On October 7th 2023, Israel became the victim of the largest terror attack since they became a nation again in 1948. HAMAS, a globally recognised Islamic terror organisation, and elected leaders of the Gaza Strip, fired more than 2,000 missiles into Israel over the course of 20 minutes, followed closely by large numbers of militants breaching the border and disabling several military communications networks.
These devils went on a rampage, killing an estimated 1,200 civilians. They attacked towns, murdering residents indiscriminately, setting homes alight, and performing other despicable acts. Their most well known target was the Nova Music Festival, during which hundreds of people were murdered or taken hostage. Other atrocities committed include torture, rape (sometimes simultaneously), and mutilation of bodies one can only hope had died before the terrorists were finished with them.
Following this barbaric attack, there has been global uproar... against Israel. Not surprisingly, on October 8th, Israel declared itself in a state of war. The motivations for this war are quite obvious. A foreign state, living next door, perpetrated a devastating terror attack, and threatened to do so again. No sane person would expect Israel to let this slide.
However, an unfortunate side effect of war is civilian casualties, especially in a war where the enemy uses civilians as human shields. A core part of HAMAS' strategy is to operate from within civilian infrastructure. Hospitals, schools, mosques, and even civilian homes, have all been used to conceal terror tunnels, weapons caches, and bases of operations. On top of this, HAMAS terrorists are known to hide their identities by neither wearing uniforms, nor carrying identifiers. All of this not only increases the risk of civilian casualties, but also allows for the over-reporting thereof.
As much as civilian deaths are a natural consequence of war, it doesn't sit right with any civilised person. For Christians such as myself, any death is tragic. As Ezekiel 33:11 tells us, God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked. Thus, a swift end to this war is preferable. But sadly, civilian death is happening, and will continue to happen until the war is over.
This provides HAMAS with an opportunity to win supporters to their side. To begin with, of course, if you happen to be a civilian in war-torn Gaza, you're going to be quite easily persuaded that Israel are evil. But here in the Western world, there are two kinds of potential supporters: Ignorant, and likely sheltered fools who don't understand war, and anti-Semitic racists who will take any opportunity to persecute the Jews.
As has been shown time and time again, the overwhelming majority of pro-Palestinians fall into the former category. In fact, upon being educated, more than 60% of pro-Palestinians will repent on the spot. This shows that a little education would cut support for the Palestinian cause in half.
A key distinction we need to teach people is the difference between the aforementioned civilian casualties and genocide. Currently, genocide is a key charge against Israel, with South Africa even taking Israel to court with the claim. Legally speaking, there is no case to be made here. Genocide may be a type of civilian casualty, but civilian casualties are not automatically genocide. In fact, as previously stated, they are a tragic, yet natural consequence of war. But of course, civilian casualties are a bad thing, and the one good point about the pro-Palestinian cause. The problem is, the fingers are pointing in the wrong direction.
By far the most effective way to shut down a pro-Palestinian is to start pointing the finger in the right direction. There can be no reasonable dispute that HAMAS are the bad guys in this war. So, the first question to ask a pro-Palestinian is whether or not they will admit that?
Because the conclusion is inescapable, this will immediately cause discomfort. No matter how much you believe in the Palestinian cause, supporting HAMAS is a stretch too far for all but the most despicable human beings. Thus, pro-Palestinians, when faced with condemning HAMAS, will begin to burble.
Generally, they will attempt to distance themselves from HAMAS, occasionally even blaming Israel for their existence. Nevertheless, their passion for condemning HAMAS never seems to be anywhere close to their passion for condemning Israel. HAMAS actively target civilians, including children, yet pro-Palestinians can barely murmer about how they don't support it, and in some cases even find a way to blame Israel. Israel fight back against HAMAS, HAMAS use civilians as shields, civilians get killed in the crossfire at a roughly average rate when compared to other wars, yet somehow, Israel gets all the negative press?
