War between Israel and the Lebanon-based terror group Hezbollah is inevitable and certain to be devastating for both sides.

This viewpoint is presented in a new report published late last week and covered in detail by Israeli media outlets The Times of Israel and The Jerusalem Post.

The High Level Military Group, an international military think tank, prepared the report. The authors say that, while Iran-backed Hezbollah doesn’t want war right now because of its extensive involvement in the Syrian civil war, its actions and propaganda suggest that it considers future armed conflict with Israel a given.

Hezbollah is “the most powerful non-state armed actor in the world,” according to the report’s authors – retired generals and defense officials from the United States, Germany, France, the United Kingdom and other democratic nations. The analysts outline the strategies each side would use in a future conflict as well as the potential drawbacks of those plans.

The examination also found that the U.N. interim peacekeeping force in Lebanon is not enforcing the U.N. resolution intended to keep armed militias like Hezbollah out of southern Lebanon.

A formidable enemy

The report’s authors believe Hezbollah has approximately 25,000 full-time fighters – 5,000 of whom have undergone advanced training in Iran, according to the former military leaders comprising the research group. At least another 20,000 fighters serve in reserve units.

This terrorist army boasts of possessing attack drones, air defense systems, armored personnel carriers and even tanks. It is also believed to have more rockets than many European armies, as well as shore-to-sea missiles that are a threat to Israeli Navy ships.

But the report also notes that Israel’s military is considered by many observers to be the most powerful in the Middle East and suggests that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have more than 400,000 active frontline personnel, more than 3,600 tanks and nearly 1,000 aircraft.

Leaving Syria

Hezbollah’s high command has issued orders mandating that its remaining fighters leave Syria in early 2018, reports the Israel Hayom news source. The pullout is designed to ensure that Hezbollah has sufficient force along Lebanon’s border with Israel should hostilities with the Jewish state resume.

For the past five years, Hezbollah forces have fought alongside the Syrian military in that country’s bloody civil war. It is believed that the Shiite terrorist group, along with other Iranian-backed militias, has helped turn the tide in favor of Syrian President Bashar Assad.

Still, based on Hezbollah’s entrenchment and activities along the Golan Heights, IDF officials believe that the terrorists will avoid escalation with Israel until they can achieve their priority of winning the Syrian civil war.

Surrounded by enemies, but protected by God

Can you imagine how stressful it must be for the people of Israel to live under the kinds of threats they face? They’re surrounded by enemies sworn to destroy them: Hamas controls the Gaza Strip to the west, the Palestinian Authority rules the West Bank region to the east, ISIS is increasingly active in the Sinai to the south, and Hezbollah is biding its time, waiting to strike from the north.

No wonder we at Jewish Voice have promised to stand with all peace-loving people in Israel. They need our prayers and our support. Of course, we know that while Israel is under constant threat of attack, in the end, God’s plan for both the Nation of Israel (all Jewish people) and the State of Israel (those living in that tiny, vulnerable Middle Eastern country) will lead to a world-redeeming conclusion that has been decided since before the beginning of time.

Just before 2013, Jonathan Bernis introduced Jewish Voice Today Magazine readers to some of the most difficult-to-reach Jewish people – those living in the United States. With a Jewish population second in size only to Israel right at the doorstep, Jewish Voice was working on a project that would both honor Jewish people and share the Messiah with them.

2013: Documenting a Miracle

In the spring of 2013, the ministry launched a television special that was three years in the making. “The Miracle of Israel” is a historical snapshot of the Jewish people and their miraculous survival and restoration to their Land.

Narrated by the late Leonard Nimoy, the documentary reveals Israel as the only nation in history that maintained a national identity for centuries without a homeland. The story points to the miraculous providence of God for His people. In the film, Jonathan Bernis shares his views on Messianic and Last Days’ prophecy as well as the identity of the Jewish Messiah.

The film was broadcast in five airings over a two-year period across the United States, targeting 30 cities with large Jewish populations. Viewership exceeded 2.1 million households. Messianic congregations in broadcast cities followed up with those who called the telephone number, building relationships and sharing more about Yeshua.

The Miracle of Israel received eight Telly Awards in 2013: two silver awards in the Documentary and Education categories and six bronze awards in other categories. It was also named Best Documentary of the Year by the National Religious Broadcasters.

