[Aneinu] Fwd: Missing Jewish Girl Feared Kidnapped – Please Pray

Please daven for Michaela bat Nurit. Learn and Return (formerly Learn and Live), an organization that works to prevent Jewish girls from getting trapped in abusive relationships with Arabs, has issued call to the public to pray for the safe return of a 22-year-old girl whose whereabouts are unknown. The phenomenon of Arab men entrapping Jewish girls in abusive relationships has escalated in recent years, the group says. Israel’s hotlines receive over 1,000 requests a year from girls trapped in Arab villages. A 2012 Knesset report stated that close to 1,000 girls were “voluntarily missing”, meaning they went willingly at first before finding themselves trapped and unable to escape abusive relationships with Arab men. Michaela, a resident of Ofakim, southern Israel, became involved with an Arab in 2013. Typically, the relationship begins with the Arab predator – often disguised as a Jew – showering the girl with gifts and attention. The relationship then turns to abuse as the predator threatens the girl and her family if she tries to break off with him. Learn and Return provides counseling, job assistance, and a shelter to help girls end the relationship and rebuild their lives. Learn and Return’s counselors had been in ongoing contact with Michaela, who called for help. A rescue date was set but Michaela suddenly didn't answer her phone. She failed to contact the rescue worker as planned and has not answered her cell phone for almost a week. Rescue workers fear that she has been taken to an Arab village against her will. The public is asked to pray for the safe return of Michaela bat Nurit.