Behold — The Lord has done mighty things for us!
Jacob Damkani was born near the Sea of Galilee into a religious Jewish family.
At the age of 25 he came to faith through the witness of Jeff, a non-Jewish believer in the United States of America. The fire was lit and Jacob’s heart was burning to proclaim that same Gospel that had saved him to his Jewish people back in Israel.
He returned home and immediately started to reach out to his kinsmen; home-made tracts were printed in his parents’ basement. While the small body of believers was still hesitant, Jacob, together with a few bold believers (predominantly Israelis), who lived together in the Jaffa house, began to distribute Gospel tracts and to share the Good News daily with whomever would listen in the streets of Israel.
For the first time in 1987, seventeen Messianic believers, led by Jacob, set out to proclaim the Gospel of Yeshua at the Jerusalem Parade for Succot (Feast of Tabernacles).
Perseverance was blessed and by the grace of God, and with the help of his friends Mary and Van, Jacob acquired the Jaffa house, which until today remains a center and base for evangelism and fellowship in Israel.
In 1993 Jacob’s autobiography “Why Me?” has been printed for the first time in Hebrew. To date more than 3.5 million copies of “Why Me?” have been distributed, and the press continues to run. With the help of the many brothers and sisters the book has been translated into 20 languages so far: Chinese, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Hindi, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Malayalam, Norwegian, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Spanish, and Swedish.
Then the renowned “To the Jew First” campaigns followed. In 1996 for the first time Jacob led a group of German believers in the streets of Israel and watched the Lord forge a new path of evangelism to the Jews, provoking the Jews to jealousy with the love of the saints from the nations.
A piece of land on Nes Ziona Street 7 was purchased, and a nine-story building constructed. Initially intended to house the ever-growing number of evangelists only, it was later upgraded to a unique boutique hotel, Hotel Gilgal. The wisdom of the Lord! Gilgal has been a place of witness – for believers and non-believers to mingle.
Rooms were added at the Jaffa house. The mission grew.
We began airing television broadcasts, aiming to enlighten the believers worldwide to their crucial role of provoking the Jewish people to a healthy jealousy.
The Jewish Messianic movie in Hebrew “The Other Side of the Cross” was produced, helping the Jews to see the real Yeshua as opposed to what they heard about Him. Then a documentary about the life of Jacob “The Messenger”, to show the amazing power of God in a life of a simple person, who didn’t even finish High School but was determined to obey the Lord’s calling. And later, a full-length cinematic rendition of Jacob’s life story was produced and shown on the big screens in Israel, it was shown in around 40 cinemas around Israel and had a great impact on many. “A New Spirit” is the first such project by Messianic believers.
Thinking about Jacob’s life, it seems like he was often used by the Lord to push open doors which had been tightly closed, to show it’s possible, to encourage his fellow believers and to make a way for many to follow and continue the work.
In 2018 Jacob had an open-heart surgery with many complications, Jacob has not come back to full consciousness after that surgery. Nonetheless, Trumpet of Salvation to Israel continues to host believers from the nations who desire to share the message of Yeshua and to bring the Jewish Gospel back to His chosen people (who brought it to the Gentiles in the first place).
Jacob’s story still impacts lives worldwide. Through the book, the film and other media the Lord allows Jacob to continue to speak and teach about the Messiah Yeshua. Individuals are most welcome in the house as well as groups with a genuine desire to lovingly share the message of salvation with the people of this land.
The Lord has given us ideas to build His Kingdom in Israel and visions for the future that by God’s grace are still waiting to be fulfilled as we are working to bring them about.
Please get in touch with us and become part of what the Lord is doing among His chosen people Israel.
Jacob’s family
The Jerusalem parade
Book distribution
Beginning campaigns
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