Steve Conover: Thank you for joining us for The Friends of Israel Today. I'm Steve Conover, and with me is our host and teacher, Chris Katulka. Chris and I are just back from Israel and we had a meaningful visit visiting with several of the organizations we work with to bless Israel and to love the Jewish people. This weekend is significant because we are at the one year anniversary of the Hamas massacre of the Israelis on October 7th. We're going to share with you some important moments from that trip on the program today. But before we do, we want to welcome the many new listeners joining us for the first time. Welcome Chicago, Spokane, Chattanooga, and all our new listeners joining us on the many new stations around the country airing the Friends of Israel Today. But before we do, here's what's happening in the news. I'm sure you've heard that last week through Israel's targeted attacks in Beirut, Lebanon, the leader of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah is dead. The Times of Israel reports that the body of the terror chief was recovered from the site of an Israeli airstrike on Beirut’s southern suburbs, a medical source and a security source told Reuters.

Chris Katulka: Well, here's my take. The death of Nasrallah should be applauded by the international community. Lebanon should be thanking Israel for freeing them from the stranglehold Iran had on their country through Hezbollah. The United States should be thanking Israel for taking out the man who killed hundreds of Americans over the past four decades, but instead, we only hear cries for a ceasefire. Israel in the most targeted way destroyed Hezbollah's terror infrastructure. And for that reason I say thank you Israel.

Chris Katulka: Hi everybody. As Steve mentioned, we just returned from Israel last week. It was a fantastic trip. It was actually called a solidarity trip to Israel. Normally the Friends of Israel leads tours to Israel, biblical tours, but this time it's been different, especially since October 7th. We've been leading solidarity trips where we connect Christians to the amazing work that the Friends of Israel is investing in in Israel through various organizations. And while Steve and I were in the Holy land, we were able to see eight of the various organizations that we invest in to help bless Israel and the Jewish people. And Steve, my big takeaway from this trip is number one, I am honored to serve with an organization like Friends of Israel that is not just saying we support and pray for Israel, but we're actually taking the donations that come in from our faithful listeners, from our faithful donors, supporters, prayer partners, and investing those dollars into organizations that are helping Israel during this very difficult time.

Steve Conover: Yeah, I agree. I think one of the things that stood out to me when we arrived was I had the opportunity to be there a few weeks before October 7th, and it was very normal. People were talking about politics, they were talking about some of the protests. They were talking about normal everyday life, their families, and how different it was a year later that the country was focused, but in just deep distress really. So that was a difficult transition to see.

Chris Katulka: So while we were in Israel, I took the opportunity to record some of the individuals that we support, the CEOs, the directors, the executive directors of these nonprofits that we invest in. And so Steve, first I thought that we would start with Edan Kleiman, who is the executive director of Beit Halochem, which means the House of the Wounded Warrior. And this is a NGO, A non-governmental organization that is helping Israel's wounded soldiers. And we had a chance to go to the base that they have, the headquarters that they have to see how they're investing and connecting with those wounded warriors, not just from October 7th in the war that's been going on between Hamas and Hezbollah, but also wounded warriors that go back to 1967, the Six Day War, 1973, all of Israel's wars. So it was amazing to see the amount of energy that Israel puts into helping its wounded warriors. It was very encouraging to me. And you know what, we're going to play that clip from Edan Kleiman now.

Edan Kleiman: Okay, first of all, I want to say that I was very excited to see all your delegation of Friends of Israel coming here, giving us your time and your energy. Beit Halochem is the Warrior House of the wounded soldiers of our heroes that gave everything in body and soul to protect the state of Israel. And what we are doing here is we rehabilitate them, we hug them. We are doing more than 400 classes of sports culture and community. We build them back together and help them go back to the society of Israel. And we want to make their life better and rehabilitate them. And this Beit Halochem, this Warrior House is for them for life and for them and for their families also. So they can have a lot of outdoor action and indoor action together with the families and not miss anything. And you coming here and supporting us and being with us and helping us with all these challenges, especially after the seventh October, which the numbers are huge, we have almost 11,000 wounded soldiers.

