All eyes are on Israel, as the nation, smaller than the state of Massachusetts, courageously wages war on terror. And as predicted, the notion of moral equivalence is beginning to set in within the international community, resulting in increasing calls for a ceasefire on Israel's part.
One such call, on Instagram last week, caught my attention. It came from someone in the Christian community. The post reads as follows.
“I fully support Israel's right to exist peacefully in their land. I fully support their sovereignty to defend themselves and their people after the horrific attacks by Hamas. And it is totally justified that they have taken strong action in response.But in seeing how insane the death toll on Palestinians has become (maybe 10,000+ thousands of children, civilians) there has to come a point where a higher sense of humanity and justice emerges.
Again, it is understandable after the barbaric attack from Hamas on Israel's citizens, over 1000 killed- innocent civilians that Israel's leaders and the citizens would cry out for justice and recompense. For the blood of Hamas to run on the streets of Gaza.
But at what point will we say it is enough? At what point do we say it's time to hold ourselves to a higher ethic than our enemies? And in defending ourselves, not lose our own souls?
Violence begets more violence. At this point, with the degree of loss and utter devastation, the next generation of violence has all but been guaranteed.
One thing that is clear is how true it is that man's justice fails and it is only a hope of justice from the skies in the nail pierced hands of the Prince of Peace, Jesus- that there is any real hope to be found.”
The author ended the post with # ceasefire.
As an American Christian, my response is this.
I can certainly understand the author's concerns. What is happening in Israel and Gaza is tragic to say the least. But here are some things perhaps we should consider before participating in the call for a ceasefire.
As far as the number of deaths in Gaza, we are being fed these numbers by the Gaza Health Ministry which is an organization of Hamas. Also, Hamas does not differentiate between the terrorist death toll or the civilian death toll. Many of the deaths over there have happened at the hands of Hamas and not Israel. But of course, they're not going to disclose that to the public.
The fact is, Hamas is a well oiled propaganda machine that has fought long and hard to try to manipulate the world and the media into hating Israel and so we can probably safely surmise that these numbers are inflated.
Not only that, they are known for staging death scenes on a regular basis while placing the blame on Israel. There is documented proof of it on video; of horrific scenes of death being staged by Hamas not only in this war, but in previous incidents. Also, they use video footage and images from other tragedies in different parts of the world and at different times and then apply it to the current war. But hey, what would you expect from terrorists? Anyway, these phony attempts at manipulation of public opinion have been debunked with documented proof.
If upwards of tens of thousands have been killed, that's probably a fairly low number given the amount of people in that area, especially given the fact that Hamas has gone out of their way to put civilians in harm's way. If 10,000 plus are accurate numbers, I'd say then it looks as though Israel's Defense Forces are truly being careful of whom they are targeting; terrorists rather than civilians. Although we must keep in mind that the terrorists dress as civilians.
About the civilians; I used to think that most of the civilians in the occupied area that belongs to Israel, that many refer to as Palestine, were “innocent.” Innocent being that they weren't cheering and celebrating whenever Israelis were killed. And while there are, I'm sure, a number of innocent civilians there, we must realize that there are a large number who share Hamas’ hatred for Israel. Many, do in fact, want the annihilation of Israel and the Jewish people. As a matter of fact, a recent survey from AWRAD (Public Opinion Polls - AWRAD https://www.awrad.org/files/server/polls/polls2023/Public%20Opinion%20Poll%20-%20Gaza%20War%202023%20-%20Tables%20of%20Results.pdf) showed that the majority of them approve of Hamas’ atrocities and would support Hamas staying in power.
And perhaps we should ask ourselves why it is that many Arabs and Palestinians celebrate whenever there is a terror attack by passing out candy in the streets and shooting off fireworks. What about the footage that Hamas posted of the civilians in Palestine celebrating and cheering as hostages were paraded through the streets, many of them even beating on them as they were driven by. Could it be due to the threat of Hamas? Perhaps. But please explain to me why a number of Palestinians and Arabs dwelling comfortably and safely in Israel also celebrate whenever an attack occurs. They did this on October 7th as well.
But the hatred of the Palestinians and Arabs towards Jews doesn't come from just the adults. The Palestinian and Arab children also bear that hatred within their hearts. This, in and of itself, is a real tragedy because many of these children, having been indoctrinated in the school's as young as 5 years old, are in fact, future terrorists. Their innocence and childhood and lives have already been stripped away by Hamas who, having been in power for about 18 years now, have had plenty of time to indoctrinate an entire generation and that they have. One of the sons of Hamas’ founders, Mosab Assan Youseff, testifies to this and I myself have listened to enough Palestinian children tell of their desire to “make war with the Jews and defeat them and stab a Jew and run over them with a car” amongst other disturbing comments. It left me heartbroken. https://www.instagram.com/reel/CyWo0HtrBJ9/?igshid=N2ViNmM2MDRjNw==
The author of the IG post stated. “There has to come a point where a higher sense of humanity and justice emerges” and that “it's time to hold ourselves to a higher ethic than our enemies.”
In my opinion, the higher sense of ethics, humanity and justice began on day one. I say this because in the days preceding the ground invasion into Gaza, we witnessed Israel trying for days on end to warn the Palestinians to flee to safety knowing that Hamas would also be benefitting from the time that Israel was granting to the citizens there. But Hamas, in an effort to ensure as many casualties as possible, like I said, a well oiled propaganda machine, blocked roads, threatened them, and in some cases, shot them down in cold blood so that they couldn't leave because they want civilians in harm's way so that the press and the international community, repulsed by bloodshed, will lose sight of what this fight is for and begin to demand a ceasefire like the author of the IG post.