In 2013, JVMI also tackled its most ambitious Medical Outreach schedule to date. Teams of doctors, nurses, dentists, and non-medical Outreach Partners provided care to nearly 46,000 patients through six Clinics held in Ethiopia, India and Zimbabwe that year.

2014: A Year of Firsts

For the first time in 20 years, the performance teams of Hear O’ Israel! Festivals of Jewish Music & Dance returned to Kiev, Ukraine, in 2014. Attendance at the Festival was 12,500.

As always, a team of Outreach Partners provided essential help throughout the Festival including street ministry and constant prayer. Much of that work was accomplished by passionate followers of Yeshua who are members of the thriving Messianic congregation that formed in Kiev as a result of Jonathan Bernis’ first Festival there in 1994.

It was a powerful event. One man who attended the Festival became so emotional during the moving dance performed in front of a slideshow of Holocaust photos that he had to leave. He later contacted the congregation and revealed that he was a Holocaust survivor and had seen a picture of himself in the presentation.

2014 held several “firsts” for the ministry. That year, Jewish Voice:

· Launched a new humanitarian aid ministry to elderly Holocaust survivors living in poverty in Israel

· Conducted the first Messianic Leadership Retreat in Ethiopia, encouraging Messianic leaders from throughout that country

· Reached out to its third location in Zimbabwe, in Gutu. It was here that the ministry celebrated the milestone of treating their 250,000th patient since JVMI behgan these Medical Outreaches

· Held its first citywide pastor’s gathering in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, making great strides in dispelling prejudices against Messianic Believers and the Jewish people among evangelical pastors. More than 1,200 local leaders participated in the historic event, which included representation from every major church in Ethiopia’s capital city.

2015: A Record-Breaking Year

In 2015, Jewish Voice returned to Ukraine with a Festival in Odessa, where 15,600 attendees packed the world-famous Odessa opera house. And it was another record-breaking year for Medical Outreaches. The Gutu, Zimbabwe, Outreach broke the JVMI record for the most patients treated in a single clinic day at that time, with 2, 518 patients. The record was short-lived, however, as the next day 2,701 were welcomed and treated.

Later that year, in Gondar, Ethiopia, the efficient medical team and non-medical partners enabled the ministry to break its record at that point for the most patients treated in a five-day clinic: 13,018.

Also in 2015, JVMI held its second Messianic Leadership Training in Ethiopia, investing in the leadership of Messianic congregations throughout the nation through training and encouragement of 60 dedicated men of God.

A similar event in Zimbabwe hosted 60 faithful Messianic leaders from among the Lemba to receive training for shepherding young congregations there. Since the first Jewish Voice Zimbabwe Outreach in 2012, 55 Messianic congregations had grown up and, in April of 2015, JVMI helped ordain the first National Overseer for the Lemba Messianic community.

2016: Television, Persecution – and Another Record

After 49 years of consistent ministry and growth – and with the rapid growth of technology – an update to the television studio and media department was overdue. The 10-year-old set received a complete remodel with cameras, computers, sound and editing equipment all upgraded to state-of-the-art standards.

Louis Kaplan would be amazed at the reach that the Jewish Voice television program had acquired by 2016. His heart’s desire was to see the ministry he founded back in 1967 extend overseas. In 2016, the program that sprang from Louis’ obedience to the Lord’s call had reached a worldwide distribution available to more than 575 million homes through satellite, cable and local networks; it was available to even more through the internet.

Jewish Voice conducted six Medical Outreaches to Ethiopia and Zimbabwe in 2016, adding a new location in each country. In Ethiopia, the team experienced unprecedented opposition as it reached out to help the severely persecuted Beta Israel of Tach Gayint.

For the first time, a Jewish Voice Medical Outreach Prayer Room was closed down by local officials. Prayer Partners dispersed among the people and shared Yeshua’s Good News in examination rooms and with patients as they waited in long lines.

The closure paved the way for new ministry opportunities. The Beta Israel live outside Tach Gayint in small villages nestled in the hills of this mountainous region of Ethiopia. Teams visited two villages with personal water purifying filters and the Gospel of Yeshua. Every member of a community of 70 Beta Israel Jewish people received Him as their Messiah, and 30 or more came to faith in Yeshua in the second village.