And our organization jumped in one day from 60,000 to 71,000, and the Minister of Defense projected until the year 2030, it's going to be a hundred thousand. So we need all the help and all the support to meet our challenges and to help all those soldiers to build the life back. And so thank you very much. You cannot even understand how your support is warming us, and not only financially, but also the energy that you give us, the love that you send us. It's something that the Warriors need to hear from you and to understand that we fighting for the democracy and as allies of the United States for us, your support is not something that we taking light. We like it, we love it. And thank you for your support.

Chris Katulka: Edan Kleiman himself is paralyzed. He is a wounded warrior as the CEO of Beit Halochem. So it's encouraging to see how he really, as somebody himself who's been wounded in battle, is able to connect, encourage those who are suffering from PTSD or suffering from injuries or suffering from wounds that will last for the rest of their lives as Israeli soldiers. And so this was definitely a time for me to reflect on the amazing work that Beit Halochem was doing.

Steve Conover: Yeah, it's a great organization and my thoughts went to the people that we know that are fighting in the IDF. We have Friends of Israel workers that are in battle. They're in Gaza and in the north. So it just made me very grateful to see how Israel treats their soldiers. I think of those that might've come back from American wars that they didn't have much support. And to see the support system Israelis have is really beautiful.

Chris Katulka: It's really an encouragement to see. It was a great opportunity. Another stop that we had along the way during our tour, Steve, was visiting the Jewish Agency, which I've been to before. I believe you've been to as well with Jim Showers, our executive director on one of his tours to Israel. The Jewish Agency is an organization that's existed even since prior to Israel's founding in 1948. And it's become incredibly influential in the way that Jewish people immigrate to Israel is the helping hand to help Israelis integrate or help Jewish people integrate into the culture in society financially. All of it as Jewish people from all around the world in the diaspora, as they say, are immigrating, making aliyah back to Israel, back to their ancient homeland. And the Jewish Agency is there to help them through this process. And the leader of that is Danielle Mor. She's been the person that we connect with and she had an opportunity to talk to our delegation that showed up. And I pulled Danielle away for a moment and she was able to share her heart for the importance of the Jewish Agency and what it means that Friends of Israel supports her. This is Danielle Mor.

Danielle Mor: Hi, my name is Danielle and I serve here in the center of Jerusalem at the Jewish Agency for Israel. This is the organization that founded the State of Israel, and that since that day in 1948 has really been the main organization facilitating, encouraging and bringing Jewish people to return to their homeland and what we call aliyah, meaning the physical return, the spiritual return to the land. We're also working here in the land with thousands and hundreds of thousands actually, of people that are suffering now on account of the war, whether they are soldiers, whether they are victims of terror, whether they are business owners that are displaced and uprooted. And really the support that we're getting from Friends of Israel is directly enabling us to, on the one hand, continue to bring these pioneers from afar, these new olim, these Jewish young men and women that are choosing to come to Israel despite it being a country at war and helping them to build for themselves their first home here in the land.

Many of them are later going to go into service as lone soldiers and to fight to defend their homeland. And also the support from Friends of Israel has helped us to reach the victims of terror, to give them immediate cash grants and also long-term assistance. We've had over 1,300 victims of terror children that benefited from summer camps here in the country. We've sent over 1000 abroad to benefit from summer camp so that they could take a deep breath for the first time in a year and feel just like children, like teenagers again. And here we're supporting victims of terror, Holocaust survivors, new immigrants from Ethiopia, from all around the world. And we're doing this with the support from Friends of Israel. It's amazing that you're coming to Israel at this time and that you're showing with your actions, with your prayers, with your deeds, that you are true friends of Israel. We feel this love. We know thanks to you that we're not alone and that we're not alone in the struggle really for the existence and for the future of the state of Israel. And we thank you because we know that together we're able to bless our people and that we're able to be a blessing to the world and we're able to look forward into a future that has hope in it.

Chris Katulka: Steve, it was great to hear from Danielle Mor and you could hear her heart. And one of the big takeaways from that visit that we had at the Jewish Agency in Jerusalem was you would think during the war that Jewish people would stop immigrating to Israel as they're at war with Hamas, as they're at war with Hezbollah. But really it's only created an increase in many ways of Jewish people immigrating, making aliyah back to Israel, some of them into the hundreds. I think it was 400%, to see Jewish people from France immigrating to Israel, something like 400% increase, which is just something that should open our eyes to the reality that the Jewish people are not scared and they want to go home to help their people. The people of Israel

Steve Conover: Yeah the Jewish Agency is such a great place. We're right near Philadelphia here, and that's where the Declaration of Independence was signed. When you're at the Jewish Agency, it's the kind of place you realize it'll happen right here. It's a really great stop if you ever come with us on one of our tours.