What about the fact that Israel has been getting fuel to the hospitals in Gaza? Isn't that a “higher sense of ethics, humanity and justice? Unfortunately, Hamas took the fuel as a terrified and grieving nurse working at one of the hospitals in Gaza's war zone shared while on the job at the hospital. She broke down as she told of how she had to reset the fracture of a 5 year old boy without morphine because Hamas took that too.
Or what about Israel granting a daily time slot for a ceasefire to allow time for civilians to move to a safer area recently? Or the IDF bringing in incubators for babies at a hospital in Gaza? Isn't that a sense of higher ethics, humanity and justice? I could go on.
But short of the IDF being able to line up innocent civilians on the left and who the terrorists are on the right and then just targeting the terrorists, which we know is impossible, did I mention that Hamas dresses as civilians? What are they supposed to do?
Historically, Israel has always responded to the minimum. They have practiced restraint in spite of years of terror attacks on them and missiles sent their way, etc. The end result? A stronger, more hateful, emboldened, brazen, bloodthirsty Hamas that resulted in the kidnappings, raping, torture, and butchering of men, women and children in Israel.
Babies were hung in the doorways. One was burned alive in an oven while the terrorist raped the baby's mother and made the father/husband while tied up, watch before shooting them both in cold blood. A pregnant woman's womb was ripped open and the baby killed before the terrorist killed the mother. Am I being too graphic? Good! Because these are the things we must never forget; the barbaric, inhumane, demonic savagery of the Israelis at the hands of Hamas. It's unfathomable!
Although the author didn't directly say it, I think that they feel that Israel's response is all about revenge. It's not. It's about bringing the hostages home. It's about protecting the nation from further attacks like the one they just experienced. It's about protecting the rest of the world including those of us here in the US because we now have many terrorists within our own country thanks to our wide open borders. We too, will soon be experiencing terror at the hands of terrorists. Israel's war is our war. But mostly, this war is about defending humanity.
Yes, the victims of this war will include innocent men, women, and children. Tragically, in war, innocent people are often caught in the crossfire, becoming the casualties of war. Am I saying that it doesn't grieve me that innocent people are caught in the crossfire? Of course not! Is it “easy” for me to say this because neither me or my loved ones are currently living in a war zone? Maybe. But it's also easy for those who have basically lived in a protective bubble (which is about to be popped) here in the US and certain other areas of the world where we have lived lives of comfort, ease, and security to demand a ceasefire from a nation that daily lives with the reality of missile strikes and vicious terror attacks on its citizens because they are surrounded by people and nations whose reason for living and breathing are to destroy them.
Civilian casualties are the unfortunate stark reality of war. It's horrific. It's ugly. It's bloody. But Hamas must be stopped! Evil must be dealt with.
In the Old Testament, God sent His people to war at times to fight against evil nations. I sometimes cringe when I read some of the horrific descriptions of war described in my Bible.The ugly reality is that in this broken and sinful world, war is sometimes necessary. And although it may be necessary, at the same time, it is never to be categorized as something good.
Nonetheless, it is a reality and terrorist groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah or Adolf Hitler, or evil nations like Iran who are behind this, make going to war unavoidable and at times a necessity in order to try and prevent even greater atrocities from being committed. This war is about good vs evil and Israel is the “good guy “ here. Not that Israel is perfect nor is any nation for that matter, but you don't have to be perfect to be the good guy.
The author then goes on to state that “violence begets violence” while claiming that “the next generation of violence has all but been guaranteed” due to this war. Yet in spite of Israel's peacefulness, Israel's making an effort at constant restraint over the years, the violence, through Hamas, escalated in a manner that has horrified and sickened the entire world. This war has been a long time coming. It was inevitable.
What about negotiating? If one reads the Hamas Charter/Covenant, one wouldn't even ask the question because they've already answered it in article 13 of the Covenant.
“[Peace] initiatives, and so-called peaceful solutions and international conferences are in contradiction to the principles of the Islamic Resistance Movement... Those conferences are no more than a means to appoint the infidels as arbitrators in the lands of Islam... There is no solution for the Palestinian problem except by Jihad. Initiatives, proposals and international conferences are but a waste of time, an exercise in futility.” (Article 13)
So to even suggest something such as a two state solution is foolish to say the least because this is not a land dispute nor is it a political dispute. It is an over 1,300 year old sick, twisted and evil religious ideology; one that exists in and breeds hate. One that calls for the genocide of an entire people, the Jews. And it will not be content until it has carried out its mission. And because of this Israel must not be content until they have carried out their mission.
In my opinion, it is foolish and unreasonable to even suggest a ceasefire on Israel's part because I know of no nation who has exercised greater patience or restraint toward the terrorism consistenly coming out of Gaza and from all their other enemies that surround them, who time and time again, inflict harm upon their citizens, than the nation of Israel. They are a peaceful inclusive nation, a tolerant and accepting nation; including the acceptance of those of Palestinian and Arab descent who live comfortably within their borders and reap the benefits of that nation. Yet, in spite of all this, they are still continually targets of terror. Enough is enough!
I think we need to stand with Israel and let them finally do what they need to do. If Israel decides on a ceasefire it must be their decision and their decision alone, not because of pressure from the international community.
No, man's justice will never be perfect. Only God is capable of perfect justice and we know that here on this sinful Earth, true peace will never be realized until the Messiah returns in glory executing His perfect justice.
Until then we must do all we can to fight evil. We must pray against it. We must speak out against it. And sometimes, we must go to war against it or at least unequivocally stand with those who do.