Jewish Voice also returned to the Gefat in Hosanna, Ethiopia, for the first time since 2013 and brought medical aid to the Lemba and their neighbors in a new Zimbabwe location, Masvingo. By the end of 2016, Jewish Voice Medical Clinics had treated 68,787 patients – the most helped yet in one year – and facilitated 4,691 professions of faith in Yeshua as Messiah in the same period.

Join us on the Jewish Voice Blog each month in 2017 as we unfold the Jewish Voice story and show how two ministries with the same heart merged and became Jewish Voice Ministries International as you know it today.

Check out Flashback Fridays on our Facebook page, where you’ll see glimpses of our 50-year journey.

Discover the entire inspiring JVMI story with our beautiful, full-color coffee table book, Jewish Voice: A Look at 50 Years. Through more than 200 photographs, it chronicles 50 years of ministry, including biographies, stories and reflections from television guests, partners and staff.

Previous JVMI 50th Anniversary blog posts:

Meet Louis and Chira Kaplan

The Early Years – Jewish Voice Broadcasts

Jonathan Bernis

Hear O’ Israel Ministries

Meeting, Partnering, and Merging

Jewish Voice Ministries International

Called to Ethiopia

JVMI: 2008–2010

A Look Back to 2011-2012

Early next year, our team of skilled and dedicated medical professionals – most of whom volunteer their time – will finally head to Chitsungo, Zimbabwe, to serve a community called the Lemba. These are Jews who, according to their oral history, migrated to Africa from Israel about 2,500 years ago!

They’ll host a 5-day Medical Clinic for thousands of impoverished Jewish people and their neighbors in this remote village in the northern part of the country.

I say “finally” because we’d planned to go in July. But the trip had to be cancelled due to heavy rains and washed-out roads that cut off our access to thousands of people in need of healing and hope.

While we care for everyone who comes to us, we’re especially called to minister to Jewish people in remote parts of the world, many of whom are descended from the Nation of Israel that was scattered.

We call them “Lost Tribes” – pockets of Jewish people who often live in poverty and isolation. Because of their ancient Jewish customs, they often are rejected and isolated – and in some places persecuted by the surrounding cultures.

And almost always, they struggle with a lack of access to even the most basic services, like medical care.

So much suffering! Won’t you help?

While it’s painful to me and our team to see the depth of suffering and need these people experience every day, I’m convinced our work in Chitsungo can have a dramatic lasting impact – both physically and spiritually.

But I need you to stand with me and other Jewish Voice partners to ensure that these impoverished people get the help they need.

Will you join me by sending the most generous gift you can to care for these struggling, isolated Jewish people?

Each $30 you send right now will provide them:

• Medical care, surgeries and emergency treatment
• Dental and eye care
• An opportunity to hear the Good News of Jesus, their Messiah

Through your gift today, you’ll be the hands, feet and heart of Yeshua (Jesus) to these desperate people. Just as the Lord healed so many, you now can help these precious people find healing and hope.

The average cost of care for one person at a Jewish Voice Medical Clinic is only $30. But right now, your gift will accomplish even more to help the Lemba people of Chitsungo, Zimbabwe. Here’s how …

DOUBLE your gift. Reach TWICE as many Jewish people!

Right now, a $400,000 Matching Grant provided by some generous partners of Jewish Voice will DOUBLE any gift received by November 30.

That means when you give by that date, your gift effectively will be matched dollar for dollar. You can bring physical healing to TWICE as many Jewish people in Zimbabwe.

But most important, as we gain the trust of those we serve, we’ll have the opportunity to share with them the motivation behind our care: our faith in Jesus, the One who died for them and wants them to receive the gift of eternal life.

And that’s what we – and YOU – want to do above all else. These Jewish men, women and children will see that our kindness comes from an earnest faith that compels us to reach out with compassion in the name of Jesus, the Messiah.

During our recent Medical Outreach – in Buhera, Zimbabwe, just a few months ago – we were able to treat 9,610 patients. An amazing 315 of them accepted Yeshua as Messiah for the first time!

Miracles still happen today. God can work among His people through you!