Chris Katulka: A great reason to come with us on a Friends of Israel Up to Jerusalem tour. But again, Danielle, thankful to the Friends of Israel. We've had a long time partnership with them in helping as Jewish people immigrate and become Israelis, something that we see happening even during a difficult time during this war. I want to turn our attention, Steve, to one particular organization that we heard at night. They came to our hotel to share. It actually is called the Jerusalem Institute of Justice. And we were able to hear about this nonprofit that is helping in law and helping people who are dealing with issues, whether it comes to marriage or it comes to legal issues with the State of Israel or even in helping defend the state of Israel against the International Criminal Court. And we were able to hear from Lydia from the Jerusalem Institute of Justice to talk about what their organization is doing, how it's impacting Israel, and helping the common Israelis by providing free legal services to them. It's something that's really important and justice as we believe as Christians, biblically, justice is very important.

Lydia Morgan: I'm Lydia Morgan. I'm the Chief Operations Officer at the Jerusalem Institute of Justice, otherwise known as JIJ, among our friends. We have been in operation since 2004, so we just celebrated our 20th anniversary. Very exciting. We are a legal and research nonprofit. We strongly believe in justice. And our team, the core of what we do, it is legal and it is fighting for justice, whether that is Christian minorities, whether that is trafficked persons. We fight for the state of Israel on the international stage, especially since October 7th. Each of our departments has ramped up in different ways. We have been documenting, we have taken forensic evidence, we have taken people's personal testimonies and stories from the first responders as well as the survivors of the atrocities that were committed on October 7th. We have taken them to the UN. We have met with the International Red Cross. We have gone to the ICC with different things. We see it as a mandate and we need people to stand with us. And one of the things that I love so much about Jim and Amy and all of Friends of Israel is how much they stand with us. Friends of Israel has been a partner of Jerusalem Institute of Justice for 12 years. That's incredible. 

The Holocaust happened in Europe. October 7th happened here. It happened in our country where we're supposed to feel safe and the denial that has been happening and growing and taking place since that, that these atrocities even happened. The October 7th denial is growing and it's so disheartening, it's so disheartening. But what gives us hope and gives us strength and gives us courage to keep going is when friends come and they stand with us and they say, you're not alone. You are not alone. And we know that. And we know that you are taking the stories, the reports, the fact sheets, and you're sharing them and you're helping us get the word out of what really, really happened. It's so important. It's so important.

Chris Katulka: Steve. You could hear in Lydia's voice the stress that's there, especially the responsibility that the Jerusalem Institute of Justice has to bring justice to what happened on October 7th. Everything from the courts that are happening in Israel, all the way up to the Hague and the international courts as well. And so she carries this on her shoulders and she carries this for her people as well. And so I'm always very proud that Friends of Israel has been partnering for 12 years with the Jerusalem Institute of Justice. And that evening when we heard from various lawyers, you could hear the stress that they have, the passion that they have to make sure that justice is served.

Steve Conover: I think one of the things that really stuck with me the entire trip was a quote that one of the people that were speaking to us gave to us. It's a well-known quote, but the idea that the health of a society is shown by how they treat the most vulnerable and the contrast between what Hamas did to the Israelis a year ago, to the way they are always trying to repair the world and to make society a better place, not just for Jewish people but for everyone. That contrast is partly what makes this so unthinkable. You have the Jewish people that are preserving life. They're trying to expand the way people interact with each other in a healthy way to the opposite where we saw Hamas with just a culture of hate. That was a big takeaway with all the organizations that we spoke to for me.

Chris Katulka: And with JIJ, you realize something, Israel is not a perfect country either, and it requires an organization like the Jerusalem Institute of Justice that's standing up for those who can't speak for themselves. And so really there are so many facets to JIJ that just make me proud that we're able to serve them and to help them during this time. Steve, another one. This actually is an organization that's connected to a family that we know here at Friends of Israel very well. It's Michael Levin's family. Michael Levin was a lone soldier who served during the second Lebanon war. A lone soldier is an individual who immigrates to Israel, they're Jewish, they immigrate to Israel, they serve in the Israeli army even though they didn't grow up in Israel. And what makes that different is that they don't have a family to go home to. And so they're called lone soldiers.

