Our History

Our ministry was conceived in a prayer conference in Jerusalem during the Gulf War in 1991. It was felt by the conference leadership that God was saying now is the time to help the Jewish people go home. This is how the ministry started and it has continued …

Ebenezer Operation Exodus was founded during the first Gulf War at the International Prayer Conference in Jerusalem (IPC). Gustav Scheller had an overwhelming sense that God wanted him to take action: Now you can begin helping My people to go home. This was unanimously confirmed by the leadership and the 120 intercessors that this was a sovereign move of God. (NB p46 OE Book)

The Ebenezer Operation Exodus Timeline

Slide 1

1991: Three Jewish Agency flights are sponsored from Budapest, Hungary, bringing 720 Russian Jews to Tel Aviv.

Slide 2

1992: Our first 3 sailings from Odessa to Haifa between December ’91 and January ’92

Slide 3

1993: We chartered 25 sailings between March and December, carrying Jewish people to Israel from Odessa, Ukraine.

Slide 4

1994: Three rescue flights operated from Armenia direct to Israel and work started in Central Asia republics

Slide 5

1995: Expansion in Kazakhstan with 600 Jewish people making Aliyah by air during the year. We helped nearly 100 Olim from Armenia.

Slide 6

1999: Ebenezer Operation Exodus celebrates 100 sailings to Israel

Slide 7

2000: We assisted 21,104 Jewish people to make Aliyah.

Slide 8

2002: Further expansion of operations plus fruitful contacts with local churches and the Jewish Agency made it possible to reach even the most remote places where Jewish people lived.

Slide 9

2003: We celebrated the assistance of 100,000 Olim immigrants to Israel since 1991.

Slide 10

2006: Ebenezer Operation Exodus opens an office in Jerusalem to assist newly arrived Olim to settle in The Land.

Slide 11

2007: Regional advisory boards are established in South America, South East Asia and Oceania. ● A church advisory board in the Former Soviet Union is established to help congregations in the work of Aliyah. ● An office is established in France.

Slide 12

2008: ● In South Africa we provided financial assistance to Olim for their arrival in Israel, resulting in increased cooperation with the Jewish Agency. ● In Ethiopia we sponsored a flight of Jews from Addis Ababa to Tel Aviv.

Slide 13

2009: We provided financial support for the first Jewish Agency flight from the UK, bringing to Israel 107 Olim ranging in age from three to 90.

Slide 14

2010: By the end of January, over 130,000 Jewish people had been helped to make Aliyah through the ministry.
We are now represented in over 40 nations of the world.

Slide 15

2014: Ebenezer Operation Exodus helps with the first Aliyah flight for the Bnei Menashe Jews of India.

Slide 16

2015: We assisted over 400 Jewish people from France to make Aliyah.

Slide 17

2016: We celebrated 25 years of assisting Jewish people to make Aliyah. ● Sensing the urgency in Europe, Latin America and N.America our work expanded in Paris, Buenos Aries, and New York. ● The first Aliyah flight from Rome takes place.

Slide 18

2017: ● We opened the Israel Programme Centre in Berlin in conjunction with the Jewish Agency.
● We helped with putting on more Aliyah flights for the Jews from Ethiopia and India.

Slide 19

2018: We created a new area within the ministry for education concerning God's plans for Aliyah

Slide 20

2019: ● The Haifa House for Olim is opened in Israel.
● Ebenezer Operation Exodus assists with a large increase of Aliyah from Russia.

Slide 21

2020: We continued to help Olim from around the world to return to Israel despite the global pandemic.

Slide 22

2021: We celebrated our 30 year anniversary of helping Jewish people make Aliyah!

Slide 23

2022: We responded to the war in Ukraine by establishing an operational base in Poland.

Slide 24

2023: Following October 7th we refocused our efforts in Israel to help those directly effected by the war.