10/24/2023
As the Israel-Hamas War rages on, I continue to hear about rising support for … not the afflicted … not the victims … not the oppressed … but the oppressors.
American university campuses abound with protests against Israel and support for the antisemitic, terrorist organization called Hamas. For example, a Cornell University professor called the Hamas attacks “exhilarating” and “energizing.” A Yale professor dubbed Israel a “murderous, genocidal settler state” (https://www.politico.com/news/2023/10/21/colleges-israel-hamas-war-00122845).
So, who is this “oppressed” group of Hamas? This is an organization that has called for the complete annihilation—not just of the Jewish state—but of the Jewish people. The 1988 Covenant of the Hamas, Article 7, states, “The Day of Judgment will not come about until Moslems fight Jews and kill them. Then, the Jews will hide behind rocks and trees, and the rocks and trees will cry out: ‘O Moslem, there is a Jew hiding behind me, come and kill him.’”
The name “Hamas” is an acronym of the Arabic phrase, “Ḥarakah al-Muqāwamah al-ʾIslāmiyyah,” meaning “Islamic Resistance Movement,” which is a self-proclaimed Palestinian-Islamic-fundamentalist movement engaged in grassroots organizing and armed resistance and terrorism against Israel.
This is one of many examples of why I believe in spiritual warfare. If people who generally profess their defense of the oppressed and stand up for the cause of the victims suddenly do an about face and turn their support to the oppressors, I see only the increased influence of the Deceiver who sets out to “steal, kill, and destroy” (John 10:10). He is “a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44) who “deceives the whole world” (Revelation 12:9).
But this is also a labyrinthine issue with no easy answers. There are millions of Palestinians who simply want the freedom to live their lives in peace, some of whom are devout Christians. I had the privilege of meeting a few of them back in 2006 when I visited Israel. In fact, our tour guide was a Christian Palestinian who told me that most Palestinians don’t support Muslim terrorists; they simply want peace.
I know I have much to learn, and I don’t intend to offer simple bromides as clear-cut answers. However, I do believe there are some basic responses we can offer in our ongoing conversations regarding the rising volatility in the Middle East.
First, call upon the only One who has the answers—Jesus Christ, the Jew from Nazareth who died for ALL people, so that in Him there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female. “We are all one in Christ Jesus, and if we are Christ’s, then we are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise” (Galatians 3:28-29).
Second, get out of your echo chamber and do the hard work of research. Don’t jump on the bandwagon of populace thinking or pietistic ruminating. These are hard issues. We are to love our enemies. We are to love, serve, and care for Palestinians and Jews, while we stand united against tyranny, terrorism, and racism (including antisemitism).
Third, live and share the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Isn’t it interesting that a Jewish man descended from David was “declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by His resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 1:4)? Jesus was born in what is now Palestinian territory in the Jewish lineage of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, within a Gentile, Roman-occupied land in order to redeem Arabs, Jews, and Gentiles to our Creator, YHWH. Jesus, the Prince of Peace, is literally at the epicenter of this conflict, and He’s the only One who can bring ultimate peace.
“For God so loved … the world that He gave His only Son” (John 3:16), and likewise, we should love the world by pointing people to our only Hope, “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27).
