“There are only 7 million Israelis, and there have been at least 2 million abortions since 1948. We’re just killing ourselves.”
So says Sandy Shoshani, head of Be’ad Chaim (Pro-Life) in Israel. She is one of those dedicated workers who helps women both before the birth of their child and after.
Sandy offers an inside look at the particular challenges that face a pregnancy center in Israel. The article, “Faces of Zion” by Nicole Schiavi, is about Christianity in Israel and Sandy’s story is included.
Her story is below, as a teaser. Do click on the full story!
Faces of Zion
By Nicole Schiavi
http://www.charismamag.com/display.php?id=17050
Sandy Shoshani
Sandy Shoshani ticks off the staggering statistics: The number of publicly funded abortions is 20,000 annually, but when counting those financed through private insurance the figure rises to between 40,000 and 50,000—nearly one-third of Israel’s 140,000 births.
“There are only 7 million Israelis, and there have been at least 2 million abortions since 1948,” Shoshani says. “We’re just killing ourselves.”
Shoshani is the national director of Be’ad Chaim (“Pro-Life”), “), one of the few organizations in Israel fighting abortion. The procedure is not only legal until the end of pregnancy, it is socially and religiously acceptable and is not on anyone’s political agenda. “The rabbis say that a baby is not entirely recognized as a human being until the head appears,” Shoshani explains.
Be’ad Chaim, based in Jerusalem, educates people about the process and consequences of abortion and assists women who choose to keep their babies in meeting practical needs. The organization offers free pregnancy testing, counseling, birth assistance and supplies for the first year of the baby’s life. Several pro-life books have been translated into Hebrew, and post-abortion counseling is also available. Shoshani is looking to provide a home and training for the women after their babies’ births.
Some believers in Israel call abortion “luxury politics” that secure countries can afford to debate while Israel must focus on its borders. But Shoshani believes abortion is precisely the cause of Israel’s woes. “We’re bringing a curse on our nation,” she says. “If we want to see the blessing of God, we are going to have to stop the shedding of innocent blood.
“How can we be killing one out of every four babies and expect the blessing of God? It’s not any different than what they did in the Ben-Hinnom Valley when they sacrificed babies to Molech.”
Slowly congregations in Israel are taking up the cause. Young people have started staging “life” rallies, and the second national day of prayer for abortion was held this year. Progress is measured one life at a time, Shoshani says: “I’ve seen babies saved, and that is progress.”
Shoshani, originally from Massachusetts, is married to Oded, pastor of a Jerusalem congregation. They have seven children.
