A group of believers who are concerned about Israel’s spiritual state are calling on Messianic leaders in Israel to join them for a day of prayer and repentance for the sin of abortion that has been ravaging the State of Israel since its founding and for unity among the Body of Messiah.
Abortion is legal here and is not even on the radar of political and moral discussion. In fact, a suggestion in the Knesset a few years ago to draw in religious parties to review the current abortion laws was met with widespread outrage and was quickly quashed.
“There are many issues and problems in Israel, but when we were cast out of our land (in biblical times), God said we were cast out because of the innocent blood we spilled,” Sandy Shoshani, director of Be’ad Chaim, told KNI.
Shoshani estimates that some 2 million babies have possibly been aborted since 1948.
“One and a half million children died in the Holocaust and we’ve aborted more than that,” Shoshani noted.
To give an idea of how readily acceptable abortion is, a study by the Central Bureau of Statistics in 2016 showed that the abortion committee approved 92 percent of abortion requests that year.
These facts are troubling to those who believe that the shedding of innocent blood can bring a curse on the land.
This prompted a cross section of Israeli leaders to pull together this national gathering in order to pray and repent of these sins, both modern and ancient. The organizers include Shachar Uhrick, Benjamin Berger, Reuven Berger, Tony Sperandeo, Shmuel and Chaya Birenbaum and Oded and Sandy Shoshani.
“Only the blood of Yeshua can reverse the curse of sin and death that child sacrifice and abortion have brought upon our Land,” the event organizers state. “Only Yeshua’s blood can fully atone and release the fullness of physical and spiritual LIFE and purity that He desires to release in and through Israel in this unprecedented season!”
Participants will gather on Oct. 2, just a week before the entire nation of Israel fasts on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. The event immediately follows Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, and is also a fasting day (the Fast of Gedaliah) in Jewish tradition. Organizers of the event called on participants to fast as well if they feel led to do so, “thereby including in the national fast for Jewish bloodshed and death in general, our specific fast and prayers for deaths through abortion.”
The location is also extremely significant: the event is going to take place in the Hinnom Valley where the Israelites sacrificed their children to Molech.
“The current issue of abortion in Israel reveals a significant root of sin and death which is hindering the fullness of Yeshua’s physical and spiritual life in His Holy Land and People today. From the time when Israel first sacrificed her children to Molech in the Hinnom Valley (2 Kings 23:10; see also Lev. 18:21; Lev. 20:2-5; Jer. 32:35), Israel has been guilty of this sin of child sacrifice, and the effects of this sin have welcomed a curse of sin and death in the Land and the earth,” the organizers said.
The purpose of the gathering is to publicly repent for the shedding of innocent blood through child sacrifice and abortion. Oded Shoshani, Sandy’s husband and pastor of King of Kings, said believers “can confess the sin and repent for our people.” Organizers hope that Israel will be awakened to “this sin, and to a future opportunity for the national repentance of Israel.” And that this will be the first step toward national repentance.
Shoshani noted that the Days of Awe – the time between the Feast of Trumpets and Yom Kippur – are pivotal and God requires personal and national introspection of all of us.
“It’s not just abortion we are praying about, it is also for the hearts of the people of Israel to pray for them this year,” Shoshani said.
“Abortion isn’t one issue, its the issue,” Shoshani said. “It’s a symptom of turning away from God. When you turn away from God you lose the value of life of a human being. Abortion, for me, is no less than idolatry. We are sacrificing a life for our own prosperity, our own convenience, etc.”
“There’s so much wrong with Israel, but if you love Israel then you better stop the shedding of innocent blood – that grieves God’s heart more than anything else,” she said.
The event will conclude with communion at Christ Church, located inside the Old City. If you are a leader in Israel and would like more information about the event or to RSVP, contact Shachar Uhrick at [email protected].
For those outside of Israel please join this time of prayer in spirit, seeking God’s mercy for Israel.