Our experience with a woman named Memory is just one example of how your gift can transform lives.

Memory, who is about 44 years old, was brought to the Clinic on a stretcher by her sister. She was suffering from a variety of serious medical problems, including near total paralysis that kept her from walking or talking.

After being examined by our medical team, we prayed in faith for her healing. In a miraculous display of His limitless power, the Messiah healed her body.

Memory stood up … she walked … and talked! She was so happy, she asked our counselors to guide her in a prayer of salvation. Her sister, who witnessed her healing, also prayed to receive Jesus.

Word of the miracle – and you can’t call it anything but that – spread quickly, prompting several members of the local medical team working with us to come to faith too. Soon, the news had spread community-wide!

This is the kind of impact you can have when your financial support is multiplied by the $400,000 Matching Grant I mentioned earlier.

Miraculous results like these will be possible, but only through your generosity. And with the Chitsungo Clinic coming quickly, your gift is urgently needed.

Through your generous gift today – doubled by the $400,000 Matching Grant – you’ll bring healing in the form of medical, dental and eye care to those in desperate need.

What’s more, as you help us address physical suffering, many people will be moved to open up to the message of God’s love we’ve come to share.

Your gift of $30 will go TWICE as far, providing care for two people. $90 will care for six people. And $150 will care for 10 people!

The more generous you can be, the more people you’ll reach with real help, and also hope through an introduction to their promised Messiah and Savior, Jesus.

As my way of saying thank you for your support today, I’d like to send you a special gift in appreciation for your partnership in this important outreach.

For a gift of any size, I’ll send you a boxed set of 12 Light of the World Holiday Note Cards. Featuring Isaiah 9:2 on the front, they’ll help you share the true light of Yeshua during the coming holidays.

If you can give $40 or more, you’ll receive the note cards, plus the photo book Comfort, O Comfort My People, which chronicles our outreach to the Beta Israel of Ethiopia, and the 2018 Jewish Voice Ministries Calendar.

And if you can give at least $100 now, I’ll send you – along with the gifts above – a lovely Chanukiah, just in time for the Chanukah season. The brochure I’ve enclosed for you gives more detail on these gifts.

Won’t you please send your most generous gift possible right now to provide both physical and spiritual care to the Jewish people of Zimbabwe? Thank you!

Praying for these leaders will help multiply the impact of your prayers!

November's TV Lineup 
Join Us for a Month of Valuable Insights!

Unlocking the Prophetic Mysteries of Israel

October 30 - November 5, 2017 | Jonathan Bernis

Messianic Rabbi Jonathan Bernis teaches from his exciting new book, Unlocking the Prophetic Mysteries of Israel. You’ll gain new understanding about the amazing role Israel plays in the End Times and how you, as a Believer, play an important part in what’s to come!

Unlocking the Prophetic Mysteries of Israel (cont.)

November 6 - 12, 2017 | Jonathan Bernis

Messianic Rabbi Jonathan Bernis continues to share vital insights from his exciting new book, Unlocking the Prophetic Mysteries of Israel. Learn about the miraculous events surrounding Israel and YOU in the Last Days!

The Paradigm

November 13 - 19, 2017 | Jonathan Cahn

Is an ancient blueprint for our future being revealed in these Last Days? Are the catastrophes happening in the world today a countdown to the return of Yeshua (Jesus)? Rabbi Jonathan Cahn returns to Jewish Voice with fresh new prophecies and discusses his bestselling book, The Paradigm.

DNA Testing for Jewish Ancestry

November 20 - 26, 2017 | Bennett Greenspan

DNA researcher Bennett Greenspan says more and more people are getting the unexpected news that they have Jewish ancestry. Could you be among the biblical descendants of the “Lost Tribes of Israel”? Watch this fascinating show to learn more!

Messianic Jewish Family Bible

November 27 - December 3, 2017 | Daniah Greenberg

Could a new version of the Bible help you better understand the Jewish roots of your Christian faith? Daniah Greenberg, founder of the Family Bible Society and the visionary behind the Messianic Jewish Family Bible, sits down with Jonathan Bernis to discuss how vital it is not only to read and meditate upon the Scriptures, but also to study the original Hebrew language and context.