Ebenezer is an interdenominational Christian organization. Since being founded in 1991 by Gustav Scheller in Bournemouth, England, God has enabled Ebenezer to help over 100,000 Jewish people make aliyah (return to Israel) from the lands of the former Soviet Union by sea, and on Jewish Agency-sponsored flights. Having started with just three people, Ebenezer now has a team of over 250, an International Board and offices in the USA, Switzerland and Germany, national coordinators in 23 countries as well as an increasing number of bases in the former Soviet Union.
Operation Exodus has helped more than 113,000 Jewish people make aliyah (return to Israel) from the lands of the former Soviet Union (fSU) by sea or on Jewish Agency-sponsored flights.
National and Regional offices are spread through the fSU (there are 44 to date) and require finances for the administration and support staff. The bases co-ordinate field working teams and volunteers, organize transport requirements, and are the hubs of Operation Exodus in their regions. The offices are vital places of contact for Jewish communities and families, as well as supporting churches. 23 nations now have representatives of Ebenezer.
So how did Ebenezer begin?
In 1982 Gustav Scheller, (a Swiss businessman living with his wife, Elsa, in Bournemouth, UK), was shown by God that it was His plan and purpose to bring the Jewish people back to Israel and that He would use Gustav to help Him do so. In 1991, in Jerusalem, the Lord spoke to Gustav: ‘Now is the time to start helping my people to return from the land of the north’. In the same year the Ebenezer head office was set up in Bournemouth. Gustav understood that the Biblical “Land of the North” mainly referred to Russia, but included all the countries of the former Soviet Union (fSU).
OK, but why?
Many Scriptures express God’s promise that one day He will bring His people back to the land He gave them. One is ‘I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west. I will say to the north, “Give them up!”’(Isaiah 43:5-6). The fact that Jewish people are again living as a nation in the land of Israel is evidence of God’s faithfulness to His Word. The restoration of Israel is profoundly significant for the church and is evidence that we live in “the last days”.
“Aliyah” and “Olim”
When Jewish people immigrate to Israel they are “making aliyah”, a Hebrew term used to describe ‘coming up’ or ‘ascending’. Ebenezer’s job is to find Jewish people and tell them of God’s promise to restore them to their land, then to help them come home. Ebenezer can only help them; it is God who enables it to happen. Those who respond are known in Hebrew as “olim”.
How does Ebenezer do this?
People from many countries serve as Ebenezer volunteers for a minimum of three months in the fSU to seek out 
Jewish people, most of whom have no idea that they can move to the land that was given them by God. We call this ‘fishing’ because in the book of Jeremiah the Lord warns His people that if they do not come voluntarily they will be ‘hunted’ out; this happened in the 1930s and Scripture hints that it will happen again (Jeremiah 16:16). ‘Fishing’ teams often distribute humanitarian aid, especially food and clothing, for many they meet are in great need. This distribution is a powerful demonstration of Christian love in action. The Ebenezer teams also help those who wish to go to Israel to obtain the necessary documents, often not an easy task.
But how do they get from the fSU to Israel?
Over the last ten years Ebenezer has operated over 170 chartered sailings for Jewish people making aliyah to Israel from Ukraine to Haifa. In 2005 the Lord directed the Board to suspend the sailings in favor of facilitating 
more transport for Jewish families to reach airports. Ebenezer has therefore established a network of bases and teams to help Jewish people reach airports for their departing flights to Israel. They take direct flights from major cities of the fSU to Tel Aviv –‘Who are these that fly along like clouds, like doves to their nests?’(Isaiah 60:8). On arrival in Israel they are welcomed by officials of the Israeli government’s Ministry of Absorption, which totally approves of what Ebenezer is doing. There are Jewish Agency flights for repatriates throughout the year.
So it seems that Christians have been helping Jews go home to Israel?
Yes, that is right, Scripture speaks of this: ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: “See, I will beckon to the Gentiles. I will lift up my banner to the peoples; they will bring your sons in their arms and carry your daughters on their shoulders.”’(Isaiah 49:22)