It is, almost literally, the oldest story in the book —attempts by Christian missionaries to convert Jews go back to the very start of the religion. In recent years this has taken many forms, from organisations such as Jews for Jesus to — as we exposed earlier this year — the antics of Michael and Amanda Elk, who lived undercover as fake strictly Orthodox Jews in Jerusalem.

The US-based Joseph Project is a Christian charity which claims to be the leading importer of humanitarian aid to Israel, having given more than $100 million in aid to social services, hospitals, Holocaust survivors’ centres, food banks and orphanages.

There is no suggestion that its aid comes with any strings attached. Those who receive it are grateful. There is, however, nothing charitable about its ultimate goal: “God’s prophetic plan for the redemption of Israel and the return of Yeshua [Jesus]”.

The charity believes that the conversion of Jews will lead to the ‘second coming’. To that end, it sees Covid as “the greatest opportunity in our history” and an “unprecedented opportunity to expand the reach and impact of the Joseph Project both physically and spiritually for the glory of the Messiah, Yeshua”.

The aid it gives is needed. But it provides an easy opening for the Joseph Project’s mission of converting Jews. And no one should be in any doubt about the single mindedness with which the charity goes about its business.

Covid is thus viewed as a huge opportunity for it, as its impact allows the charity to reach more Jews. There is no simple answer to this.

It is trite to suggest that if there was no need for its donations, it would have no foothold. In reality, the only serious response is constant vigilance.