Mission & Vision
A group of Jesus followers and Messianic Jewish believers with a heart for all Jewish people founded Love Your Jewish Neighbor. We believe God calls Christians to stand with Jewish people and communities facing antisemitism, offering help and support when it's needed most.
At Love Your Jewish Neighbor, we equip followers of Jesus and faith communities to speak out and actively combat antisemitism. Rooted in Jesus’ teachings, our mission is to put love into action and stand with our Jewish neighbors locally and worldwide. By embodying love and compassion, we aim to build bridges of understanding through education and storytelling.
We invite you to answer the call to love your Jewish neighbor.
Who Is My Neighbor?
A religious man came to Jesus asking which was the greatest commandment of all. Jesus replied that it is to love the Lord with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. Then, He announced the second greatest commandment – to love our neighbors as ourselves. The man asked, “And who is my neighbor?” (See Luke 10:25–37.)
It’s a good question, right? Jesus answered in a parable.
The Parable of the Good Samaritan
A man traveled the dangerous road from Jerusalem to Jericho. The mountainous route was winding and narrow, providing ample hiding places for robbers to ambush travelers and little defense for their victims. When thieves attacked him, they beat the man mercilessly and left him for dead.
Two well-respected and devout religious men came upon the battered man at different times. Each moved to the far side of the road, avoiding the man as they passed without stopping to help. Perhaps they were too busy? Perhaps they didn't wish to entangle or dirty themselves with the messiness of the man’s situation? Or perhaps, they assumed that the man deserved what had befallen him?
Then came a third man, a Samaritan, someone considered an outsider to the Jewish community. No one would have expected a Samaritan – a member of a different culture, which was generally antagonistic to the Jewish people – to show compassion or kindness. But the man from Samaria moved toward the assaulted man. He knelt next to him, cared
for his wounds, bandaged him, and set him upon his own animal, bringing him to an inn. He had to continue his journey but gave the innkeeper a generous amount of money to take care of the injured man until he could return to settle any remaining balance.
The Samaritan man gave extravagantly from his own heart and from his own resources until he was sure that this man would make it through his unexpected season of distress.
Jesus asked, “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to him who fell into the hands of the robbers?”
“The one who had mercy on him,” said the religious man.
Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”
Unneighborly “Christians” of the Past
Unfortunately, down through the millennia, the source of much of the worldwide Jewish community’s suffering of persecution and antisemitism has originated from Christians, or at least those claiming to be Christians.
From blaming the entire Jewish population for Jesus’ death to forcing Jewish people to convert to Christianity or suffer violence, execution or expulsion from their homes and countries, the Christian community has garnered an antagonistic reputation toward Jewish people. Like the Jewish and Samaritan people of ancient Judea, Judaism and Christianity have a lamentable history, that many modern-day followers of Jesus may be unaware of.
The Church Was Silent
Leading up to WWII in Nazi Germany, insults, jokes and stereotypes sowed the seeds of boycotts, restrictions, and the removal of rights. Confiscation of property and expulsion from neighborhoods gave rise to arrests, violence and, ultimately, the concentration camps where six million Jewish people were murdered. Kristallnacht, the infamous 1938 night of organized attacks against Jewish people across Germany, was a crucial bellwether in the Holocaust.
Kristallnacht signaled to Hitler that neighbors of the Jewish people would stand back and let the violent injustices occur – or even participate in them. For the most part, non-Jewish citizens, including followers of Jesus, kept silent, paving the way for Hitler to proceed with his horrific “Final Solution” to eradicate what he called “the Jewish problem.”
With this troubled history, like with the Samaritans and the Jews, it is not hard to see why the Jewish community might never think to turn to followers of Jesus in moments of distress. In fact, they might expect only indifference, silence, or worse.
Who is Your Neighbor?
Jesus’ parable of the Good Samaritan reveals that our “neighbors” are not just the people who live next door or down the street. The Samaritan lived in another region and was an outsider to the Jewish community. He was the last one expected to show compassion toward a Jewish person. Yet, in Jesus’ parable, the Samaritan saw the injured man as his neighbor and loved him.
Through this parable, Jesus broadened the meaning of the word neighbor from a small geographical area close to home. We can no longer consider a neighbor exclusive to people who live near us, are of the same ethnicity as we are, or share our religion. Jesus told the story to show us that everyone is our neighbor, regardless of social, religious, or geographical boundaries. We are to show love and compassion – to be a neighbor – to everyone. Especially those living right alongside of us in harm's way.
Due to the history between them, Jewish people today might easily perceive that the Christian community is not on their side. You have the opportunity to change that perception. In recognizing this time of need within the threatened Jewish community, you can cross the road and surprise your Jewish neighbor with your compassion and love.
Why Love the Jewish People?
There are many hurting people in the world, many “neighbors” who need love and care. So, why this focus on loving our Jewish neighbor?
Right now, antisemitism has risen so rapidly and aggressively that stemming its momentum is vital to preventing it from raging out of control. Today, antisemitism is growing at a rate reminiscent of pre-war Germany, and hate groups are emboldened. They are seizing the opportunity to ramp up their antisemitic agendas with more open and aggressive acts against Jewish people.
As antisemitism’s darkness expands, we – each of us – must be part of pushing back its darkness. It’s time to intentionally answer God’s call to love our Jewish neighbor.