Given the great evil that is HAMAS, no one who refuses to condemn them has any right to condemn Israel. It is hypocritical to ignore any aggressive entity, yet condemn the defenders for fighting back. But let's suppose they do condemn HAMAS. Can they condemn Israel then?
If you find a pro-Palestinian with the integrity to condemn HAMAS, a follow up question is whether or not they recognise the threat HAMAS pose to Israel? If they don't, a simple look at October 7th alone should be sufficient. There is even a website, October7.org, dedicated to presenting survivor stories in their own words.
While October 7th is certainly the worst terror attack Israel has faced since their return as a nation, it is certainly not the only time HAMAS has attacked Israel. In fact, if you search for information on DuckDuckGo, you are likely to find a mixture of articles on the current war, but also articles from many years ago. In some cases, when I search for updated information, I have found articles from as early as 2014.
Clearly, then, HAMAS pose a threat to Israel. The question is, can pro-Palestinians admit this? If they will not, they must explain how they do not consider, among other things, terror attacks like October 7th to be remotely threatening? One can imagine their tone would change rapidly if they knew someone who was present at the time...
But if they acknowledge the threat, the final question they must answer is whether or not Israel has the right to respond? Contrary to idle babblings of "proportionality", or even "two wrongs don't make a right", it seems blindingly obvious that when lives are at stake, action must be taken. It's not a case of turning the other cheek and being the bigger man. If any government is to claim legitimacy, it must respond to threats, which HAMAS are.
The long and short of it is, due to the nature of HAMAS, there is no sane way to condemn Israel for the current war. If one condemns HAMAS, one must recognise the legitimacy of fighting them. If one cannot condemn HAMAS, there are only two options: You're a hypocrite if you condemn Israel, because HAMAS are worse, or you are a HAMAS supporter, which makes you as bad as HAMAS, and therefore you are the aggressor in this war.
Both ignorance and anti-Semitism are to blame for this extremely backwards state of affairs. On the one hand, there are the ignorant, who are easily tricked into supporting the HAMAS cause. Even those who claim not to be pro-HAMAS, ultimately, are. It is the HAMAS narrative they are peddling, it is HAMAS propaganda they are swallowing, and it is the HAMAS cause they are fighting. On the other hand, there are anti-Semites who, knowing all the relevant information, nevertheless hate the Jews so much that they are happy to bash Israel while supporting, or at the very least remaining indifferent to, HAMAS.
With such an obviously backwards situation, even an atheist must wonder if there is a devil after all? How else would human beings be capable of such great evil? In spite of our fallen state, we do have the law of God written on our hearts. Thus, we have some sense of justice. We know that the actions of HAMAS are abominable, we see that Israel must obviously defend themselves, and yet we also observe even the kindest of human beings rallying against the defenders in this war. It is as if there is some supernatural force out there that just wants to see the Jews - God's chosen people - suffering, if not totally destroyed.
Well, my friends, there is. There is indeed a devil, who does indeed hate the Jews, mainly because of his hatred towards the perfect Jew: Jesus of Nazareth. 2,000 years ago, in the very land over which there is so much dispute in the modern day, the Son of God Himself war born, lived a perfect life as a man, died just outside the Holy city, and raised to life! God is not finished with Israel just yet. They have a role to play. But setting eschatology aside, the role they have already played is important for you.
See, when Jesus died, it wasn't an accident. Rather, it was an important death in a war that has been going on for 6,000 years: The war on sin. In this war, there are three main parties. God, Satan and his forces, and us.
Because of our sinful nature, the distinction between Satan and us in this war is almost negligible. Each and every one of us are rebels against God, worthy of His eternal wrath. But when Jesus died, He received that wrath on our behalf, giving us a chance. We can remain on Satan's side and receive the punishment we deserve, but we may also change sides (this is called "repentance") by confessing Jesus as Lord, and believing in His resurrection. The result of this is that when this world - including the land of Israel - is destroyed, and the entire human race is judged, we will receive an inheritance in the Kingdom of Heaven, where we will live forever with Yahweh as our God.