Mrs. Yael Eckstein is the 35-year-old mother of four who is the President of one of Israel’s largest philanthropic organizations, The International Fellowship of Christians and Jews. After serving in various senior capacities for a decade, Mrs. Eckstein took over the organization, founded by her father, the famous Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein upon his sudden passing just over a year ago. Yael now has the distinction of being one of the very few women in the world leading a religious non-for-profit and fewer still lead an organization with an annual budget exceeding one hundred million dollars.
Interestingly, this Jewish-led organization is supported almost entirely by evangelical Christians who support Jewish causes, in particular by caring for elderly Jews in Israel and in the former Soviet Union, by protecting Jewish communities from anti-Semitism and terrorism, and by facilitating the immigration of threatened Jewish communities around the world to Israel. In the wake of COVID-19, The Fellowship established a $5 million emergency fund to immediately provide assistance to nearly 30,000 homebound Jews, including Holocaust survivors.
Ultimately, Yael says hers is a “bridge building organization” which has strengthened the friendship between Christians and Jews. Since Passover starts on April 8 this year, we asked her to address a simple question, “At a time when many Christians are having their own Passover Seders, can you help Christians better understand Passover from a Jewish perspective?”
Read more at What Jews wish Christians knew about Passover.
