Source: Joseph Project International, November 13, 2024
“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 [from] 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, 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.”
Read the full story and watch a short video clip from Pastor Shalash.