inchristcommunications.com.

Operating across Israel, Joseph Project International is the number one importer of humanitarian aid in Israel, annually serving hundreds of thousands of needy Israelis — both Jews and Arabs.

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