And so Michael Levin was actually killed in service in the second Lebanon war, and his name is something that is remembered and honored in Israel. And it really created such a shock wave among the Israelis to think that a lone soldier who came to fight for a country he didn't even grow up in would give his life for Israel. And so Friends of Israel knew Michael Levin. We knew his family long before he had passed. And so today there's the Michael Levin Foundation and the Michael Levin base, and we went to the Michael Levni base and heard from Richard Corman, who is the chairman of the board for the Michael Levin base that helps lone soldiers while they're over there serving without family around. And so here's Richard Corman.

Richard Corman:

Hi, my name is Richard Corman. I'm the chairman of the Board of Directors for the Michael Levin base. My wife and I used to live in New Jersey, so I'm familiar with the location that the Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry has a beautiful campus. And it's really through the generosity of the Friends of Israel that we just received this amazing van that provides meals for our Sabbath Shabbat meals every week, as well as bringing out supplies to army bases throughout Israel. Michael Levin, who we've named the Michael Levin base for, was a lone soldier from Philadelphia who was not only a hero, but became a symbol for many, many young men and women from North America and from around the world who wanted to come to Israel and serve because of his tremendous tenacity, his tremendous upbeat spirit, his amazing smile, and his parents to this day, Harriet and Mark, come here every year to thank us and to ensure that his legacy continues through the programs and services that we provide.

Chris Katulka: Many thanks to those who are serving at the Michael Lavin base and Richard Corman for taking his time to share with us. We want to end on a note that connects really why we do what we do here at The Friends of Israel. We're not just an organization that gives money to Israeli organizations. Everything that we do is centered in on the gospel of the Lord Jesus the Messiah. And that's where everything that we give comes from. That's why we're called the Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry. And today, I want you to hear from Pastor Meno Kalisher of the Jerusalem Assembly as he shares his heart as to what Christians should be thinking and doing right now in light of what Israel's going through during this very difficult time.

Meno Kalisher: First of all, I want to thank God for all the Christian body that during this time where even many churches, sometimes it seems that they misunderstand where their loyalty needs to be, our loyalty needs to be to God. And we can see a very unique situation in Psalm 83 when Asaf, the writer of the Psalm says, God, your enemies, not Israel enemies. It says, God, your enemies. And what do God's enemies want? Two things: to erase the name Israel and to take the property of the promised land. You see, Israel is in the land, not because Israel captured it or conquered it, whatever. It's because God gave it. And eliminating Israel is eliminating God. So we need during this time to understand that our theology needs to come from the Bible and not from BBC, CNN, Fox News or whatever news or from any place on the internet, only from the Bible. So please remember to pray for us, the Christian body in Israel, and for the salvation of the people of Israel. We need your support. We need your prayers. Please bring our names before the throne of grace today. Thank you.

Chris Katulka: I think Meno’s words were perfect, to be praying for Israel and the Jewish people to not only pray for their physical deliverance, but even more so their spiritual deliverance. I want to thank all the amazing organizations and individuals that we were able to visit their hospitality, their kindness, to show us the amazing work that they're doing helping Israel during this very difficult time. We do this because of what Genesis chapter 12 verse three says, “I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you.” Again. Thank you very much.

Steve Conover: Thank you for joining us for this special episode of The Friends of Israel Today. Chris, in light of all we've discussed today in the upcoming anniversary of October 7th, it seems appropriate that we would pray together. Would you lead our listeners in prayer?

Chris Katulka: Let's pray together. Heavenly Father, we know that Psalm 121 verse four says, behold, “he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.” And so heavenly Father, we want to thank you for the way that you neither slumber nor sleep when it comes to protecting Israel and the Jewish people. Lord, I pray that you would give us insights on how we can continue to pray and lift up our Jewish friends, our neighbors, and also the nation of Israel during this very difficult time. Comfort them as it says in Isaiah 41, “Comfort Your People.” And we want to give you thanks for your faithfulness, kindness, and mercy that's evident every morning. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Steve Conover: Once again, if you want to support Israel during this difficult time, visit foi.org/standwithisrael. Again, that's foi.org/standwithisrael, the Friends of Israel Today is a production of The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry. Passion for God's Word. Compassion for God's Chosen People.